The Nintendo Switch changed what I want from video games

theverge.com:

For most of my life, there were two kinds of video games: those you played at home and those you played on a handheld. There was a clear distinction. Even when a powerful device came along, like the PlayStation Vita with its “console-quality” graphics, you could still pretty much always tell the difference; games had their own feel based on the platform. Metroid on the GameCube was very different from Metroid on the Game Boy Advance. But that all changed when the Nintendo Switch launched five years ago.

I stumbled upon the power of Nintendo’s tablet in a unique way. Back in 2017, I was tasked with reviewing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a gigantic open-world game that upended the classic Zelda formula. I started out playing it in my living room, much like I had with past games in the series. It felt right. But then I had to cover the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which meant hours spent on airplanes, in hotel rooms, and waiting in long lines inside the Moscone Center. All of those moments were spent exploring Hyrule — and the fact that I was able to seamlessly pick up from where I started at home proved to be transformative. (In a personally surreal twist, the day I finished writing the review, I was also able to spend an hour chatting with the game’s directors.)

That’s obviously not a situation most people will find themselves in. But that just made the point even more clear: the Switch is a device designed to fit into your life, even if you have a really weird job like I do. In a world where games are more demanding of your time than ever, with daily quests and open worlds that can span hundreds of hours, this was a big deal. Immediately after Breath of the Wild, whenever I’d play a big game —