Don’t buy a Nintendo Switch without these vital accessories

Don't buy a Nintendo Switch without these vital accessories

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Nintendo Switch is 1 of the few game consoles that you can actually find correct now. While Nintendo's hybrid handheld is not nearly as powerful equally a PS5 or Xbox Serial X, we tin actually help you find where to buy the Nintendo Switch, which is more than nosotros can say nigh Sony or Microsoft's consoles.

Every bit such, if you're hunting for Christmas gifts, a Nintendo Switch is a strong option, especially due to its excellent game library and like shooting fish in a barrel portability.

Still, if you pick up a Switch for yourself or a loved one, yous'll quickly find that in that location'southward not much in the box. For $300, you get the Switch, 2 Joy-Con controllers and not much else. (Some bundles include Mario Kart eight, which is a good party game, but might not hold your attention for that long otherwise.)

In other words, if all you buy is the Switch itself, you'll discover yourself with nil to play, no way to carry the device and a disappointing set of controllers.

During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, my colleagues and I uncovered a variety of Nintendo Switch deals, and started talking amongst ourselves most which Switch accessories were indispensable, and which ones were only nice to have. If y'all pick upward a Nintendo Switch this holiday, and want to get the nigh out of information technology, here are the three things you should buy alongside your new console.

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

Having to spend $70 on a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller every bit shortly as yous buy the console is admittedly a kick in the pants. Nintendo should accept made its Joy-Cons more comfy, or at to the lowest degree given prospective buyers the option of choosing a regular controller rather than ii tiny, detachable ones. Only the fact is, the Joy-Cons are non slap-up peripherals and the Nintendo Switch Pro controller is. This is specially truthful for teenage- and adult-sized hands.

If you've never played with them before, the Joy-Cons are odd beasts. Rather than a traditional controller, the Switch comes with two small, detachable ones that live on either side of the console's central tablet. These are fine when you're playing in handheld mode. But when you hook your Switch upward to a TV dock, yous have to either concord the Joy-Cons in your easily like movement controllers, or snap them into a cheap-feeling controller mount. The mount puts the analog sticks at odd angles from 1 another. It also puts a ton of altitude between some buttons, while cramping other ones entirely too close together.

The Switch Pro Controller mimics a more than traditional Xbox-style peripheral, with large hand grips, comfortable shoulder buttons and a existent D-pad. Information technology'southward larger and easier on the easily, and the battery lasts for upwards to 40 hours. You could treat gaming like a full-time job, and even so have to charge it just once per week.

While there'south no excuse for the peripheral's loftier cost (or its lack of an 3.v mm audio jack), the Switch Pro Controller is a necessity if you intend to dock your Switch and play involved, unmarried-actor adventures for hours at a fourth dimension.

Nintendo Switch Carrying Example

While it'south not every bit exciting every bit a make-new game or as intriguing every bit a circuitous controller, you do demand a carrying case for your Nintendo Switch. Whether you opt for the traditional LCD screen or the fancier Switch OLED, the screen is not impervious to damage — particularly when you stash it in a bag with your keys, coins, laptop and other everyday necessities with sharp edges. Even if you opt for a hard screen protector, a case is still necessary to protect the inner workings of the Switch from grit and debris.

At that place are thousands of Switch carrying cases, and they all accept pros and cons. Some are uncomplicated and inexpensive, with just a fiddling padding and a zipper. Others are elaborate and pricey, offering extra features such as portable chargers and dedicated controller compartments.

While I can't make a coating recommendation for Switch cases, I can tell yous virtually the one that I have: the official Nintendo Switch carrying example, which retails for $twenty and is about as straightforward as they come. It's a Switch-shaped case with padding on both sides, slots for v games and a foldable console rest. It also comes with a screen protector.

When I first got my Switch, a clerk at the Nintendo Store in Manhattan recommended this one — even though they were out of stock. The fact that he would rather send me home empty-handed than sell me a different example spoke volumes.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Okay, technically this isn't an accessory. Only it is essential. While he was hunting for Black Friday sales to highlight in an commodity, i of my coworkers asked me what I though the most of import Switch-related purchase was. Without missing a vanquish, I recommended The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

After 4 years of hype, I'm bold you've heard something near Jiff of the Wild by now. Tom's Guide gave the game an unprecedented five out of 5 stars in our Jiff of the Wild review; we proceeded to proper name it the best game of the decade. Breath of the Wild isn't just the best game on the Switch; information technology'due south one of the best games Nintendo has ever made, period.

For those who haven't played it notwithstanding, Breath of the Wild takes the traditional Zelda story and turns it on its caput. In this expansive fantasy epic, Link has failed in his quest to relieve Hyrule, and awakens from suspended blitheness 100 years later with one terminal chance to salvage the earth from the evil Cataclysm Ganon. To practise so, he'll have to explore the enormous map of Hyrule, from its snowy mountains and desert canyons, to its rolling grasslands and rocky coastlines. The sheer scope of the game is incredible, buoyed by 120 heed-bending puzzles and tons of equipment that yous can customize every bit you see fit.

Simply put, if you accept a Switch, you demand Breath of the Wild to get with it. And if you don't accept a Switch, you should consider buying ane, if just for Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo Switch propped up on desk with Animal Crossing New Horizons image on screen. — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

If you lot follow this advice to the alphabetic character, your Switch purchase could current of air up looking pretty expensive. Between $300 for the panel, $60 for the game, $seventy for the controller and $20 for the carrying case, you lot're looking at $450 altogether — essentially a Switch plus one-half the cost of another Switch.

And yet, I think these three things can elevate your whole Switch experience. You need something to play, and Jiff of the Wild is as good as it gets. The Pro Controller lets yous play for long periods of fourth dimension without hand cramps or recharging. And a conveying case means you can accept your console with you anywhere.

Besides, information technology'southward still $l less than a PS5 or Xbox Series X — and you lot can actually find everything I've mentioned here in stock before Christmas. That solitary could relieve you a lot of vacation grief.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing groundwork, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Later on hours, you lot tin can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.