Time Magazine names Switch one of the "most important and influential gadgets" of the decade

News by Emily Gera Contributor

Published on Dec. 15, 2019

Nintendo Switch has been named one of Time Magazine's top 10 gadgets of the past 10 years.

Time's end-of-year list highlights the best pieces of tech of the last 10 years, from Apple's iPad of 2010 through to the Xbox adaptive controller of 2018. And for the second time this decade, the magazine is celebrating Nintendo Switch - Time Magazine previously named the Nintendo system one of its inventions of the year in 2017.

So what's Time got to say about it this time around?

"When it comes to gaming on the go, no one can top Nintendo’s track record, beginning with the humble Game Boy in 1989," reads its write-up on the Switch platform. "But the introduction of its hybrid Nintendo Switch in 2017 — which you can play either portably or connected to your TV — might be the company’s most important contribution to gaming yet.

"Compared to the competition, it handily takes the crown as the most important video game console of the decade, with fans begging developers to bring their next title to the Switch. Its smartphone-inspired portability, paired with Nintendo’s ever-growing library of blockbuster, independent and vintage titles, makes the Switch feel like the culmination of Nintendo’s idea of what gaming should be."

Time's full chronological list can be found below. Interestingly, while the magazine once famously put Oculus Rift's Palmer Luckey on its cover, no virtual reality devices have made its list of top gadgets of the decade.