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How important is the Switch's portability to you?

How important is the portability of the Switch for you?

  • Very important, it was the main selling point for me.

    Votes: 103 41.5%
  • Sorta important, I use it it in portable mode pretty often.

    Votes: 43 17.3%
  • Not really important, I appreciate the feature but only use it in portable mode rarely.

    Votes: 48 19.4%
  • Not at all important, the Switch stays docked pretty much 100% of the time.

    Votes: 54 21.8%

  • Total voters
    248

Impotaku

Member
50/50 i use it at work every day during my breaks so it's used in portable mode a lot but when i come home it stays in it's dock. It's rarely used in portable mode at home.
 

jigglet

Banned
Huge.

I rarely take it outside but it gets moved all over my house.

I think Nintendo learned a lot from the XL DS series. People wanted portability, but they didn't necessarily need it to be "fit in your pocket" portability.
 

EDMIX

Member
Come the fuck on people, I knew the majority would be portable before I even voted.

We already got an answer to this when Wii U was destroyed by 3DS. That showed how that install base really was laid out. Though I like to play on my TV and don't really game portably theses days...like ever, I'm ok with Switch and I'd argue I wanted this to happen cause I'd rather they fucking throw us a HDMI and let us in on the fun, then split the install base again and watch all the portable players get the best games lol


Us who like gaming on TV are simply no longer the majority in that install base and I even predicted you'd see such a thing. We already have several devices and portables that could do that, what was ever going to stop Nintendo from throwing a HDMI cord at you and being like "hhhhhhhere you go" lol It makes sense. I even remember feeling like they should just make a way to play 3DS on Wii U like some game boy player thing or hook up or something as I knew it was failing, I knew 3DS was moving more units and it made me mad to see them picking favorites when you can just make a fucking cord for 3DS and we can play it on screen or make a cord to play on Wii U etc.

Being the smaller 14 million install base means we got to take what we can get and this helps everyone. Everyone stays together and play how you fucking feel like it.
 

Moses85

Member
Not anymore... Battery is broken

Ryan Gosling Lol GIF
 

NahaNago

Member
Originally I didn't play in portable mode but I took it out recently and got too lazy to put it back. If I do ever put it back in the dock I'll be too lazy to take it back out.
 

Kaachan

Member
I thought I would use the handheld mode more often since I played a lot on DS before, but it turns out I mostly used it docked even tho the frame rate sucks
 

Tunned

Member
I love handheld gaming, so I got a Switch Lite, it goes everywhere with me when I travel. I can't wait for the Steam Deck though, and where the whole portable gaming PC industry will be in 10 years.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I would love if Nintendo went the route Microsoft did with Series X and S where S is the portable Switch and X is a beefier non-handheld console. I mean, they created a non-hybrid handheld so why not a non-hybrid non-handheld console?
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
I like having a handheld for the times when I want one, but if the Switch was a console I'd just take my 3DS instead.
 

Roufianos

Member
Crucial for me. I prefer to see my Switch as a decently powered handheld as opposed to a ridiculously dated console.

Only time it's docked is for multiplayer.
 

Alpha Male

Member
I play exclusively in handheld mode (with a grip of course) at home as I don't ever take it with me.

I traded my old Switch in for the OLED version.

I wouldn't even own one if it wasn't for being able to play it portable because I have a Series X and PS5 hooked up to my 75 inch TV with no desire to play Switch on there.
 

CamHostage

Member
100% for me, I have yet to ever plug my launch Nintendo Switch into the Dock.

That said, the combination is perfect, and is a great driver for selling Nintendo hardware. I am not fully comfortable that they don't have that "Second Pillar" (they had the capacity to do business on two fronts in the past, which was good for Nintendo - especially if one side slumped - but also it was good for me as a gamer because it allowed the smaller, off-brand game ideas like Metroid Prime Pinball or Kirby Tilt n Tumble or even the whole Golden Sun franchise to exist.) However, Switch is a great platform, and even though I've never plugged mine into the TV, I'm glad that possibility is there.

