Opinion – Why do I keep buying the same games on Switch?

Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Skyrim, Spyro and, most recently, Lego Jurassic World – I already own these games…but now I own two copies.

That is all because of the Nintendo Switch.

Released in 2017, the Nintendo Switch is the latest console from Nintendo, and it features a lot of games.

Of course, you have the normal Nintendo tent-poles – Mario, Zelda, Pokemon – but the difference with the Switch is the power.

This new, handheld console manages to carry a similar amount of power to a full plug-in-to-your-tv console. That means you can take huge open world games, and play them on the bus.

And that is really the answer. I have re-bought numerous games for the Switch because it means I can play them away from my living room.

The fact that more and more publishers are heading to the Switch to re-launch their old games doesn’t help my wallet.

And that’s no more obvious than my recent purchase of Lego Jurassic World. That game was released in 2015. I have already 100% completed it on the PS4. The same goes for Lego Harry Potter, released in 2016, which I have also completed on the PS4.

But I’m not bothered by the fact I’ve completed them, it just shows how much fun I had with the games that I’ve actively gone out of my way to re-buy them on a new console and try to complete them all over again.

This phase of releases isn’t over yet either. The Witcher 3 is set to be released on the Switch later this year and I am prepared to buy it again, and I’m still enviously looking at Doom and Wolfenstein, waiting for their prices to drop low enough for me to justify another purchase.

That’s the key with the re-releases. Because the games have been out so long, they launch on the Switch with a lower price-point. Lego Jurassic World was an easy £28 and the Lego Harry Potter game was available for as low as £18. For games I loved playing, it really is no question.

Maybe I’m the only one, and maybe I’m just trying to justify to myself why it’s okay to spend this money again.

But hey, nothing beats slaying some dragons on Skyrim whilst you’re sat on the toilet.