It’s a big moment for Nintendo.

On Friday, March 3, the Japanese video game giant is launching its new game console: the Nintendo Switch. It’s the company’s first new console since 2012’s Wii U — a console most well-known for being Nintendo’s worst-selling of all time.

It’s not quite a make-or-break moment for Nintendo, but it’s not far off. The company could sure use a hit.

With the Switch, Nintendo has the foundations of a great game console.

Across the past week, I’ve spent dozens of hours with the console — at home on my TV, and out in the world as a portable system. I can happily report that, in my experience, it’s a speedy, modern piece of hardware that’s well-worth its $US300 price tag. In the same breath, a warning: the Nintendo Switch is woefully underserved by software.

This is the duality of the Switch in March 2017, at launch. It’s a console worth owning, but you should probably wait a few months to buy one.

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