Nintendo Switch: The Good, The Bad, The Almost Perfect

There is no denying that the Nintendo Switch is a success. After selling 2.74 million consoles in just the first month of its release alone, there can’t be. Not only that, but total sales continue to grow and, as of late, are expected to surpass those of the Xbox One.

I remind you, the Xbox One was released a good four years ago. Switch is the fastest-selling console in the company's long history.

The Switch is fantastic as a portable device; however, there is a small compromise between having it docked and having it undocked and in your hand. The Switch performs better when docked. Undocked, the small screen displays your image at 720p, while docking and viewing the game on a television or monitor increases the pixel count to 900p.

Clock speeds average around 307-384MHz undocked, while docked, they average up to 768MHz. For comparison, the 3DS (another Nintendo portable device) runs at 266 MHz.

A dream of mine has always been to bring a gaming console anywhere, anytime. The Switch is capable of doing that. I ended up with a horrible case of the flu last spring, and my Switch was the best companion you could ever have in an ER waiting room.

In the fast-paced world we live in, entertainment on the go has saved many people from boring bus and train rides to work. Mario Kart 8 on the metro heading outbound? Don’t mind if I do.

The Pro Controller is a must-have for Switch owners, as it is more comfortable to hold than the Joy-Cons or the Joy-Con grip due to its ergonomic design. At this point, there’s no going back to the Wii U.

Don’t get me wrong, I found the Wii U to be a fantastic system, but that seems to be an unpopular opinion considering the game pad looks like a Fisher-Price toy, and many consumers didn't understand the console's naming mechanism.

People were often confused about whether the Wii U was an add-on to the original Wii or an entirely different console on its own. The Nintendo Switch looks sleeker than its predecessor, and Nintendo has appropriately named the console. The Switch has stolen my heart, and I believe that there could be a bright future ahead for this system.

There is… one drastic problem right now, however. I dub it, “The Infamous Nintendo Switch Console Warp”. When it is docked, the console slowly, gradually begins to warp (or bend).

Since the dock is practically a toaster, it sort of cups the console, which can trap heat. Heat bends metal and plastic, which is what the Switch is mostly made of. Some cases of these warps are more severe than others. My console has a little bit of a bend, nothing crazy It’s not bent enough that my Switch doesn’t function.

In fact, it functions as it should. Perhaps this issue could affect my Switch's internal hardware in the long run, but today it just has a slight curve. This issue should be noted for potential buyers, as several reports indicate consumers' consoles warping into a curve.

To elaborate on how little of a bend mine has, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it has one until you put it down on the table, pressed down on one half of the console, and squinted your eyes to see the leveling. It is worth noting that Nintendo offers a year-long warranty on all its consoles. 

Hopefully, in future shipment waves, the apparent decompression sickness (colloquially known as “the bends”), will have been fixed. If this issue is resolved, then the Switch would be almost perfect. Maybe to some, it would be. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to play.