I love how much thought was put into making the Switch 2 accessible from a design point of view. If you look at one of the games that dropped during the launch, Drag and Drive, it utilizes the Switch 2’s new gyroscopic mouse feature! Drag and Drive is a sports game about wheelchair basketball, and is played by using the Switch 2 joycons in “mouse” mode; the remote stays relatively in one area on a flat surface like a computer mouse. It’s a game that truely cares about disabled people, not just because it’s actually about wheelchair basketball, but because the gameplay itself is designed to be friendly to a player with limited mobility. The original joycons can be hard to use if you have large hands, arthritis, limb difference, etc. Mouse mode is a really great opportunity to make controller video games more accessible to everyone in the future!
Additionally, I really appreciated the idea of the Switch 2 tutorial game. A game that goes through and shows you how and why each choice is made, how the electronics work, and the deep explanations behind decisions is refreshing after so much ai slop. Plus, it’s a great way for kids to understand how technology actually works, instead of never questioning the magical game screen. I hope it will help teach younger kids why taking care of their possessions is important. I’m honestly excited to play it!
Honestly, is the console pricey? Yeah. But if you’re a family of four, it’s not an unreasonable investment if you’ve already skipped on buying all the other expensive consoles. It also gives your children a way to stream to their friends in a way that also is far more safe than letting your child have a discord account. Plus, they’re bringing back DS Download Play, meaning you won’t always have to buy an entire 60 dollar game, and instead your child can just play their friends copy when they go over to their house. And, if you have limited mobility, you can still play some of the games and possibly attach other adaptive devices with the two usbc ports in addition to mouse mode. It’s pricier, but it could be a worthwhile investment for those who could really benefit from all the new upgrades!
Are the games also pricey? Of course they are. But if you’re a family of 4 or a group of people who receive funding, you don’t need the $60 Zelda game. All you NEED is the Switch 2 and an online membership, and you can play Mario Kart plus hundreds of classic Nintendo titles through their emulators which all come free with the account. Places like senior centers, community clubs, youth groups, churches, hospitals, etc. that have enough funding to buy them are going to all benefit from having a Switch 2 from the accessibility alone. Yeah, it sucks if you’re a single adult getting paid minimum wage or whatever Your Specific Situation Is, but the world is made up of All Kinds of people who could really use the kind of joy a video game can bring, even if it’s only for a couple hours with grandma.
It’s very refreshing to see something designed with real average people in mind, instead of the elite hyper gamer streamer who can afford to spend $500 on a microphone alone.
