Document: WM-008 P. Webb
Category: Review 2017.03.18
Nintendo Switch review
Abstract
You’re gonna wish you weren’t on the fence about buying one
at launch.
Body
In the two weeks since I left GameStop eagerly waiting to get home
and unbox my console, the Nintendo Switch has been such a joy to
use. I waited two weeks to write this review so I could accurately
depict how it fits into my everyday. Before I start the review
though, I figured I’d run through my launch night.
1. Midnight Launch
In an effort to make the midnight launch go as smoothly as
possible, GameStop required people to get a receipt with their
pre-order earlier in the day and they were numbered so people
would know where to stand in line. As people on the Internet say,
"FIRST!!1!". The guy behind me got to the midnight launch before I
did and was wondering who had the number one receipt. I thought it
was pretty funny.
I went to the midnight launches of the DSi and 3DS. Those launches
had nothing on this one. When I left, the line was to the door
and then some. It was a hella windy night and I’m glad we didn’t
have to wait outside.
The people on the other side of the store didn’t have a pre-order,
but they snagged the 13 or so extra Switch consoles this GameStop
had for launch. As I waited to get the aforementioned receipt, a
couple realized that someone in GameStop allowed those 13 people
to reserve the right to buy the limited Switch consoles and the
couple were highly upset, to say the least. Apparently, that
wasn’t supposed to happen until 6pm. GameStop’s gonna
GameStop. 🤷🏾♂️
As a launch bonus, everyone got a free Zelda poster. I should put
this up at some point but I’m still unsure about which side I like
most. As soon as I got my bag of goodies, I left the store ASAP. I
was stopped by someone in line for an impromptu Facebook Live
interview. That was weird but two random people know who I am now!
Since you got this far, here’s a video:
2. Initial Setup
3. The Review
I didn’t truly appreciate the Wii U’s GamePad until my girlfriend
asked me if I was done playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I was
hours deep into playing and she had shows to watch. With the press
of a button, I switched my attention from the TV to the
controller I already had in my hand and walked to my desk a few
feet away. Confused, she asked if I was mad at her. Of course I
wasn’t, I was still playing Deus Ex! I guess you could say my
gameplay was augmented.
For the uninitiated, the Wii U allowed you to swap between the
GamePad and the TV for playing most (if not all) games. In a
household where there was only one TV at the time, it was amazing.
With the Switch, that appreciation came a helluva lot quicker. I
have a roving 10-month-old who likes to wreak havoc and while my
girlfriend was gracious enough to let me spend the entire first
weekend with the Switch relatively undisturbed, the boy needed to
be watched when mom was busy. While playing Zelda, I was asked to
watch the boy for a couple minutes so I took the Joy-Con out of
the charging grip[1] (highly recommended) and onto the sides of
the Switch, which I then took out of the dock and walked
downstairs. After making myself a human fence to block the boy
from roaming elsewhere I continued playing.
Seamless!
I bought a Nintendo GameBoy fanny pack from eBay after seeing
someone post an old ad for it in /r/NintendoSwitch[2]. I wasn’t
sure if the Switch would even fit but it does! You’ll have to
detach the Joy-Con, of course. Since the weather is frigid at the
moment, I’ve been using my hoodie[3]’s pouch to transport my
Switch. When the weather gets warmer, the fanny pack will make an
appearance. I also have an Animal Crossing bell pouch that I
purchased from Etsy but I like the fanny pack more.
I think the super portable nature of the Switch is going to make
gaming happen in unexpected places, and more often. I’m looking
forward to having impromptu Splatoon 2 battles in an airport or
Street Fighter II matches in a line for food trucks.
Being a home console that’s also portable, AAA-type games like the
new Zelda consume a LOT of power. As a result, the battery life
isn’t great (I’ve gotten roughly three hours of Zelda gameplay on
a single charge). It doesn’t seem that much different from the
battery life of a 3DS when playing Super Smash Bros. You’ll get a
notification that the battery level is low but I usually ignore
that until I see it a second time. If I’m in transit, I use my
Anker charger[4] to keep gaming.
For me, the battery life hasn’t been an issue and that’s because I
have a laptop with USB-C charging[5]. Whether I’m at home or at
work, I always have a charger (I bought two because I kept
leaving my then sole charger at home). The addition of yet another
popular device with USB-C charging in the global marketplace makes
me confident that the future of a single port for a̶l̶l̶ most
electronics will come to fruition relatively soon. Early adopters
like myself have to deal with buying temporary plugadoos and such
but hey, that’s so you don’t have to!
I wasn’t sure if I would come to regret buying grips[6] for the
Joy-Con but after a single Snipperclips play session, I can
honestly say it was a fantastic purchase decision. The Joy-Con
feel decent without it but with my Jack Skellington-esque fingers,
I definitely appreciated the classic controller feel of the grips.
My girlfriend has much smaller hands and will not play
Snipperclips without them.
The build quality of the Switch is awesome. It’s also incredibly
light, suspiciously so. You’d think it’d weigh more for what it
does. The kickstand on the back is plastic and detachable. It’s
designed to be easily replaceable and that’s awesome because it
would suck if you had to replace the console because of it.
There are fan vents on the top of the device and it occurred to me
after week one of owning it that I’ve never heard fan noise. When
I’ve thought to touch the top of it during a lengthly play session
I did feel heat and had to put the Switch up to my ear to hear fan
noise. I’ve had a screen protector since day one and somehow let
an errant wisp of fabric get in but I don’t care enough to fix
that niggling issue.
I’m sad that dbrand won’t be making Switch skins[7]. This is the
design I came up with, to match the awesome marble skin on my
MacBook Pro[5]. Welp. At least dbrand is an awesome company.
I’ve taken so many screenshots of the interface (except in eShop,
that’s not possible there) and I’ve got one request for Nintendo.
Please make it possible to hide the UI in games when taking
screenshots! I complained about this to @jessety[8] and he
informed me that you can hide most of the UI in Zelda (you’ll just
see your heart containers). I just hope more games adopt the "Pro
HUD" option that Zelda provides.
I’ll end this review with the real reason I bought a Switch:
Splatoon 2! If you hadn’t guessed by the decal on the back of my
Switch, I’m a huge fan of the original for Wii U. 🕸