Mobile hardware does hold Switch back a bit, but not as much as people claim (it's full of the best indies and has a few impressive ports of then-current-gen games, although Switch never got the mainline Call of Dutys or Assassin's Creed or other blockbusters; a Switch Pro wouldn't necessarily fix that problem and next-gen will continue to move on without Switch, but streaming is slowly being considered as a viable option when necessary.) A future Switch proper follow-up with high-speed IO and a chipset capable of Lumen/Nanite support (in some capacity) and bigger cartridges/storage would be competitive even if it's nowhere near PS5/SX capabilities, but who knows when that'll happen...
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I'm 50/50 when comes to using TV mode and portable mode.

For example: for games like these I use TV mode because with action combat I want to use pro controler.
5a6.jpg
910eMi3mDKL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
713mZtHM88L._AC_SY500_.jpg


But for games like these I will can do both TV and portable mode.
shin-megami-tensei-v-cover.cover_large.jpg
914ZlPMzzOL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
ace%20atorney.jpg
 
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baphomet

Member
I only use it as a handheld. The vast majority of it's games are sub 720p and they look like shit on a big screen.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Very important, its just not something you can trade for more power its essential to the appeal of the system itself, some people like to use Docked mode more, others play in portable mostly, but the choice is theirs.
 

Trunx81

Member
Huge. Huge deal for me. 100% portable. I played two or three times on TV and only for a few minutes. As a dad it’s a godsend console. My PS4 was gathering dust, as my child wants to use the tv for her YouTube and Songs. And in the evenings, my wife is watching her shows. Having the possibility to sit beside her while she’s doing that and still play the games I want is such a big plus.

I must agree that a big new Direct needs to come in time to address the diminishing support, but when I look at my backlog and all the great games I still got to play (I didn’t even finish Zelda yet), I don’t really care.

Hades on the go is a blast. Playing Skyrim in bed was incredible. Having fun with friends on Diablo 3 online while taking a poop - nothing can give me that.

I fully understand the people who play docked. But for me, the Switch is the best thing that could have happened to me as a gamer right here - right now.
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
i play docked most of the time but it's cool that i can take it with me around the house. i might play it out in the garden or when just chilling in bed. i don't take it outside with me to work or anything like that. maybe if i had a long train journey i might bring it but i don't do that often
 
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Crayon

Member
Not that important. Portable doesn't work for me because I want to get really immersed in a game, but that's hard to do outside. I could do it, but I would end up oblivious to whatever is around me. On the couch is different, but I'm almost never in that situation where I really want to play a game but there's no tv. How do you let that happen to yourself lol. I'm just fucking with you. I know some people put on a documentary and grind an rpg. I've bought portables all my life and it always turned out the same way.
 

kiphalfton

Member
I hate that Nintendo decided to forego a more powerful home console in exchange for portability... but honestly the portability factor may be the only way I ever chip away at my switch game catalog since I don't play a whole lot on my TV or PC in the first place.
 
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gamer82

Member
not a big deal im 39 so I dont really take my console anywhere outside the home but at least the option is there for anyone that wants it . it's technically a handheld device its avoided them having to advance the tech so hopefully we get a more capable console next time around 4k or not as long as the game looks good get rid of jaggies, frame rate issues etc then all good.
 

Tams

Gold Member
Sorta.

Though to be fair, I might not have bought it if it weren't portable. I currently don't have time to play it much when away from home, or am simply not away from home, so I don't appreciate that feature as much now. On holiday away, I'd rather enjoy where I'm going.

But I life changes and I might well end up in circumstances that do take me away from home for longer periods of time. Or a commute on public transport. In those cases, I'd be annoyed if there weren't a major portable console, especially one that can be your main console too.

I do like being able to play in the toilet. Could do that with the Wii U too (just), but obviously that wasn't quite the same.

