The Best Nintendo Switch Consoles of 2024

Nintendo’s flagship video game console got some recent upgrades with the arrival of the Nintendo Switch OLED Model. Available in a stylish new white-and-black design and red-and-blue “neon” version, it has a seven-inch OLED display in handheld mode. It also offers 64 GB of storage, or double that of the original Nintendo Switch.

The catalog of Switch games is superb, ranging from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to 2021’s near-perfect Super Mario 3D World remaster.

Another selling point for the hardware continues to be its versatility. You can play in handheld mode on the go, by taking it off the dock, and enjoy its big screen. You can play it on your television with a controller. You can share a detachable Joy-Con with a friend and enjoy hassle-free couch co-op in games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and so on.

You can also use the built-in stand to prop up the screen when you’re playing games with a friend away from your TV. (Nintendo calls this “tabletop mode.”)

This Nintendo Switch OLED bundle comes packaged with the hit game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a fighting game with a suite of local and online multiplayer modes. And, best of all, the Smash Bros. games are populated with familiar characters from Nintendo history and beyond: Link, Mario, Fox McCloud, Steve from Minecraft, Banjo and Kazooie, Final Fantasy baddie Sephiroth, and so on.

If you’re shopping around for an OLED with a great game included, this is a great deal. And it includes three months of Nintendo Switch Online, which enables you to play online multiplayer with friends from all over the world as well as a library of classic Nintendo games.

Every Nintendo Switch model is at risk of having the same “Joy-Con drift” problem, caused by a defective thumbstick design. Fortunately, Nintendo has promised free repairs for Joy-Con controllers that stop working properly. Having a Joy-Con fail isn’t ideal, but it’s a risk worth taking for exclusives like Super Mario Maker 2 and Pokémon.

The Switch offers unforgettable experiences, from single-player adventures and RPGs to Mario Kart to unique multiplayer games like Splatoon 3 and Nintendo Switch Sports.

Priced at around $199, the Nintendo Switch Lite is an elegant, all-in-one solution to the problem of not having a game console. It’s a gorgeous, sturdily made system that plays almost any game. The exception being that you can’t remove the controllers from the handheld configuration, so motion controls and other features are somewhat limited.

Otherwise, the other main compromises you’ll find are its somewhat smaller screen and lack of TV mode (“docked” mode). And its battery may not hold up quite as long as the larger, standard Switch. It’s available in a fun array of colors: turquoise, yellow, coral pink, indigo blue, gray.

You’ll find yourself wanting to play this all the time, wherever you go. And it offers the same 32 GB of storage as the regular Switch, expandable with any standard microSD card.

If you’re buying a new game console for your family, it’s hard to beat the value of this Mario “Choose One” bundle. It includes the original Nintendo Switch console, with Mario-red Joy-Con and a 6.2-inch touchscreen. It boasts six hours of battery life, Wi-Fi connectivity, and everything you need to play on your TV or in handheld mode.

It comes with a download code for your choice of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, or Super Mario Odyssey. It’s a great gift idea for a child who’s just seen The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

This is another worthwhile Nintendo Switch bundle that comes with a game, which in this case is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, one of the best titles in the entire Switch catalog.

You’ve probably at least heard of Mario Kart, or even played it at some point, but this latest entry takes the Wii U version of the classic Mario racing game and pushes it into overdrive, with more courses and characters than any previous entry in the series. If you plan on keeping Nintendo Switch Online for multiplayer purposes, Mario Kart is a must. (This bundle also includes three months of the Switch Online service.)

Since summer 2019, the standard Switch has gotten closer to nine hours of battery life—a big upgrade from the original six-plus-hour battery. It comes with a 6.2-inch touchscreen and 32 GB of internal storage.

It really comes down to your personality or—speaking from personal experience—which color options happen to be in stock at a given retailer. Like the standalone Neon Blue and Red Switch, this does everything you want a Nintendo console to do (except 4K).