The Nintendo Switch has been out for nearly a year and a half now, and nearly 20 million of them have already been sold. If you still haven't gotten on the Switch train, it can seem a little daunting where to begin.
Not to worry. We've put together a handful of accessories and games to get you started off on the right foot. If we were buying the Switch today, this is what we'd want to start with.
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Tomtoc Ultra-Slim Case. ($18 for gray, $20 for black)
This portable hardshell carrying case protects the Switch and holds up to 8 game cartridges.
It sports an EVA hardshell with special indentations that insulate the Switch's joysticks and buttons against direct pressure from outside. The interior is lined with flannelette, a light cotton fabric that keeps the device from being scratched up, while the exterior is wrapped in a high-quality cloth material that both ensures a comfy grip and resists water/spills.
To top off all these premium materials, the case even uses a YKK zipper for the smoothest opening and closing action.
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PowerA premium game card case. ($6–$13, depending on model)
If your game collection grows beyond what the Switch case above can hold, we recommend also getting one of these game-inspired cartridge cases. Each one is officially licensed by Nintendo and stores up to 12 games and 12 microSD cards. They've got half a dozen to choose from:
- Question Block
- Zelda "Z"
- Zelda Crest
- Mario "M"
- Minecraft Creeper
- POW -
Four of Our Favorite Games:
There are over 1,200 Nintendo Switch games on the market, which makes it pretty hard to decide where to begin. To narrow things down for you, here are just four of our favorites that we feel make a solid starting list:
- Owlboy ($30) — More info here
- Splatoon 2 ($53) — More info here
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ($55) — Arguably one of the best games ever made. We recommend listening to Federico Viticci and Myke Hurley's review on episode 31 of their Remaster podcast.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ($54) — What is a Nintendo console experience without a Mario Kart game? -
SteelSeries Arctis Bluetooth headphones. ($100)
Not only do these headphones sound awesome and feel super comfortable to wear, they also sport both a 3.5mm wired connection and Bluetooth connectivity. What this means for you is that you can be listening to your game audio over the wired connection while pairing the headphones with a second device, whether it's to play some music or chat with teammates using an app like Discord.
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PowerA's Joy-Con charging dock. ($21)
One of the Switch's biggest selling points is that up to eight Joy-Con controllers (four lefts + four rights) can be paired to the same console for multiplayer gameplay. When it comes time to charge all those controllers, the official Joy-Con charging dock by PowerA can handle up to four at a time. More info here.