TL:DR Playstation gaming and fifa was making me miserable and obsessive, and the switch has brought colour, relief and fun into my life and i never want to go back.
Ive been an avid gamer my whole life, its probably been my main hobby. Started off with the ds and the wii, then to Xbox 360, ps4 then ps5.
As ive grown into adulthood, gaming has felt like a chore. Id end up sitting on fifa (or EAFC now) absolutely hating it but simply couldnt face loading another game up. And when another game did peak my interest, id play it for like a week or two then get bored and go back to fifa. I was miserable, my main hobby became infuriating, i felt like a slob just sat doing nothing meaningful. Sometimes id fancy playing something else, or on another console, but the fear of starting something new or (and this sounds daft) not being able to earn achievements or something made it feel like a waste of time. This boredom meant i was just sat, either playing a game i was hating or just sat on my phone.
About a year ago, a mate of mine sold me his OLED switch. Bearing in mind id had a couple of normal switch’s before, and ended up trading them at some point. Apart from one holiday where i grinded Lego Star Wars skywalker saga, it still just sat dormant.
Then, about a month ago, something really strange just clicked in my head. Id been going over to my brothers to play daft old games like stuntman and fight night, so maybe that had an effect, or maybe it was the teasers of the ocarina of time remake, but all of a sudden i has this mega urge to play my switch.
Im from the UK and we have an app called Vinted, like ebay but better and cheaper, so i bought Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity - brilliant game. i loved it. Then i got more. Switch Sports, 1-2 Switch, 51 Worldwide games, Tears of the Kingdom….
I was hooked. I got so many games, all physical, a couple of super cheap indie games or daft games off the nintendo shop, started playing nintendo classics, it was unreal. i was HAVING FUN! For the first time in a long time i was having fun playing games. Im not sure if its that alot of the games i was playing were more ‘harmless’ - the cartoony images and colours of Link and Mario etc were just so calming, or it was the vast array of pick up and play games that i could play for 20 minutes then pack it up, or if it was the handheld nature, but gaming felt fun and completely unshackled. i felt free, the lack of achievements made me happy playing anything i wanted, and after getting Mario Kart i felt like a carefree child in an adult body.
All of this gaming made me convince myself i needed a switch 2, so i got one. With Switch Sports resort (wii sports resort table tennis was something i loved as a kid) and the ocarina of time remake (my dad used to tell me about the original, and i completed the 3d remake, so its got a sentimental factor for me) i just felt so happy.
The switch 2 is a dream. its an amazing console. It feels premium, its powerful, the game selection is incredible - it feels like the ultimate adult console that helps you relax and see the fun in life. With games like mario kart and 51 clubhouse games, my girlfiend and i are also playing together alot, which has been really really nice, and with mario and sonic at the olympics or switch sports its given me and my brother some awesome nostalgic playing together, its just amazing.
So at the end of the day, the switch and switch 2 have given me a new lease on life. i feel happier, i feel more fun, i dont feel down, or like a slob - im not obsessing over the games i play or the amount of mental energy they take, im just having fun. and i dont want it to stop!
since my lightbulb moment ive set up a gaming collection on my shelf which i thought id share!
Thanks for reading!!
