When it comes to the Switch's main hardware, one of the sticking points for some seems to be that the battery life is a little less than ideal. Perhaps two to six hours won't last on the longest of car rides, but considering the kind of games that can be run on the Switch, it's certainly something that can be looked past. It's a given that the more resource intensive games will drain the battery faster, and now the numbers have come in on how long one can expect to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe when out and about.
GameRant recently conducted a test of the game on a fully charged battery with the screen brightness sitting at about 30%. The Switch unit managed to stick it out for three hours, nine minutes, and twenty seconds before biting the dust, roughly the same amount of time that it takes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to drain a battery. Not too shabby, though perhaps you'll want to consider a portable charger for longer sessions on the go.
What do you think? Are you satisfied with the Switch's battery? Will you be getting Mario Kart 8 DX? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source gamerant.com]
Comments (43)
Maybe the port should have been ported more. Then the battery life could have been better.
Not gonna lie that kinda doesn't matter, I mean who has over 3 hours of mario kart.
Problem is the other multiplayer games will be cut short because of this power beast and that stinks. And right as I was getting hopeful for full LAN sessions :/
Sounds about right.
The official Zelda line was 2.5-3 hours and I consistently get 3:20 with the screen at 75% and Wifi off. I'm guessing I will get over 3 using the same conditions with MK8.
I wonder if a new Castlevania game would suck the battery life even faster?
3 hours' enough. I'd rather play in TV Mode.
I doubt I'll be playing Mario Kart online for 3 hours straight, so it doesn't bother me!
I play in portable mode in my house and in the car (yes I ask my wife to drive so I can play Zelda) in the house I can plug it in and in the car I can plug it in so even though I've had the Switch for a month and a half I've never actually killed the battery
Does anyone really play with the brightness at only 30%?I'm a 100% till it dies guy with everything.
As long as the online gameplay is stable and playable unlike bomberman r
I'm not buying it again when I've still got my Wii U hooked up and buying games for it.
I might get it later when its not going for the Deluxe price it is on release.
@Freek I'm in the same boat. I really want this for the portable multiplayer (2 players anywhere is huge), but aside from that there's nothing that tempts me. I already have all the DLC, and don't really care all that much about a battle mode.
As long as I remember to charge my Switch at home, this battery span should be just fine. My car/bus rides to and from college are roughly 3 hours and if I take the train to my friends' school it's usually just an hour. And as long as my AT&T connection isn't too shabby, I should be able to turn on my iPhone hotspot and play online Mario Kart 8 on the go... the future is incredible!
@SwitchVogel
Exactly the way I feel.
It's way too much for us Wii U owners considering we supported it once already.
This should've been released near the end of the year as a Christmas filler and a new game like Arms or even an update of an older Wii U game like DK Tropical Freeze with added local co op would've been preferred.
MK 8 is just isn't old enough for those of us who stuck with them.
I know Wii U only sold 13 million or so and there are a lot of new Nintendo supporters but I'm sure there are about 10 million of us who feel just a little cheated.
I usually play Mario Kart games between 30 minutes - 1 hour (3DS/Wii/Wii U), so I think I will have enough Battery power to play another games on Switch after playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Will there be a difference when playing offline vs online? Just curious.
@Freek Tropical Freeze already has local co-op.
I don't think it's that bad... considering you can play 6 half hour runs.
The Switch is more like a home console that can be taken on the go, rather than a portable console that can be plugged into a TV, so 3 hours is plenty... it's more than any other home console.
I actually prefer to play in handheld mode even when at home as it frees up the TV for others and I've gotten into the habit of moving from room to room while playing, but I think I've only ever had a problem with a low battery interrupting gameplay once, and that wasn't long after it was released... the rest of the time my play sessions tend to last for under 3 hours anyway.
As for MK8DX... I have the original on Wii U already (two copies, actually, due to a shipping error resulting in me being sent a digital code when my physical copy was delayed) so I was reluctant about getting it again, but it is such a fun game I know I will play it a lot, especially now that I can take it out with me to play with others away from a TV, so I've given in and pre-orderd it.
This is good enough for me, I rarely get the opportunity to play 3 hours of anything.
@OorWullie
On separate consoles?
That's what I meant.
Imagine playing 2 player co op on your own console with your friend on theirs.
That is a reason to get excited!
Not a tacked on battle mode is all I'm saying.
@Freek I feel the same, as someone who already owns it on Wii U + the dlc I feel as though the Switch version would just be a waste of money especially since I don't care for the battle mode or any of the other minor additions made.