I also have sympathy for people who do already live in circumstances that the portablility is useful/essential (if they are to play games) in. Just because I, or you dear reader, currently don't; doesn't make it a useless feature.
 
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Cupbeam

Neo Member
Used to be very important until I started playing Xenoblade series.. game looks alot better docked and my switch is now mostly hooked up to a monitor. Mostly play at home anyway.
 

BlackTron

Member
I'll choose the Switch version of games that won't be too gimped on the system by default because it's the most convenient platform. So I'd say it's very important.

If Switch wasn't portable, there would be no incentive to get the Switch version of any game that's not exclusive, may as well play them all on a better hardware. Even though I mostly play it on TV.

But I think just having the option to take it portable counts for something, even if you don't use it that much in practice.

I like how Switch is easy to transport and drop into a dock already connected at someone else's house, or within your own on different TVs. I use this feature all the time. So if I get a game on Switch it's easy to play anywhere I go, even if that doesn't mean it was handheld. If I get it on Xbox...you know what just put Gamepass on Switch already lol.

I mostly game on TV but its nice to have the option to get a quick portable fix to fill a gap. When I was a kid I had a Game Gear and it's like I have the definitive version with a giant screen running Sonic Mania. And this is the perfect type of portable game where the Switch's awkward crappy ergonomics don't make much difference because there's only one button lol.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
My Switch stays docked 99% of the time. When I take it out, ive used it like twice in 4 years.

Saying that, its what has helped the switch sell, without it, it would be nowhere as successful especially in Japan. But Ive bought every Nintendo console/ portable since Nes. Not including stuff like virtual boy lol
 
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mxbison

Member
Nice extra. Played like 3 or 4 times handheld on the train.

If there was a cheaper non-portable version I would've bought that.
 

Zannegan

Member
I don't always use it in portable mode, but it's very important to me that it can go portable. I've taken my Switch (and been asked to bring it) to more places than any two consoles or portables combined, and I had a Wii at the height if that craze. Switch is great in transit, while travelling, or just for visiting friends. I have yet to bust out Mario Kart at a rooftop party like Karen, but pretty much everywhere else, that thing is golden.

Unless it's something totally off the wall, I'll be very disappointed if Nintendo's next hardware isn't a hybrid as well.
 
I don't tend to use the Switch portable often as I find it a little cumbersome (probably doesn't help that I sometimes carry a Vita slim alongside it) and the joycons can randomly disconnect and act like removed when they haven't. Then again most devs these days don't seem to know that a docked mode is a thing either so the grass isn't always greener on the other side
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
Zero. I play it exclusively on TV. If I can't, I rather wait until I can use the TV because playing portable is uncomfortable and removes like 90% of relax from playing to me, I also feel like I have to be in positions that I feel uncomfortable too... Also I like playing in an actual bit screen, even if only 32" lol
Not anymore... Battery is broken

Ryan Gosling Lol GIF
Can you play docked with broken battery?
 
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EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
That’s how useless the portability of the switch is I just don’t see a portable console with the switch, it’s a modern day console with last gen specs still going it might be 2025 before it dies.
 

MP!

Member
I love being able to take it with me if I need to go somewhere.
That being said I mostly play in docked
to me I view it as a TV console that I can take with me if I need to.
 

Moses85

Member
Zero. I play it exclusively on TV. If I can't, I rather wait until I can use the TV because playing portable is uncomfortable and removes like 90% of relax from playing to me, I also feel like I have to be in positions that I feel uncomfortable too... Also I like playing in an actual bit screen, even if only 32" lol

Can you play docked with broken battery?
Yes
 

sachos

Member
I voted No for Nintendo to finally decide to release a more powerful home console only version of the Switch 2 when they read this post.:messenger_sunglasses:
 

Impotaku

Member
I use it equally out at work on my breaks & at home docked, it's great to be able to play something at home & continue on my breaks and then keep going once home. Battery lasts me all day easily. Love the portability and how small the carts are so you can take loads with you for max play choice.
 
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