I'm not replacing my original Switch with its successor

The only modern gaming handheld I own is the original Switch, which launched in 2017. It's difficult to believe that was almost a decade ago, but having poured a good number of hours into the Nintendo handheld, it's time to look for another, but with the Switch 2 just around the corner, I'm not buying one. I love my Nintendo Switch, and I've been a huge Pokémon fan since I was a young lad in the 90s, but I'm going to be switching (pun intended) from Mario's platform to something a little different. MSI caught my attention with the Claw A8 in lime green.

MSI's Claw A8 is gorgeous in green

It has both the looks and the guts

The first (and most striking) feature of the MSI Claw A8, which was announced at this year's CES, is the available colors. My first vehicle was a lime green Seat Ibiza, so when I saw our Jacob Roach get some play time with MSI's new handheld, I was immediately struck with nostalgia. It's gorgeous in green and sets itself apart from the sea of all-black plastic hardware on the market. Gone is the two-tone design seen in the MSI Claw 8+ AI, which is essentially the same handheld with Intel processors. This device just so happens to be MSI's gaming handheld first with an AMD Chip.

I'll go into more detail about that AMD chip and why it helped sway my decision-making here, but let's get back to the gorgeous design and the feature set. MSI's Claw A8 has two USB-C 4.0 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This is great for helping get as much from a single charge as possible by using wired headphones as opposed to Bluetooth. The second USB 4.0 port can even be used to charge another device, which is pretty handy when you only have access to a single power adapter or outlet. The usual array of physical buttons is available for interacting with content on the stunning 8-inch display.

This thing has a resolution of 1920x1080, uses an IPS touch-enabled panel, can boost up to 120Hz (depending on the current system demand), and is bright enough to hit 500 nits. Variable refresh rate (VRR) is supported for butter-smooth gaming, and everything is as premium as the two Hall Effect joysticks, which is something I've complained about countless times with the Switch. The Joy-Cons are terrible, and I'm on my third pair in 8 years. That may sound like a good deal with heavy usage, but I'm not a hardcore Nintendo gamer. I recall the days of the Gameboy, when it was indestructible like a Nokia phone.

What's also pretty neat with these MSI controls is the RGB lighting rings around the base of the triggers. The buttons are also backlit. All of this lighting can be toggled, which also aids in extending battery life, but it's a cool feature to have available. I'm also a fan of not having to pay for online gameplay.

It has the performance and versatility

Run Windows apps and games

As well as looking the part, the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM has it all for internal components, too. Now, Nintendo is stepping things up with a custom Nvidia chip powering everything, but it's still slightly behind what's out there in the Windows and Linux handheld fronts (or at least will be). The MSI handheld can be configured with up to 24 GB of LPDDR5X-8000 RAM, which I'll be taking full advantage of, especially for the powerful integrated GPU from AMD. Unlike the Switch or Switch 2, I can replace the installed PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD with one of my own to expand capacity and improve performance.

It's good to see the same battery pack make its way onto MSI's first AMD-powered Claw with a massive 80Whr power plant available for providing ample juice. The AMD chip does manage to pull less power than Intel's equivalent, so you can expect to see ever-so-slightly better up-time between charges. Running Windows, the MSI Claw A8 is considerably more versatile, especially given that one could unlock it with a sideloaded Linux distro such as Bazzite. This opens countless doors for customizing the device to my liking.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be a great device, but I wanted the upgrade to the next generation to be more substantial. I understand why the company omitted a few things, as we're likely to see an OLED refresh down the line, but it would have been my route for upgrading from the base Switch. Although MSI's Claw has an IPS, it's still quite the looker and is capable of getting seriously bright, which is great for outdoor gaming. Nintendo no longer has a hold on gaming handhelds; now companies are refining their hardware on Linux or Windows, and I cannot wait to get my lime green MSI Claw A8 in hand.

My favorite part about the MSI Claw A8 — or any Windows or Linux handheld for that matter — is the ability to switch between storefronts. Steam is fantastic, but so too is GOG and some others. It's great being able to install games you own, not having to pay the Nintendo first-party tax, or try and make your way through the heavily bloated store. I understand the new Switch should offer a better experience when looking for games to purchase and download, but I also much prefer Steam for deals and sales than I do Nintendo. The Switch 2 just isn't for me right now and that's okay.

Like the original Switch, I'll likely return to the fold some point down the line, but as someone who doesn't really game on the go as much as I did when at school, I'm ready to step things up a notch and you never know, I may be in a much better position come a few years for Nintendo to entice me with a 3D Pokémon game I can enjoy that isn't Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!