This isn't hard. Surely, it can't be this hard? Nintendo annouced a brand new home and portable console a few days ago which goes on sale in a couple months. Great! They have some amazing new features and some wonderful looking first party titles in the lineup before years end. Great! They supposedly have third party support for the first time in what feels like forever. Great! Then WHY do they keep shooting themselves in the foot?

We brought you a story about the Nintendo Switch's Online service, which supposedly only allows users to rent the "free" monthly titles after the subscription period stats and thought THAT was pretty shady. Well, Nintendo has gone full Nintendo again with their latest bungle; the charging JoyCon grip they've been advertising does NOT come bundled in with the Nintendo Switch.

ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME?!

Nintendo, you have spent SO much time talking about how amazing these controllers are, telling us all of their features and functions and how wonderful their battery life is but its what you're NOT saying that has me irked. In order to re-charge the JoyCons without this charging grip, you will need to have them attached to the unit itself when in docked mode. Which, for most adults is fine and dandy but... this is an item you're marketing to everyone, right? Kids, teenagers, they're not going to remember to do that every time they stop using the console, nor would they want to even if they did remember. What you're asking is the equivilant of Microsoft selling the Xbox One with half a controller (you have to buy the other half at the store!) Its incredible, really.

Thats to say nothing of the fact that your accessory prices for the Switch are vastly overpriced. $70-80 dollars for the JoyCons themselves is highway robbery. And what is so grand about your Pro-Controller that you've priced it at least $10 above every other controller on the market? How much more anti-consumer can you get before you alienate the very people you're trying to bring in? This system doesn't cost you that much to make, you can surely bundle in a charging grip vs a standard grip for little to no net loss to you. Cmon, guys.

Not for nothing, the other new revelation about the Nintendo Switch Online Service, by the way? All of the Voice Chat and communication for the device will be done VIA AN APP FOR YOUR SMART PHONE! Who in their right minds at Nintendo thought THAT was a grand idea? "Well, we've got this amazing new home and mobile console, right? Lets take half the features of online play and shove them into a smartphone app!" Really?

To his credit, Reggie Fils-Amie tried to lessen the blow with the following explanation:

"We want to reinforce the capability to take your experience with you on the go.... The ability to do matchmaking, voice chat through your phone, it's a hell of a lot more convenient than having a gamer headset stuck into your backpack trying to do that. That's why we're doing it the way we are. We see the convenience, we see the ease of delivery. We think it's going to lead to a better experience."

But that just doesn't seem very plausable. If what I'm seeing is correct, you want people to connect on their smartphones which in turn syncs with the Switch? This had better be one hell of a great Online Service, Nintendo.

I'm still excited for the Switch, as its base premise is somethng that I've wanted since I was a child. However, its this kind of thing that will drive people to buy other consoles, Nintendo.

We'll bring you the latest Switch news as we get it.