Nintendo Switch: Five Accessories You Need To Buy

The Nintendo Switch is already shaping up to be one of the most disruptive gadgets in recent years.

We can’t reveal too much about the games we’ve been playing but what we will say is that the hardware itself is brilliant.

However, in the short time we’ve been using the Switch we’ve realised that to make the most of your £300 console and to make sure that it survives day-to-day usage you’re unfortunately going to need to spend a bit extra.

To help add some perspective to the final cost of the Switch, we’ve put together a list of what we think are must-have accessories that’ll make sure your Switch actually works the way you want it to and survives the odd drop or two.

1. MicroSD Card

If you haven’t already heard, the Nintendo Switch comes with 32GB of onboard storage. That’s not very much.

While the physical game cards will only use the Switch’s 32GB for save game files, if you want to actually download your games digitally from Nintendo’s eShop then without one of these you’re going to get frustrated, fast.

Considering Zelda is over 10GB in size it’s not hard to imagine that after a few months you’re going to be struggling to keep more than a couple of games on the Switch at any one time.

Thankfully it comes with a microSD card slot that will support cards up to a staggering 2TB (they don’t exist yet). MicroSD cards are a lot cheaper than they used to be and so you should be able to pick up a 128GB card for about £40.

Price: £20-100+ from Amazon

2. Screen Protector

Now normally a screen protector is just something you would get as a luxury to prevent yourself from staring at that one scratch you got from a set of keys that’s now driving you insane.

Nintendo’s Switch is, not that you need reminding, £300 worth of games console. If Nintendo wants you to start chucking it around on the go you’re going to want to protect that beautiful 6.2-inch screen.

Price: £14.99 from Game.co.uk/Amazon

3. Carrying Case

Now this again might seem self-explanatory but don’t come crying to us when those beloved JoyCons take one trip too many in your backpack and eventually head off to the place in the sky where all Nintendo peripherals go to die.

Yes they’re sturdier than we expected them to be but they are by no means sturdy enough to survive being thrown around your bag day after day.

Also in the week we’ve been using them a deep fear has dawned on us. Break just one of those and that’s £42, break both and you’re looking at an eye-watering £74.99. Buy a case already.

Price: £16.99 from Game.co.uk

4. Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

”But I already have a controller?” we hear you cry.

Yes you do, and in fact you have two if you turn each JoyCon controller sideways. However, in our time using it we’ve found that while Nintendo has done a remarkable job creating a controller that can work on the go and at home it’s far from perfect.

Playing Zelda with the JoyCons is not an entirely enjoyable experience. Also while it’s true that we grinned with glee as we turned them sideways and played Mario Kart the JoyCons feel primarily designed for playing outside, when you need something that’s infinitely portable.

So what do you do?

Well what you don’t do is spend another £74.99 on another set of JoyCons. Instead we’d suggest you wait until there’s a cheaper third-party controller available OR invest in the still very-pricey-but-at-least-it’s-cheaper £64.99 on this, the Pro. It’s a joy to use and it does exactly what it say on the tin.

Price: £64.99 from Game.co.uk/Amazon

5. Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Grip

For reasons known only to Nintendo your brand-new Switch comes with a Grip that will hold the JoyCon controllers but does not have the ability to charge them.

Instead if they run out mid-play you will need to either connect them to the console and play in Portable Mode or just go and make a cup of tea for an hour.

To help fix this problem, they have very helpfully released a Grip that not only holds the JoyCons but will also charge them at the same time. They charge using USB-C, just like the Switch and every other Switch accessory so at least you won’t need to get yourself another cable.

Price: £27.99 from Game.co.uk/Amazon

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