I feel like Nintendo are maybe the luckiest company in gaming. I'm not convinced that anyone interested in the business has what they have. People want to like them. We all want Nintendo to succeed, right? We want all gaming companies to make good stuff and have a good time in the industry but my first console being a Sega Mega Drive and PlayStation being my third parent/prime gaming hub for the last twenty years, there is still no company out there that I root for like I do Nintendo. I want to love them. I want us to be happy together.

At the same time, no company seems as resistant to this love as they are. Since the days of the Gamecube and even as far back as the N64, I've wanted to like Nintendo. they produce some of the most polished titles in the business, and have some of the most loveable characters you can find in a video game. The Nintendo Wii was of course a massive hit commercially, but that success didn't feel like it spoke to me. Families around the world adored the innovative motion controls, but that doesn't mean the console or its games ever appealed to me, outside of Mario Kart Wii or Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The Wii U was a whole other situation. Stuck somewhere between the mass appeal of the Wii and the ‘core’ gamer appeal of other consoles in the market it felt confused and like a horribly wasted opportunity. The nature of the Wii U Gamepad was half baked, a plasticky toy that didn't do anything you wanted particularly well.

“Oh so I don't need my TV? I can just take it anywhere…...but not out of the house.....or the living room…..so just on a smaller uglier screen then……ok cool…...nm”

It felt cheap and any games that tried to make use of the motion control elements were just awful. See Starfox Zero for further examples of that.

I guess what I’m getting at is that I want to like these Nintendo machines, but I just haven't been able to.

I really REALLY like the Switch though. It’s littered with neat little features or unique selling points or gimmicks or whatever you want to call them. The joy-cons are fine and the motion stuff is cool but whatever. I'm not interested in that. Frankly not even the dock interests me. I can honestly say it's probably going to be nothing more than a charging dock in my place​. I think the Switch will work best for me as a core, fully supported handheld/home console that takes number one priority in the eye of Nintendo. I’ll treat it like a super handheld. It could be everything I wish Sony would have made the PS Vita. It will be the console i pick up first.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sealed this for me. I said a bit about the Wii U but that machine doesn't hamper the fact that Mario Kart 8 was one of my favourite titles of that year. Zelda: Breath of the Wild fills the hole that is usually occupied by big AAA first or third party RPG’s. There seems to be some pretty strong support for Indie titles on the Nindie scene too (that name though :s) and ultimately the best of Nintendo, which is often the best in the business, will be found on a strong, solid, and nicely designed bit of kit.

Third party support is still a big question for this year, and we really need to talk about the ongoing frustration that is the Nintendo back catalogue, but if they can get even one of these right, it may just balance out failings on the other. No major third party releases because it's a little light on power. No biggie. Just let me catch up on games like Luigi's’ Mansion or Wind Waker. Sure, I'll play Mario Kart 8 and Smash 4 again. I don't need third party if you give me access to a collection of old games from one of the best 1st party publishers in the world. I really think they could get this one so, so right.

My PS4 won't be going anywhere, but it may be gathering a thick layer of dust in the next year should Nintendo play their cards right.

Here's hoping.

They don't play the best hands all that often…..ironic right.

(Get it…they used to make playing cards...come on guys…give me this.)