Hey everyone, it's Colin. How's it goin'?
Nintendo's newest console has been highly anticipated and it represents a potentially
major change to the way we play video games.
But should you pick up the Switch?
[♪ Music - Intro ♪]
At a casual glance, you might mistake Switch for part of its predecessor, the Wii U game pad.
The form factor is indeed similar, with a landscape orientation and
controls on either side of the screen.
But it's only about half an inch thick, and it feels surprisingly thin, yet solid, when you pick it up.
There's a USB Type-C port on the bottom for charging, and it's also how the Switch interfaces with its dock.
But we'll talk about that a little later.
Across the top is the power and volume buttons, a standard headphone jack, and the game cartridge slot.
And speaking of cartridges:
Yes, Nintendo has done away with optical media,
instead going with flash-based storage, like on the 3DS.
Switch cartridges are similar in size to SD cards,
but a little bit thicker.
The slot on top is in an convenient location, but the rubber hinge door is a bit cumbersome.
Maybe that's just a subtle way for Nintendo to put more focus on digital downloads.
Switch comes with 32 gigabytes of storage built-in, though only about 25 gigs are available for games.
Around back, there's a MicroSD card slot hidden underneath the kickstand,
which you can use to expand the storage,
though game saves can apparently only be kept on the system's built-in memory.
That kickstand, incidentally, feels a little flimsy,
but does a decent job at holding the console at a comfortable angle for tabletop play.
But with the controls on either side of the screen, how are you supposed to play like that?
Easy. Just detach 'em.
Nintendo calls these "Joy-Cons" and small buttons on the back allow 'em to slide up and away.
They communicate through Bluetooth and each has its own battery,
which gets recharged when connected to the console.
Joy-Cons also have accelerometers for motion controls
as well as vibration motors, which Nintendo calls "HD Rumble."
They can be used as a left-right pair, or turned sideways
sideways and used independently for two person gameplay.
A pair of wrist straps are included in the box, and while these make
the tiny shoulder buttons easier to use,
I found 'em a bit cumbersome to install and remove.
The Joy-Con's buttons are a bit small, even smaller than those on the 3DS XL,
but they don't really feel all that cramped for casual gaming.
For longer sessions, the Joy-Con grip accessory that Nintendo includes
makes things much more comfortable.
Something that also makes Switch comfortable to play is its display.
It's a 6.2 inch capacitive touch screen and it gets decently bright.
With 720p resolution, it's nice and sharp, and it offers good viewing angles.
This is a generous size as far as handhelds go
and it still works pretty well when used on a table.
I find it to provide a
fairly immersive experience, at least when wearing headphones.
And that's because *sigh* well, the built-in speakers aren't that great.
They sound pretty thin, which is understandable
given the console's size,
but they also don't get all that loud.
And this could be a problem for multiplayer games, when Switch is used in portable mode.
And I say "portable mode," because Switch can be used as a home console too.
The included dock is the key to making this happen.
It has a pair of USB ports on the side for charging controllers,
and on the back is a flipdown door for cable management.
Inside is a USB Type-C port for power input, an HDMI output, and USB 3.0 port.
The console easily drops into the dock and interfaces through that Type-C port on the bottom.
Fire up the system and it's a decidedly different experience than previous Nintendo consoles.
The user interface is clean and streamlined.
The whimsical graphics and background music like you'd find on the Wii U and 3DS are gone.
This UI is thoroughly modern and well, a bit more grown-up.
That's not to say that all the fun's been taken out of it.
There's a dedicated screenshot button on the left Joy-Con
and the Amiibo reader is on the right,
but when setting up a user,
the selection for avatars defaults to images of Nintendo characters,
and setting up a Mii is entirely optional.
I think this says a lot.
Granted, part of what makes the interface so clean and simple is because at the time I'm filming this,
there isn't a whole lot that you can do.
Other than changing settings and browsing through the eShop,
you can play games...
and that's about it.
There's no web browser and no media apps like YouTube, Neflix, or Hulu.
At least at the console's launch, Nintendo seems to have prioritized the gameplay experience.
And thankfully, that experience is solid.
Titles launch pretty quickly and look great.
There's been some criticism about the use of Nvidia's Tegra processor in the Switch and how it's slower than the Xbox One and PS4,
But when actually playing games, I've never really noticed any difference.
When used as a handheld, Switch clocks down the processor to help
reach the 2½ to 6 hours of battery life that Nintendo promises.
But at the same time, it only needs to push 720p resolution to the built-in screen.
When docked, the CPU runs full speed
and the internal fan kicks in, so it can offer 1080p for your television.
Some games may run at a slightly lower resolution
in order to preserve the frame rate.
Breath of the Wild, for example, is reported to run at 900p instead of 1080,
but unless you purposely sit close to the screen to nitpick the image,
you likely won't notice the difference.
And besides, it's not like Switch is the only console that's been known to do this.
As a home console, the Joy-Cons in their grip make for a perfectly serviceable controller,
but for better comfort, you may wanna consider the Pro controller.
It features the same button layout, but in a more traditional size.
It charges through USB Type-C like the console,
but at $70 US, it's fairly pricey.
And that's a trend that continues with Switch accessories in general.
A Joy-Con grip that's capable of charging 'em goes for $35,
while replacement Joy-Cons themselves are $50 each.
That said, I do find the Switch console to be a solid value at $300,
especially considering it's two systems in one
and includes in the box everything you need to use it as either.
Honestly, its still a bit weird to me to think of what looks like a handheld as a home console.
But it does work and offers a lot of flexibility by doing so.
Okay, so the ultimate question:
Should you buy it?
I'll admit that at launch, the feature set's a bit thin, as is the lineup of launch titles.
But there's a solid roadmap for games in 2017
and Nintendo has said that it plans to add features
like streaming media apps as time goes on.
As far as hardware goes, I can't find any showstoppers or major faults.
I mean, it'd be nice if there was an LED to show when the battery is done charging, but...
that's about it.
Any concerns with the console, as far as I can tell...
can generally be addressed through software updates.
It feels more like Switch is a blank canvas,
rather than a product rushed to market to mitigate the failure of its predecessor.
We know more features are on the way, like online multiplayer and Virtual Console titles.
They're... just not here yet.
So the way I see it: if you buy into the whole "hybrid home and portable" concept,
and are a fan of Nintendo's franchises, it comes down to this:
If you expect game consoles to do everything the very first time you fire 'em up,
then you may want to hold off for a while.
Otherwise, pick up Switch sooner than later and enjoy the ride.
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