I suppose it’s fairly safe to say that I’m a Nintendo fanboy. Since the NES was my first gaming console/experience, followed by the GameBoy it’s a company that I literally grew up with. While I’ve never shied from criticizing them in their failings over the years, I still feel a good deal of excitement when it comes to any new Nintendo announcements.
I bought the Wii U when it launched and can’t say I regret it. It has some serious problems and isn’t everything I wanted it to be, but it’s still a system I play quite often, especially with the kiddos. That said, I really wanted more out of it and pretty much everything I wanted, I saw on display during the Nintendo Switch reveal. Needless to say, I’ve been leading they hype train every since, despite SOME PEOPLE trying to derail me…
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There are a number of reasons I’m excited for the Switch, but all of them seem to boil down to the reality of my current life situation. While gaming has long been a big part of my life and even now is a big aspect of what I do in life. The problem, however, is in being a father with a full-time job, my gaming time is rather limited and hard to come by. As such, large scale, open-world, games that essentially require 40-60 hour time spans are almost impossible for me to play.
Hell, I bought Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on launch day, and it took me over a year to complete the primary story campaign. The only reason I got through Uncharted 4 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution in a decent time frame, is that their releases happened to coincide with days the kids were away and my girlfriend was at a scrapbooking retreat.
I love AAA style games and keeping up with big stories, but the reality is, I simply can’t do it with any regularity. By the time I sit down, turn on the console, and remember what the Hell I’m doing where I left off, I have to do something else. There’s no easy way to sit down with a large console game for a few “quick minutes” and return to the real world. By and large, my handheld system (3DS) gets the most attention since I can pick it up and play for short bursts while I’m on the go.
That’s why I’m so stoked for the Nintendo Switch. The hybrid console/handheld style will allow me to play those massive games at my own leisure, picking up when I’m able to like my handheld console. Not having to miss out or feel left behind is more than worth it to me, and I just hope enough games come to the system for me to live out that dream. As it stands, I’m firmly at the head of the hype train and it’ll take a lot to shake me off!
It’s crazy to think that it’s been almost a year since I last did a comic strip. The time has not been idly spent and I’ve been pretty bummed that I haven’t been able to keep up with Focal Point. Between keeping things running smoothly here on the site, set-backs with program expenses, an inordinate amount of reviews, and some intense commission work for official Star Wars Topps Sketch Cards (I can’t describe how cool that is)…I’ve been busy.
Even with all that, Focal Point has never been far from my mind and my sketchbook has become filled with notes on strips I think would be funny/initial sketches. My hope is that I’ll be able to get back to it regularly and to help me do so, I’ve set up a Patreon page! That means if you like my art, you can help support it while nabbing some cool freebies along the way, as well as exclusive drawing videos and be the first to see comic strips and digital pieces.
Be sure to check it out, and if you’re on the same hype train as me, share this strip with all your friends. Until next time!
-Jordan
