Games and Accessories - Nintendo and Xbox: The Subscription Myth - The Console Upgrade Myth (Part 3)

Nintendo Accessories and Games

Nintendo Accessories

You buy a Nintendo Switch because you want a gaming device you can take on the go, or have kids who want to play games on the move. That makes it essential to invest in a good hard shell case.

Three hard shell cases that meet different requirements:

• The Slim Pouch or Deluxe travel case: This is just for the Switch and a few game card slots. It features an inbuilt adjustable stand. This costs about $20.
• Traveler Deluxe Go Travel case: This is thicker than the slim pouch and has a compartment to hold two extra Joy-Cons, and a game case. This is usually about $20.
• Traveler Deluxe Complete case: This is the largest case with compartments for the Switch, two extra Joy-Cons, the charging dock, Pro Controller, or Joy-Con Grip. It can also hold other accessories like the AC adapter with power cord, HDMI cable, and Joy-Con straps. This costs about $35.
• I am not a fan of the Crossbody Bag Case or the Messenger Bag Case, but they are there for discerning Nintendo fans for about $30.
• PowerA Joy-Con Comfort Grip with its rubberized handles and slightly wider profile is better for longer sessions. I prefer this over the original Nintendo Joy-Con Grip.

Other accessories I would recommend are:

• Two or four extra Joy-Cons
• Joy-Con charger that will charge four Joy-Cons at the same time
• Quick charger for the Nintendo Switch
• Game card case to house your collection of games
• Thumbsticks and Screenprotector for the Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Racing Games

I mostly play racing games on my Switch, so let me start with an analysis of racing games. I like playing with real cars, and an open world setup that allows free roam.

Table 1. Nintendo Racing Games with Real Cars

Game	New $ (approx)	Used $ (approx)	Split-screen	No of Players	Open-world	Free-roam	Driving style
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit	$43.21	$15–22	✕ No	1	✕ No	✓ Yes	Sports cars / police
Gear.Club Unlimited 2	$39.99	$10–18	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Real cars / road racing
GRID Autosport	$29.99	$15–25	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	Realistic motorsport
Burnout Paradise Remastered	$39.99	$10–18	✕ No	1	✓ Yes	✓ Yes	Open-world / street
Super Street Racer	$39.99	$10–$20	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	Real cars / road racing
Wreckfest	$39.99	$12–20	✕ No	1	✕ No	✕ No	Demolition / racing
NASCAR Arcade Rush	$49.99	$10–$20	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	NASCAR-style arcade

However, I also love to play two-player split-screen and this is the larger comparison with all the racing games I purchased.

Table 2. Nintendo Racing Games 

Game	New $	Used $	Split-screen	Players	Open-world	Free-roam	Driving style
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	$49.99	$25–35	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Kart / arcade
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit	$43.21	$15–22	✕ No	1	✓ Yes	✓ Yes	Sports cars / police
Burnout Paradise Remastered	$39.99	$10–18	✕ No	1	✓ Yes	✓ Yes	Open-world / street
Gear.Club Unlimited 2	$39.99	$10–18	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Real cars / road racing
GRID Autosport	$29.99	$15–25	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	Realistic motorsport
NASCAR Arcade Rush	$49.99	$10–18	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	NASCAR-style arcade
Fast & Furious: Spy Racers	$19.99	$10–18	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	Combat / arcade
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2	$24.88	$10–20	✓ Yes	2	✕ No	✕ No	Toy-car arcade
Horizon Chase Turbo	$29.99	$10–20	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Retro arcade
Wreckfest	$39.99	$12–20	✕ No	1	✕ No	✕ No	Demolition / racing
LEGO 2K Drive	$17.99	$10–18	✓ Yes	2	✓ Yes	✓ Yes	Open-world / arcade
Team Sonic Racing	—	$10–20	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Kart / arcade
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds	$34.49	$25–35	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Kart / arcade
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled	$29.97	$15–25	✓ Yes	4	✕ No	✕ No	Kart / arcade

