Topic: Do You Use the Switch as a Handheld or Home Console?

Roughly split, with maybe a little more handheld. I guess I'm exactly the target audience for it!

Only brought my Switch out of my house once when I was on a trip. I use my New 2DS XL for portable gaming. However, I play the Switch in handheld mode on my couch because it feels better, you can see better, and to me it looks better. The only time I play on my TV is if it dies and I need to keep playing, or I'm playing with someone else locally.

Usually a handheld. Like 75% of the time I’m either using my Switch away from home or at home in handheld mode.

100% handheld. I've still not plugged it into my tv...

100% handheld, havnt even hooked it up to the tv yet

If, & when I get a NS, I see no reason to take it with me. As expensive as it is, the fact that my 3DS still works just enough for Smash, & that I only take my laptop with me, when I know I will need it, I would probably use the NS primarily hooked to my tv. I don't like to unnecessarily carry around expensive equipment, since replacing it would be economically difficult for me.

Mainly as a handheld. As I didn't use to play a lot, I must say I truly love the fact that the Switch is so adaptable. The highlights are weekends playing with friends with the Switch docked, but I use my Switch so much more than I have previous consoles just because I can bring it with me when I travel. I think I've already used it more than I ever did my Wii.

@Capt_N
I never really take my portables out of the house but that doesn't make it an advantage. I personally just like to be able to play games without having to turn on the TV. It's just so much more convenient and I'm more likely to finish a game if I don't have to set aside the time to play it. Ignoring PC games because my Steam backlog is massive for this very reason, here is the completion rate I've had for recent consoles....

DS: 80%
Wii: 50%
3DS: 85%
Wii U: 90% (I loved the Wii U because off-TV play was amazing for this reason)

I have LA Noire and Doom sitting in my "games to beat" category in my Steam Library. I'm tempted to buy them on the Switch because I know if I had them on the Switch I would have finished them by now. Purely because I wouldn't have to physically sit myself down either at my desk or infront of the TV to play them.

Mostly handheld even when I'm in my living room with my giant TV. Not entirely sure why I just like holding the thing.

I suppose if Nintendo were to release a handheld only version of the Switch, there might be a bigger market than I thought. With the people who would like a handheld only, combined with the people who have multiple gamers in their family, and would like to play some multiplayer games together locally on different devices, it might do fairly well.

Why not both? (silly question.)

@skywake: While you're on-the-go/out-n-about, do you play any games on a laptop? You mentioned Steam, so I was curious.

Initially used it almost all the time as a home console. Starting to use it more and more as a handheld lately and bringing it to work for lunchtime games with mates.

90% handheld mode
10% tabletop mode (for point n click games)
0% docked

It was about 50-50 but since the arrival of our youngest (1 month old now) 70-30 for Handheld mode.

Lovin' dat flaxibiliteh

@Capt_N
I haven't brought a new laptop in years because between my phone and my PC I haven't really needed one. And even if I did buy a new one it wouldn't be one built for games. I think the Switch fits that role for me far better than a laptop would on the odd occasion that I do want to pick up a device to play games away from home. Though on a day-to-day basis I'm fine with just taking my phone with me.

Handheld at home, mostly. It rests in the dock so it's always fully charged. But when I want to play, I mostly take it out and walk around the apartment until I find a comfortable place. Could be at desk, on the sofa or in a rocking chair. Maybe 10% is in docked but I use my TV setup mostly for high quality sound and the Switch doesn't really provide that. I get a better experience with headphones.

Could also be because the left joycon has issues with Zelda and that still hasn't been fixed.

I use it in all modes to some degree.

Wife watching something on TV that I hate, or it's something I don't mind watching but doesn't need my full attention per se, then in portable mode.

Tabletop mode for when I really want to hold a controller properly but am unable to use the main TV (least used method admittedly)

On those oh so rarrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee occasions my wife may be out and my children are in bed asleep, I will play docked on the big TV.

And although I promised myself I would never take it to work, Mario and Rabbids changed all that for me lol as once I started that game, I fell in love with it and I knew that it was one of those games where whenever I wasn't playing it, I knew I would want to be lol. So I went and bought a swanky case and now play the game whenever I get a chance at work too. 25+ hours in so far due to the portability factor which I would not have been able to do on any other console, including the Wii U which I still own, love and cherish (off screen play to me personally is the single best thing to come out in gaming in about a decade and a half if not more; actually, I wish off screen play full stop was ALWAYS available as far back as the 80's, so it might just be the best thing ever full stop lol).

The amount of games I could have found time for or completed the past 10+ years if I could have played off screen/portable mode would be so vast.

I like it on home console the best, but seem to use it in handheld the most (like taking it to work for lunch breaks, etc).

I would make this a separate question, but it's kinda related to this topic. How has anyone here, who uses their NS primarily as a portable/handheld, found the durability limits of the handheld? Obviously, I know you're not going to purposely knock it into things, whether inside a travel bag, or whatnot, but I was curious how it stands up to minor accidents, such as its holding bad being swung into something hard, &/or sharp, or when the tabletop stand is perhaps quickly set up improperly, & falls over. Those kinds of accidents.