I've seen VR, AR, iPhones, smartwatches, laptops and robots. But the gadget that impressed me the most, by a longshot, was the Nintendo Switch.
It was a familiar story. Nintendo has a weird, wild idea. Detachable controls on a tablet. A dock that turns a handheld into a console. Even the name of the little wireless, button-studded mini-remotes was weird: Joy-Cons.
Nintendo's done this before. The minimalist, motion-control-driven Nintendo Wii and its deconstructed remote control. The bizarre two-screened, stylus-laden Nintendo DS.
I had some preparation this time, however. In fact, Razer had an idea that was incredibly similar for Windows PCs just a few years before, called the Razer Edge. When I reviewed it, I thought it was a sign of the future: it could transform from handheld to console, changing its form. Then there was the Nvidia Shield, the true predecessor of the Switch, which started as a funky Android game handheld with a flip-up screen and became a dockable, switchable tablet. I thought that was cool, too
Nintendo, obviously, agreed (and put Nvidia's Tegra processor into the Switch, too).
Now that the Switch has become a success, and a must-have holiday toy, it's also a real showcase of how a modular piece of tech can work. Nintendo's game lineup for the Switch has been stellar. It's also fun and easy to use.
And, I bet, 2018 is going to be full of companies trying to pull off the same trick.
I can't wait for some of the ideas. I also hope things don't go overboard.
The Nintendo Switch, unplugged.
Perfect storm: Price, hardware design, software support
The Switch's ideas already existed: the Nvidia Shield Tablet was a test run, but the Switch did it better. Nintendo's games, from both first and third parties have been stellar. Its new Zelda and Mario games are ones for the ages. Nintendo's also done a great job rounding up indie game developers and producing a collection of decently priced software, with titles like Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Thumper and Steamworld Dig 2.
Meanwhile, the price of the Switch hovers right at the border between impulse buy and splurge. No, the $300, £280 or AU$470 price isn't cheap, but it's a completely fair price for a handheld and console with two controllers embeded in box.
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