Nintendo’s new Switch console is nearly here so we’ve taken a look at how it compares to the old Wii U. Read our comparison review to find out what’s different in price, design, specs, graphics, games and more.
PRICE WHEN REVIEWED
- £279 inc VAT
NINTENDO SWITCH VS WII U REVIEW
The Nintendo Switch is almost here but what’s different compared to the firm’s previous console, the Wii U? Whether you’re trying to choose between the two or considering an upgrade, here’s our Nintendo Switch vs Wii U review. Read next: Best games consoles 2017.
The console market is a tough place to fight and Nintendo will be hoping its new modular Switch will do a lot better than the Wii U which only sold 13.3m units as of September 2016.
Note that we’ve had half a day hands-on with the Nintendo Switch playing various games, so haven’t used the software or tested battery life.
NINTENDO SWITCH VS WII U REVIEW: PRICE
A big factor in your upgrade decision, or choice between the two, will be the price and many are somewhat outraged at the Switch price of £279. But let’s not forget that the Wii U Premium launched at £299 back in 2012, although it did come with Nintendo Land.
We’re actually fairly comfortable with the price considering the device is more than just a console you plug into the TV and the fact that Brexit has caused price rises across various other tech products. Something that makes it seems worse is the now affordable cost of the PS4 and Xbox One but we’ll save that chat for those comparison articles.
For now, if you’re considering it, you can get the Wii U Premium with the excellent Mario Kart 8 for £189 on Amazon and the Basic edition is £179 so not worth saving the small difference. Those prices may well drop once the Switch is released on 3 March.
NINTENDO SWITCH VS WII U REVIEW: SPECS, GRAPHICS AND FEATURES
In typical Nintendo style, the Switch is not a directly comparable console to the PS4 and Xbox One. The firm has done something completely different which follows on from the Wii U.
A modular Switch, an evolution of the GamePad
On a visual and practical basis, the Switch is like a evolution of the Wii U’s GamePad – something which was a neat innovation but had various flaws and was under utilised by the games.
The huge controller with it’s touchscreen meant you could play with a second screen to the TV or ditch the big screen entirely, enabling you to freely walk to another room in the house and carry of playing (as long as you didn’t go too far from the console).
With the Switch, Nintendo has taken the GamePad and made it the console. There is no main unit now, so all the tech is housed in what is effectively a tablet. You put it in a docking station to easily connect it to the TV. You can then remove it and carry on playing in Handheld mode seamlessly.
Nintendo has taken the GamePad and given it a much needed upgrade to create the Switch. The display is still 6.2in but the device isn’t half as bulky, the resolution is now 720p (up from 480p) and it’s finally a capacitive touchscreen like any modern phone or tablet so doesn’t require a stylus or a firm prod with a finger.
We’ve mentioned the TV and Handheld modes but the Switch has a third option. Because the small Joy-Con controllers unclip from either end of the tablet, you can put the screen down on a flat surface with the kickstand to play in Tabletop mode.
In TV and Tabletop modes, you can attach the two Joy-Con controllers to the grip or use them in your hands like Nintendo’s Wii remotes. You can use two per person or one each depending on the game. They contain motion sensors and advanced HD Rumble vibration motors.
Battery life
One of the huge downfalls of the Wii U GamePad was its poor battery life. It would typically last for around three hours and was so bad that Nintendo released a higher capacity battery pack for it at £25. It’s shouldn’t be hard to beat that figure with the Switch and although we haven’t tested it, Nintendo claims it can last longer than six hour depending on what you’re doing.
We’re keen to test the battery life out properly as a key selling point of the Switch is that you can take it out of the house wherever you’re going since it is the console, not just a part of it. You can also link up to other Switch units for multi-player without the need for a Wi-Fi network so even more reason for good battery life.
Internal specs and graphics
In terms of actual core specs, the Switch isn’t hugely different to the Wii U. It still has 32GB of storage (there’s no premium model this time), although you can easily expand it with the Micro-SD card slot.
There is a more powerful processor inside, a custom Nvidia Tegra X chip and GPU. However the console’s video output is still limited to 1080p via HDMI. It’s worth noting that Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be limited to 900p on the Switch and 720p on the Wii U – that alone might be enough to convince some to upgrade.
It’s with joy that we can tell you Nintendo has ditched its usual strategy of proprietary ports. The Switch uses USB-C which is found on many phones, tablets and laptops. Sadly, the supplied grip on which you attach the small Joy-Con controllers does not have a port so they can be charged while you play even though Nintendo will offer a charging version.
NINTENDO SWITCH VS WII U REVIEW: GAMES AND SOFTWARE
Nintendo has also switched (sorry) from using discs to cartridges for the new console. This is partly because you wouldn’t want to fit an optical drive onto a tablet, but it’s also convenient for taking lots of games with you when out and about. The firm has also said it is ditching region locking.
It’s not official, but the lack of something to put discs into almost certainly means the Switch isn’t backwards compatible with Wii U or Wii games. It also won’t play nicely with old peripherals like the Wii Remote or GamePad which is a shame, especially as a set of additional Joy-Cons will cost £75.
We know little about the Switch UI or operating system at the moment – only games were playable at the hands-on premiere. However, we do know that you’ll be able to change users and the console will have some pretty nifty parental controls (including time limits), which you can enforce from the accompanying phone app.
It’s also known that the Switch won’t have streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video at launch. Although they will become available at some point it seems, sooner rather than later we expect, it’s strange considering even the original Wii had Netflix.
A lot more is known about the games for the Switch so we’ll focus on that for now.
One of the Wii U’s failing was a lack of killer titles so we’d like to say the Switch has an amazing set of launch games that make the new console a must buy. Sadly that’s not quite the case despite the long time period since releasing the Wii U in which to plan the launch.
The main launch title for the Switch is Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That’s great but it was originally supposed to be a Wii U game and doesn’t have the same broad appeal compared to Nintendo’s other franchises.
Skylanders Imaginators, Just Dance 2017, Super Bomberman R and 1-2-Switch complete the launch line-up. The latter is a set of mini-games that show off the Joy-Con controllers well but feel like they should be pre-installed on the console.
In general, the masses want Mario games and there are none whatsoever for when the Switch arrives in shops. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (hardly a new game) will arrive on 28 April and Super Mario Odyssey won’t launch until ‘Holiday 2017’.
That said, the third party line-up does look stronger than the Wii U with Elder Scrolls, Minecraft, NBA 2K and FIFA games all confirmed for this year.
SPECS
Nintendo Switch: Specs
- Nvidia custom Tegra processor
- Nvidia GPU
- 32GB storage
- Micro-SD card slot
- 6.2in 720 touchscreen
- USB-C port
- HDMI 1080p output
- Wi-Fi
- Around 6 hour battery life
OUR VERDICT
We have only had hand-on time with the Switch so this is an early first-impressions verdict. We think the Switch is an enticing piece of hardware with its many different ways of playing, improving vastly on the Wii U. Zelda might be enough for many to upgrade even though it’s launching on the Wii U also. However, the rest of the games line-up for the Switch is hardly killer as it stands so the Switch isn’t quite an obvious upgrade at launch. It might be worth waiting for some more top titles and a price drop, too.
Sourse: pcadvisor.co.uk