Did you happen to buy a Nintendo Switch (with a game) during the Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, but then forgot to buy a couple of accessories to go with it? Need to buy some gear that won’t break the bank but look cool in the process? Fear not as Gaming Buddha has you covered with our first annual Nintendo Switch Holiday Gift Guide 2018: Accessories Edition. Thanks to the fine people over at PowerA, we were sent a couple of officially licensed items to feature that would make great stocking stuffers or would go well as add ons with that Switch you bought for a gift. While I may sound like a GameStop employee trying to sell you on adding more stuff to your purchase, (I understand completely) its not due to having to meet a quota. I used to work at Game Crazy before it went under and they had almost the same policy as GameStop. However in my case I made sure that my customers were well informed and I helped them to the best of my ability to build the best bundle for a great price. And that’s what this guide is for, informing you the best I can with products that I think would be a great match for your Switch giving needs. So if you choose to pick any of these items up, there will be links on where you can buy them, both at retail stores and at Amazon. With that said let’s jump right on in.
PowerA Protection Kit
So you bought the Switch, a hybrid console that’s can be docked and used at home or can be taken and used in portable mode to continue gaming on the go. This is the selling point of the Switch, being able to take it wherever you go and playing where you left off at home. And just like with most of the devices you take on the go with you, you’ll want to pick up a carrying/protection case for the Switch. Now we’ve all seen a ton of YouTubers show off a ton of really nice but expensive cases. And you just want a simple one that protects your Switch, can carry a few games, Joy-Cons and other items that looks cool and isn’t too expensive. That’s where the PowerA Protection Kit comes in.
The PowerA Protection Kit (in this case, Red with retro Mario) is a protective hard shelled case with a rubber handle with a felt-lined interior molded to fit the Switch and the Joy-Cons attached to it. It has a screen divider that can carry up to nine games and a zipper mesh pouch to store other things such as extra Joy-Cons, power cable, ear buds and other small items. It also comes with a cleaning cloth and a screen protector kit if you haven’t already bought one or don’t have one on your Switch.
While its not as fancy as the other protective case, the all red case with the retro Mario pixel sprite looks really cool. As I mentioned I was sent the red case with the retro Mario sprite. PowerA carries the same style of case in other colors and themes if red and Mario isn’t your thing. The PowerA Protection Kit retails at $19.99 at the official PowerA website and on Target’s website, and $22 on Walmart’s website.
PowerA Joy-Con Comort Grip 8-bit Super Mario Bros. Dungeon Edition
Now that you have a Mario themed case, let’s pair it with a matching Joy-Con control grip. This is the PowerA Joy-Con Comort Grip 8-bit Super Mario Bros. Dungeon Edition. What makes this grip different from the grip that’s packed in with the Switch, beside the obvious Fire Flower Mario sprite on the front, is that the handles have rubber grips. With the Switch’s pack in grips, holding them after a while can put a bit of strain on your hand. PowerA Comfort Grip on the other hand feel very comfortable to hold and will allow you to play much longer without having to worry about hand cramps after a lengthy session. The
PowerA Joy-Con Comort Grip 8-bit Super Mario Bros. Dungeon Edition is priced at $19.99 and is exclusive to Target stores and Target’s website.
PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller
One of the games you might have picked up or plan to pick up to bundle with the Switch gift is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. And while you can play just fine with any of the Joy-Con configurations, nothing beats playing Smash Bros. on a controller. But with the Nintendo’s official Pro Controller costing just as much as the game itself, and needing an adapter to use a GameCube controller, it might be a bit off putting. Fear not as PowerA has a controller that’s just not only affordable but also is officially licensed by Nintendo, so you know you’re getting a quality controller at an affordable price. Well at least compared to Nintendo’s version. That controller is PowerA’s Enhanced Wired Controller.
The PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller (black and red color scheme in this case) is a pretty comfortable controller that connects via Bluetooth and uses two included AA batteries. It has motion controls and it has two extra button on the bottom near the handles where you can re-map any of the shoulder buttons, face buttons and d-pad direction to them for easier access. Now the reason that the Enhanced Wired Controller is cheaper than Nintendo’s Pro Controller is that PowerA has taken out the HD rumble feature, IR feature and NFC feature which allows you to scan your amiibos. If that is a deal breaker for you, then this isn’t your controller. However with its price point of $49.99 on the PowerA website and in Target stores and its website, $44.88 on Amazon and in Walmart stores and its website, its definitely worth getting.
PowerA Wired GameCube Style controller
When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was first announced, many fans of the series were wondering if they were able to use their GameCube controllers for the game, as this controller is the preferred way to play the game. A third party adapter was release that allowed fans to use their GC controllers on the Wii U was also released for the Switch. While it was a solution, it meant having to carry the adapter everywhere if you wanted to play with the GC controller. Sure there are third party controllers that have controllers that look similar to the GC controller, but as many will tell you, its not the same. Now with the PowerA Wired GameCube Style controller, Smash players have a controller that looks and feels like an original GC controller.
The Wired GameCube Style controller feels just like the original GC controller with one major difference: the PowerA controller doesn’t have rumble, IR or NFC features, making it lighter than the original. It connects to the Switch via UBS, and also happens to be able to work with PC as well. For $24.99 at Best Buy and Target, this is the controller to get if want to level up your Smash game.
And there you have it, a really quick Nintendo Switch guide for those who are buying a Switch to gift and might need some extra accessories to go with the system. Thanks again to PowerA for sending the accessories that are featured in this gift guide. Hopefully you found this a bit useful and hope whoever your gift the Switch to this season enjoys it. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and thank you for checking us out.