Table 3. Nintendo Games - Other Genre

Nintendo Game	Genre	New $	Used $	Switch-Multiplayer	Online Multiplayer	ESRB
Action, Adventure, RPG & Open-World
Assassin's Creed: The Rebel Collection (2 games)	Action-adventure / open-world / stealth	$25–40	$15–22	1	No	M
ARK: Survival Evolved	Open-world survival / crafting	$25–40	$15–25	1	Yes	T
Hogwarts Legacy	Open-world action RPG	$30–50	$17–28	1	No	T
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown	Metroidvania / action-platformer	$10–30	$10–15	1	No	T
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Open-world action RPG	$50–60	$25–40	1	No	M
Star Wars: Heritage Pack (7 games)	Action-adventure / action RPG / sci-fi racing	$35–50	$20–35	1–2	Varies by title	T
Star Wars: Jedi Knight Collection (2 games)	Action-adventure / action RPG / sci-fi racing	Heritage pack is the cheaper option			Varies by title	T
Star Wars Racer and Commando Combo	Action-adventure / action RPG / sci-fi racing				Varies by title	T
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Open-world action-adventure	$50–60	$25–35	1	No	E10+
Titan Quest	Action RPG / hack-and-slash	$20–35	$15–25	1	Yes*	T
Platformers, Lego & Family Adventures
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2	Action-adventure / LEGO / puzzle-platformer	$15–25	$10–15	1–2	No	E10+
Super Mario Odyssey	3D platformer / action-adventure	$50–60	$25–35	1–2**	No	E10+
Family Racing, Fighting & Competitive Games
Mario Kart World (Switch 2 only)	Kart racing / open-world driving	$79.99	$50–65	1–4	Yes	E
Mortal Kombat 11	Fighting	$20–30	$10–18	1–2	Yes	M
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Platform fighting	$59.99	$30–40	1–8	Yes	E10+
Family, Kids, Sandbox & Life Simulation
Animal Crossing: New Horizons	Life simulation / social simulation	$50–60	$25–35	1–4*	Yes	E
Minecraft Standard Edition	Sandbox / survival / crafting	$29.99	$15–22	1–4	Yes	E10+
Harvest Moon: One World	Life simulation / social simulation	$69.99	$20	1	No	E
Overcooked! 2	Cooperative cooking / party	$20–30	$12–20	1–4	Yes	E
Overcooked! Special Edition	Cooperative cooking / party	Varies	$10–18	1–4	No	E
Sports, Fitness & Rhythm Games
Active Life: Outdoor Challenge	Fitness / motion-controlled party	$30–50	$8–15	1–2	No	E
Just Dance 2022	Rhythm / dance / motion	$20–50	$10–20	1–6	No*	E10+
Knockout Home Fitness	Fitness / boxing exercise	$30–40	$15–25	1	No	E
Nintendo Switch Sports	Sports simulation / motion-controlled party	$39.99	$20–30	1–4	Yes	E10+
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020	Sports / party / arcade sports	Old title	$10–20	1–2	Yes*	E10+

Xbox Accessories and Games

For those of you who would like to hedge your bets on game discs alongside the Xbox Game Pass, this post is for you.

Does Xbox have online game sales, and are they a good idea?

Yes, Xbox has online game sales in June (Microsoft-Xbox sale).

Is it a good idea? Yes and no. You can load up with a trove of online games while throwaway prices last on games for Xbox One S/X. You should technically be able to download all your games once installed on your Xbox profile, even if you uninstall it later.

Word of Advice: A few of the games are slowly being pulled off the online stores and will only be available if you have already downloaded them and have them on your Xbox profile (you have the option to reinstall games from your profile).

The whole world is going the subscription way

Xbox 360, Xbox One, One S/X saw the pinnacle of Xbox games. Well, let's do some Xbox doomsday prepping. 

Collecting Xbox One, One S/X game discs are pretty affordable today as they are no longer new. You just need to keep an eye out for well-maintained pieces at a good price.

Find my list of games in Table 1 below. Table 2 lists the games that require a Kinect sensor.

Accessories

The Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 Spider Wheel and Pedals Set is a reasonably priced set of wheels to get you into the racing game.

Get a couple of wireless controllers for Xbox One S/X; they are forward compatible. I also purchased new ones for the Xbox Series S/X, and they are backward compatible.

The Kinect sensor, the special camera used for games and voice commands on the Xbox One, also works with both consoles. However, a Kinect Adapter (sold separately) is required to connect it properly. Only the original Xbox One console (not the Xbox One S or X) can connect to the Kinect without additional cables.

The Xbox 360 with the Kinect was a commercial success. The technology, including its depth sensing and body-tracking, was very influential. However, it fell out of favor when Xbox offered a Kinect-free option to challenge a lower-priced competitor.

