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 the total sales continue to grow and, as of late, are expected to surpass the Xbox One's. I remind you, the Xbox One was released a good four years ago. The 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 to be made between having it docked and having it undocked and in your hand. The Switch performs better when docked. Undocked will have the small screen running 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. As a comparison, the 3DS (another portable device of Nintendo’s) runs at 266MHz.

A dream of mine has always been to be able to bring a gaming console anywhere, anytime. The Switch is capable of doing that. I ended up with a horrible flu last spring and my Switch was the best companion you could ever take to a hospital ER waiting room ever. In the fast-paced world we all live in, entertainment on the go has saved numerous people from boring bus and train rides on their way 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, for it is more comfortable to hold than simply the joycons and joycon grip due to its more 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 naming mechanic of the console. People were often confused whether or not the Wii U was in fact an add-on to the original Wii, or an entirely different console on its own. The Nintendo Switch looks sleeker in its design 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 out 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 impact my Switch's internal hardware in the long run, but today, it just has a little curve. This issue should be worth noting for potential buyers, as there are several reports of consumer's 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 and pressed down on one half of the console and squinted your eyes to see the leveling. It is worth mentioning that Nintendo supplies a year-long warranty on all of their 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. 

Jessica Wells, NoobFeed
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