By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming - Switch battery life: 2h 48m when playing Zelda

Manlytears on 23 February 2017
specialk said:
Switch battery life is in the same ball park as the 3DS. In 5 years, I've never had an issue with running out of battery on the 3DS. It's gotten me through dozens of flights of various length and many other "on the go" situations.

According to a Nielsen survey, gamers spend about 12% of their leisure time playing video games. That's games of all types. Home console, computer, portable, mobile, etc.

What leisure means is different for everyone, but I think it's conservative to say that after work and/or school and sleep, a particularly not-busy person might have 80 hours of leisure time a week. The math works out to under 1.5 hours of gaming per day. More than an hour under the Switch's lower end target.

I know I probably sound like a fanboy, but I'm really struggling to imagine a scenario in which 2.5 hours of battery is an issue on the go when even playing 2.5 hours of games in a day is so uncommon.

...Realy? I think you have some problems whit ya 3ds battery, cause my OG 3DS can keep 4 hours easy after 4 years, and it used to get 5-6h.
I mean... do ya realy think 5h is in the "same ball park" as 3h.



Around the Network
Goodnightmoon on 23 February 2017
Manlytears said:
specialk said:
Switch battery life is in the same ball park as the 3DS. In 5 years, I've never had an issue with running out of battery on the 3DS. It's gotten me through dozens of flights of various length and many other "on the go" situations.

According to a Nielsen survey, gamers spend about 12% of their leisure time playing video games. That's games of all types. Home console, computer, portable, mobile, etc.

What leisure means is different for everyone, but I think it's conservative to say that after work and/or school and sleep, a particularly not-busy person might have 80 hours of leisure time a week. The math works out to under 1.5 hours of gaming per day. More than an hour under the Switch's lower end target.

I know I probably sound like a fanboy, but I'm really struggling to imagine a scenario in which 2.5 hours of battery is an issue on the go when even playing 2.5 hours of games in a day is so uncommon.

...Realy? I think you have some problems whit ya 3ds battery, cause my OG 3DS can keep 4 hours easy after 4 years, and it used to get 5-6h.
I mean... do ya realy think 5h is in the "same ball park" as 3h.

Some 3DS games drain the battery down to 3 -3.5h on the original 3ds, yes is on the same ballpark as Switch, Zelda is not the standar Switch game, is probably gonna be the most demanding one for a while.



GProgrammer on 23 February 2017

Is the battery replaceable? because 2:40 will be under 2 hours in a years time, due to battery degradation



specialk on 23 February 2017
Manlytears said:

...Realy? I think you have some problems whit ya 3ds battery, cause my OG 3DS can keep 4 hours easy after 4 years, and it used to get 5-6h.
I mean... do ya realy think 5h is in the "same ball park" as 3h.

Mine usually lasts longer under typical use too. If I were playing on max brightness with the 3D slider turned all the way up on the most demanding game though I'm sure I'd see it go lower.

Just like I'm sure I'll see better Switch battery life under typical use too. I'm not going to be playing Zelda on the go 24/7. I'll be mixing in games like Sonic Mania, Stardew Valley, and some VC stuff.



COKTOE on 23 February 2017

That time is not ideal, and would be a very slight pain in the ass to me. No biggie though. I can see it being a legit issue for certain weirdos who take their portables out into the wild world. Gross!



- "If you have the heart of a true winner, you can always get more pissed off than some other asshole."

Around the Network
sc94597 on 23 February 2017
Manlytears said:

...Realy? I think you have some problems whit ya 3ds battery, cause my OG 3DS can keep 4 hours easy after 4 years, and it used to get 5-6h.
I mean... do ya realy think 5h is in the "same ball park" as 3h.

You're fibbing here. The benchmark below was done in 2012. 

https://www.wired.com/2012/09/battery-test/

  • Sony PSP: 3 hours, 45 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS: 3 hours, 55 minutes
  • Nintendo DSi: 4 hours, 2 minutes
  • Nintendo DS Lite (Silver): 4 hours, 30 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS XL: 4 hours, 32 minutes
  • Nintendo DS Lite (Yellow): 4 hours, 38 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Backlit): 4 hours, 50 minutes
  • Game Boy Micro: 5 hours, 30 minutes
  • Nintendo DSi XL: 5 hours, 45 minutes
  • Nintendo DS: 6 hours, 1 minute
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Black #1): 8 hours, 2 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Black #2): 8 hours, 5 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS with Nyco battery pack: 9 hours, 11 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Silver): 11 hours, 56 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS with Mugen battery pack: 13 hours, 50 minutes
  • Game Boy: 15 hours, 30 minutes (interference from child)
  • Game Boy Advance: 29 hours, 32 minutes
  • Game Boy Color: 35 hours, 45 minutes


sc94597 on 23 February 2017
Manlytears said:

...Realy? I think you have some problems whit ya 3ds battery, cause my OG 3DS can keep 4 hours easy after 4 years, and it used to get 5-6h.
I mean... do ya realy think 5h is in the "same ball park" as 3h.

You're fibbing here. The benchmark below was done in 2012. 

https://www.wired.com/2012/09/battery-test/

  • Sony PSP: 3 hours, 45 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS: 3 hours, 55 minutes
  • Nintendo DSi: 4 hours, 2 minutes
  • Nintendo DS Lite (Silver): 4 hours, 30 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS XL: 4 hours, 32 minutes
  • Nintendo DS Lite (Yellow): 4 hours, 38 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Backlit): 4 hours, 50 minutes
  • Game Boy Micro: 5 hours, 30 minutes
  • Nintendo DSi XL: 5 hours, 45 minutes
  • Nintendo DS: 6 hours, 1 minute
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Black #1): 8 hours, 2 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Black #2): 8 hours, 5 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS with Nyco battery pack: 9 hours, 11 minutes
  • Game Boy Advance SP (Frontlit, Silver): 11 hours, 56 minutes
  • Nintendo 3DS with Mugen battery pack: 13 hours, 50 minutes
  • Game Boy: 15 hours, 30 minutes (interference from child)
  • Game Boy Advance: 29 hours, 32 minutes
  • Game Boy Color: 35 hours, 45 minutes


Peh on 23 February 2017

That's a non issue. Just get a powerbank and you'll be more than fine.



Intel Core i7 8700K | 32 GB DDR 4 PC 3200 | ROG STRIX Z370-F Gaming | RTX 3090 FE| Crappy Monitor| HTC Vive Pro :3

specialk on 23 February 2017
Peh said:
That's a non issue. Just get a powerbank and you'll be more than fine.

I do sympathize with the unwillingness to buy another bulk accessory for a brand new portable but I think in the end, this is a fair compromise. 

The Switch out of the box will handle a vast majority of portable use-cases, and a $24, fairly compact, five star rated, 10000mAH bank from Amazon to cover those rare occassions in which you want to play 8 hours of Breath of the Wild on the go. and you have no access to any better solution.

I'd rather it be this way than the other way around; the Switch is bulked up with extra battery that I don't need most of the time. 



Flilix on 23 February 2017
Dravenet7 said:

Wait so the approximate battery life is about the same as was told a little over a month prior? Let's act absoultely shocked!

...

This.

We've already had the exact same discussion last month. Why does everybody seem to have forgotten that?