The Xbox One X came from an era when Microsoft was still interested in incorporating cable TV and smart assistants into its console, complete with SPDIF optical audio for home audio systems and an IR blaster for controlling television sets and external devices. The modern Xbox Series X|S consoles omitted these features as part of cost-cutting measures.

A remote TV-style controller is a handy add-on.

Table 4. Xbox One S/X games that I own and play

Name of the Game	Category	Genre
Call of Duty - infinite	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Call of Duty - Ghosts	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Call of Duty -WWII	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Call of Duty -Black ops 3	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Call of Duty -Black ops 4	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Call of Duty -Black ops 4 - copy	1st per shooting	1st-per shooting
Fallout 4	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Halo 5	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Destiny	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Destiny 2	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Titanfall	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Titanfall 2	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Battlefield 1	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Tom Clancy's The Division	Shooting story	1st-per shooting
Assassin’s creed		Theme- story- killing
Witcher 3		Theme- story- killing
Fortnite Deep Freeze Bundle		Theme- story- killing
Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)		Theme- story- killing
Skyrim		Theme- story- killing
Dead Raising		Theme- story- killing
Grand Theft auto - SanAndreas		Theme- story- killing
Grand Theft auto 5		Theme- story- killing
Elder scrolls - Morrow wind		Theme- story- killing
Star wars Battlefront	Star wars	Theme- story- killing
FIFA 2014 - Messi	Football	Sports
FIFA 2015 - Messi other	Football	Sports
FIFA 2019/17 - Ronaldo/other	Football	Sports
UFC	Martial arts	Sports
UFC 3	Martial arts	Sports
PGA tour - Golf	Sports	Sports
Madden NFL Football	Sports	Sports
NBA 2K21	Basketball	Sports
Overwatch origins	Kids	Kids
Minecraft	Kids	Kids
Nickelodeon Kart Racers Racing	Kids	Kids
Sonic	Kids	Kids
Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure	Kids	Kids
Rare replay - 30 game collection	Kids	Kids
Destroy humans’ game	Kids	Kids
Trollhunters Defenders of Arcadia	Kids	Kids
9 Monkeys of Shaolin	Kids	Kids
Ash of Gods	Kids	Kids
Redeemer	Kids	Kids
Crossout (Network only)	Kids	Kids
Cars 3: Driven to Win	Racing	Kids
Horizon Chase 2	Racing	Kids
Burnout™ Paradise Remastered	Racing	Racing
NFS Rivals	Need for Speed	Racing
Need for speed	Need for Speed	Racing
NFS Payback	Need for Speed	Racing
NFS Heat 2018	Need for Speed	Racing
NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered	Need for Speed	Racing
NFS Underground (xbox 360)	Racing	Racing
Dirt	Racing	Racing
Forza motorsport 5	Racing	Racing
Forza motorsport 6	Racing	Racing
Forza Horizon 2 - France & Italy	Racing	Racing
Forza Horizon 3 - Australia	Racing	Racing
Forza Horizon 4 -  UK	Racing	Racing
The Crew 2	Racing	Racing
Assetto Corsa racing	Racing	Racing
Project Cars 2 - Simulation	Racing	Racing
Project Cars 3 - Arcade	Racing	Racing
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (digital)	Strategy	Strategy
Forza motorsport 7	Racing	Racing
The Crew Motorfest	Racing	Racing
F1 racing	Racing	Racing
Nascar Heat 3 or 4	Racing	Racing
Gears of war	Shooting story

Table 5. Games that require Kinect but will get you moving

Xbox Games requiring Kinect	Genre	Requires
Shape up	Fitness	Kinect
Zumba dance party	Fitness	Kinect
Just Dance 2015	Fitness	Kinect
Just Dance 2017	Fitness	Kinect
Just Dance 2020	Fitness	Kinect
Just Dance 2022	Fitness	Kinect
Kinect sports rivals	Fitness	Kinect
Dance Central	Fitness	Kinect
Kinect adventures (Xbox One only)	Kids	Kinect
Motionsports	Kids	Kinect
Kinect joy ride	Kids	Kinect
Sonic free riders	Kids	Kinect
The biggest loser - workout	Fitness	Kinect
Your shape - fitness evolved	Fitness	Kinect

Check out my other related blogs:

• The Console Upgrade Myth
• Xbox One S/X versus the Series S/X, PlayStation, ROG Xbox Ally (Part 1)
• Nintendo Switch V1/V2/OLED versus the Nintendo Switch 2, ROG Xbox Ally or Steam Deck (Part 2)