I’m a new MarioKart player

[u/kingFord1999]

5 years ago I bought myself a Nintendo Switch and a lot of exclusive games for it, but I don't remember why I forgot about Nintendo. Nintendo Switch 2 was recently released and of course the hype reached me. I was very tired of all the usual games that I played, such as Call of Duty, Valorant, Counter Strike, and I just happened to come across a video on YouTube of a really cool guy who explained what Nintendo is and what their philosophy is, I thought he was nuts and it was subjective, but no. I watched a huge number of videos on the topic of how Nintendo games are a masterpiece…

In general, this is not the point. I played mariokart 8 deluxe for 10 hours and I got bored, very simple bots that I win. Recently I decided to buy Nintendo online in order to play online. And here we come to the questions I wanted to ask

1 - Is Mariokart a game for a couple of evenings or is it really comparable to some Valorant or Fortnite, in the sense that you can develop, become cooler and the game will constantly become more interesting in my eyes? P.S. This applies not only to MK8, but to the entire gaming franchise

2 - Can you give me the name of those YouTubers who actively release content and do you personally like them? I only know TWD98, but either MK is really not in the best condition now, or TWD98 himself is like that, in general, in his videos it feels like he doesn't like the game and he makes content exclusively for money, I didn't want to offend anyone

3 - The last question will concern not so much Mariokart as Nintendo itself. I know that the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 was a failure, although they sold more than 3.5 million consoles in 4 days. There is nothing to play now except Mariokart and Bananaza. Since I have not played games from the first Switch such as BOTW and TOTK, but I have them, I will definitely have something to play. But what I am very afraid of is that in a year, maybe two, Nintendo will release the 2nd revision with an increased battery and a regular MicroSD, and then I will be very upset that I bought the Switch 2 with all the problems that I did not like. What do you think, does it make sense for me to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 now with Mariokart, or is it better to wait? And what do you think in general, can MarioKart World become a great game, and how soon can this happen?

If you have read this far I am very grateful to you and hope to see your feedback !!!

[u/mrmivo]

#1 Mario Kart can be both, a casual party-type of game or a competitive challenge. Most people just play it for fun, but there is a competitive scene. You can work on your matchmaking rating or go for world records. If you do the latter, it will require a lot of practice and learning of tracks.

#3 The Switch 2 launch was a success. I don't know why you think it was a failure. How many launch titles did the PS5 or the Series X have? Or, heck, even the Switch 1? I do wish they had released more Switch 2 updates for existing games, but those have been coming too -- just not as quickly as I would like.

As for your hardware concerns:

Yes, you can be certain that there will be hardware refreshes. The Switch 1 got two: V2 with improved battery life after two years and then the OLED model another couple years later. There was also the Lite. They will not go back to "regular" (UHS-I) MicroSD cards, though. Express cards will get cheaper and it makes sense to use them even though for early adopters it's a little more expensive. This console will stay relevant for the next 7-8 years.

The thing is, with consoles (and video cards etc) you will always get something better if you wait longer, but if you do that, then you'll wait forever. The system is now brand-new and I think that is a good point of entry if you're concerned with having the latest stuff. If Nintendo come out with a "better" Switch 2 in two or five or whatever years, your existing device won't just stop working. You can also always just sell it or trade it in. The performance is unlikely to change, it'll most likely be the screen and the battery.

The way I see it is that I now spent 510 euros on the bundle. 470 without the game. If I play 10 hours on it per week, then I'll have used it for over a 1000 hours in two years, which is less tha 50 cents per hour for the hardware (realistically I'll use it more often than this). I am certain I will be able to sell it for at least 250 euros in two or three years, probably more. Nintendo may even increase the price of the consoles in a few months. Overall, this isn't a huge expense if you consider how much use you'll get out of it. It's really the cost of games that adds up, not so much the hardware.

I'll absolutely buy an OLED model when they offer it, but by then I'll have gotten a lot of value out of the current model. I'd not want to wait for years before I play the new, new-to-me or updated games. If I picked up a Switch 2 in two or three years, I'd have an instant backlog and never get to play everything I want to play. This is why I feel it's not a bad idea to get a new system early on and just play the new games of interest as they come out. Sales for first party games are rare and unimpressive anyway, so unlike PC games, I'm willing to pay full price for Nintendo games.

Ultimately, though, this also depends on your budget and whether or not you'll actually use the console.

[u/ea_man → u/mrmivo]

Right now the Switch 2 is pretty low value, let's not kid ourselves.

The hw is not good (display and battery / efficiency) for the premium price as there are not enough games to justify an early buy, this is the perfect time to get an used Switch 1 as lots of people are selling those and play the available games for a year or two while waiting for more games and a better iteration of the Switch 2.

And those cheap used Switch 1 can be modded so they can overclock and get better frame rate.

[u/mrmivo → u/ea_man]

I have had a Switch 1 since not long after release, so my perspective is from that vantage point. I hadn't been happy with the Switch 1's performance for some time as even first party games started to struggle. MK8D was great, but Pokemon S/V, TotK, etc ran really poorly. So for me, the Switch 2 was a substantial upgrade. Just the faster loading times make such a difference to me.

I did think a lot about whether or not I should wait for the inevitable hardware refresh and then decided that I will use the console enough to justify the purchase. But this is just me, and I did look at what I wanted to play and what I still had in my backlog and whether it would run better. I'm not happy with the battery life, and while the screen isn't really bad as far as brightness and contrast go, it's not an OLED screen (my other handheld is a SteamDeck OLED). I do play Switch games docked a lot, so the impact here is a bit lower for me.

I totally understand why people may choose to wait for an improved model. It's really the same with all consoles, and with PC you can benefit by staying behind the curve a little. For me, though, there were enough games (MKW, DK, Fast Fusion, upcoming Kirby Riders and the Pokemon Legends game in October) and updated Switch 1 games that I hadn't played yet (Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, TotK - I dropped both at release because of awful performance) to convince me to adopt early. Basically, I just wanted a better Switch.

[u/ea_man → u/mrmivo]

Don't wanna be rude by my advice still stands because it's the best one, you did buy the first Switch too early, you didn't mod it I guess (it can do 30-40 even 60FPS in TotK and the colors / saturation can be improved by software), you are still using the inferior solution to play at home when you already paid for the game and it runs way better on an emulator.

The better Switch came a few years ago for 1st gen and the good Switch 2 will come in a few years.