At first, my initial impression of the prospect if a dockless Nintendo Switch option was unilaterally a positive one. After all, not everyone wants to play their Switch on a TV. In fact, there have been polls done which indicate just that. Additionally, there will be people who have already purchased one or may want to buy one for another member of their family for the multiplayer experience. If you don’t have two TVs in your household, why would you need an additional dock? For a lot of people, being able to save $50 could be a major deciding factor in buying another Switch or just one in the first place if they just want a handheld. $50 is a lot of money to save after all, right?
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As I mentioned in my news article reporting the release of this basic Switch option, there is one critical item missing in the package which renders almost every one of the price benefits entirely moot: the AC adapter. While you may save $50 at face value which sounds great at first, almost everyone buying one of these will end up needing to purchase an AC adapter on the side.
Even if you fall under the category of people who have already purchased a Switch and have an AC adapter, you will likely end up needing a second one simply because of the logistics of running two of these power-hungry handheld consoles. And for the people are purchasing this option as the their first choice for the system, they will have no choice but to buy a separate AC adapter. If you buy a separate AC adapter, you will only save a mere $20 as opposed to if you just bought the original bundle including the dock, HDMI cable, AC adapter and Joy-Con grip.
Sure, you can get a cheap USB C charger at Walmart for $7-$15, but do you really want to risk damaging your Switch by using a cheap one?
After considering the lack of an included AC adapter, the conclusion that I have drawn it that it’s absolutely not a good deal for consumers. If you are going to play it primarily in handheld mode, then you need a power cable. Simple as that. Even if you already have a dock, you need your existing AC adapter simply to play it on the TV. While you do this, the person using the other Switch will have to wait until other person is done to even charge their system. The same applies to if both people are playing their in handheld mode. Sure, it is possible to work around this, but it is a huge inconvenience for Nintendo’s customers. They surely want this option to be consumer friendly, right?
As it is, it is simply not. It either forces their audience to work around massive
inconveniences or to invest in a hidden cost that renders the entire package pointless.
In the traditional immortal words of displeased Nintendo fans everywhere: “Why Nintendo?! Why?!”
In conclusion, this option may seem like a decent deal at face value, but it is simply too expensive for what is being offered. As I am American and most familiar with American prices, that is what I will suggest here. In my humble opinion, for this to be an option with a suitable cost justifying its existence, it either needs to include the AC adapter or cost no more than $220. Anything more than that is simply unfair to consumers, and I would personally recommend at its current offering to simply buy the standard package. Even if you already have another Switch or just want buy one to play in handheld, you will be better off paying the full price for the standard package. This one is not worth the price.
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