@Freek I feel the same. I usually play local and online and never really play battle mode
I have wiiu version with all dlc. What exactly more will the Switch version offer?
The game will also let you change your character and kart while you're in the online lobby.
Take note Splatoon 2.
@Freek Exactly! Someone gets it!
The battery life on these games are getting to be a problem. I'll definitely be buying a portable charger or that crowd-funded case in the future.
I play almost exclusively in handheld mode, and I'm getting closer to 4-5 hours off each charge mainly playing Zelda. I also turn it into airplane mode and keep brightness at like 1/2.
I'm going to hold them to that, because I get the feeling that my Switch's battery life feels much shorter than usual. Granted, I've only played BOTW on it so far, but it still concerns me.
@SwitchVogel " I really want this for the portable multiplayer (2 players anywhere is huge)"
Is it really though? I mean honestly, I see some folks around here talking about how playing this portably against others with the joy cons horizontal is a big deal, but in practice is this really going to be a thing people end up doing more than once or twice for the novelty factor? I suspect not.
@Grawlog "Even without MK8 I have a good chunk of high quality games from just about every genre to play on my Switch."
I find this extremely hard to believe. What do you define as "just about every genre" exactly?
@Grawlog again, very niche. And very specific to what is satisfying your needs in gaming. Until the likes of sports, FPS and racing (at least this is geting there) start flooding the Switch, it will never be seen as more than a secondary console for the masses.
Right now, Switch is kind of the new Vita. Not necessarily a main stream success. And trust me, Nintendo and its investors want the next Wii/PS2 every single time they roll out a new product.
Yup, bout what I expect for all major releases.
I've found the battery life with Zelda to be just enough without charging, but if I do need to charge it's no big deal. I keep a charger in my case, portable battery in my case, tripod for charging in tabletop mode in my case, phone charger in my case for online hotspot...
Everything I need to play as long as I want, wherever I want.
People at my work have a blast just watching me play Zelda, but also play Fast RMX with me in tabletop mode, and SnipperClips. Mario Kart though, this is a game we're gonna play every single day at shift change.
I may keep me a pair of Joycon grips in my droor for more comfortable MP since it's gonna be a regular thing. But now that my other co-worker asked me to find him a Switch, once he gets one we can each play on our own screen using my hotspot, since he actually works in the lab with me. I have another coworker in the lab who bought one, but his thieving girlfriend stole it and sold it, along with $80 from his wallet and CC purchases behind his back. Feel bad for the guy.
I manage to get over 4 hours out of my system on battery. Just have WiFi off and screen right down. It's still more than bright enough.
How is three hours of gaming on the go not enough? Where do you play out in public for that long and how can you think those little joy cons aren't going to cramp your hands up in multiplayer after an hour or 2? seriously three hours is more than enough then you go home and put it on the dock or on the charger. If you really need to or are staying overnight at a friends house without a switch the Anker battery pack charges my switch while I play.
@Grawlog
Well said! But this guy looks to argue any chance he gets, and you were his new target.
@Agent721 no I just say things a lot of Nintendo faithful doesn't like to hear.
I used to be one, I'd buy anything Nintendo put out without second thought and justified it with "but it's the Nintendo difference" or some nonsense.
You guys will come around too.
@gatorboi352
Ok, fair enough. Just so you know, I own every single console. I changed over to gaming on everything during the Wii era, as I was totally unsastisfied with the console! Glad I did, or I would've missed out on Red Dead, GTAIV and a bunch of other games. Red Dead is probably my all time favorite game, although BotW is now giving it a run for its money.
I love all gaming... those who stick to one console miss out! My Nintendo fanboy days ended a while ago. Still love them, but I'm console agnostic now! Looking forward to what MSFT does with Scorpio.
@Agent721 I am too, Scorpio looks promising. Disclaimer: I've never cared for portable gaming and always loved the technical superiority both the N64 and GCN held over their competition.
@gatorboi352
Same here! Lets hope MSFT has some good exclusive games planned for it at launch.
I like any sort of gaming as long as its good, but historically, I've done mostly home gaming as well.
I have never taken the Switch out of my house, and don't think I ever will. I still play handheld mode a lot because I like it. I don't have a problem with the battery life at all, it's fine for me. And I will get the new Mario Kart
I play almost exclusively in handheld mode in the house (when the TV is free I usually play PS4) and find the battery life to be fine. I think by now we can just accept that all major releases will have the same battery use, as for the game I had it on Wii U so the only pull for me is it finally having a true battle mode so I'm still on the fence
I don't know if that's good or bad, but I'm definitely angry at Nintendo!
@SLIGEACH_EIRE holy crap yes
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