The launch of any new console is big news for the gaming community, and the release of the Nintendo Switch is no different. The hybrid home/portable console released on Friday and the majority of gaming news predictably centered on it. Since this is the first legitimately new console release since I joined Digital Crack (the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S does NOT count!), I decided to talk about the positives and negatives about its launch.
For the record, I’m hoping Nintendo succeeds with the Switch. I may be unhappy with their current business model, but I feel gaming needs three strong competitors in it. I believe a strong, healthy Nintendo will push Microsoft and Sony past their comfort zones and lead to better games for us.
Anyway, let’s look at a couple of highlights for the Nintendo Switch.
Pre-Orders and Availability
We all figured there would be issues with Switch stock. Amazon was hammered by customers upset that their pre-orders weren’t fulfilled on launch day. Past that, however, the launch was rather smooth. GameStop reports that the launch was a huge success, and other retailers reported no problems. In fact, Walmart, Target, and even GameStop had systems left over for walk-up customers.
This was in stark contrast to the launch of the NES Classic Edition, where stock was seemingly artificially limited by Nintendo in order to bump up hype. Granted, the launch of a new console is a bigger deal than the launch of an admittedly niche item. Still, you always have to worry when Nintendo is the one doing the distributing.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Almost Broke the Universe
The accolades for Nintendo’s latest iteration in its venerated series caused braingasms all across the landscape. Slews of TEN OUTTA TEN proclamations were marred only by Eurogamer Italy, who DARED give this OBVIOUS MASTERPIECE OMG THE BEST EVER AND IT’S PERFECT game a nine out of ten. This was enough to get Zelda fanboys and fangirls into a tizzy.
Hey, all you folks who are complaining about a nine out of ten for Breath of the Wild? CALM YOUR FUCKING TITS! SERIOUSLY! Unless you work for Nintendo or have a real financial interest in the game’s Metacritic rating, nothing about a nine out of ten should bother you. If it does, re-examine your priorities. Immediately!
Personally, I think Breath of the Wild looks and plays amazing. I am looking forward to finally buying the game. On the Wii U.
…but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild wasn’t the best-selling game.
This isn’t fair in the least, but it bears mentioning. Sales of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were expected to be high, and they were. Let’s be serious: there was no other launch title on the Switch that was going to eclipse that juggernaut.
Unfortunately, the game wasn’t the best-selling game during the weekend. That title went to Sony’s Horizon: Zero Dawn for the PlayStation 4. The title was deemed the biggest franchise-launching title for Sony’s eighth-generation console.
Again, it’s not a fair comparison. It’s a launch title for a new system being compared to a title for a firmly established user base. If anything, the fact that Breath of the Wild rose to #2 despite the handicap of buying the new system speaks of how beloved the series is and how anticipated the game is. Let’s see Horizon: Zero Dawn sell systems the way Nintendo has!
Framerates?
A lot of ink has been spilled over the framerate issued that plague the Nintendo Switch when in home mode. Using Breath of the Wild again as a comparison, the game reportedly chugs when in its dock and outputting to a TV. The game outputs at 900p in that mode, and the framerates dip well under 30fps at 900p. The reports say the game runs much better in portable mode, where it outputs at 720p.
For the record, I am not a resolution or framerate snob. When I play Civilization VI on my PC, I play at 1080p. I don’t have a monitor that runs a higher resolution, and I’m not about to buy one just for bragging rights. The game looks just fine at 1080p for me. It also runs fine, despite the fact that I have married a Radeon RX 480 to an inferior AMD A8-3870K CPU. It does not have any noticeable hiccups when I play.
(I am upgrading my PC, so we shall see if my snobbery arises after the upgrade. No guarantees.)
However, if I were to play a game on a new console and one of its launch titles were to struggle, I’d be miffed. I knowingly admit that resolutions and framerates aren’t everything, but if the game begins to buckle under the demands of the game and chugs like a Ferrari on regular gasoline, I will take issue. Those stutters affect the gameplay experience negatively, and I would rather avoid them.
I’d like some input on this point. Would gaming at 900p with stutters affect you while playing a game, especially a game as massive as Breath of the Wild?
Hardware Issues
Reports have been popping up about the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers desynching. Apparently, it affects the left Joy-Con more than the right. A day-one patch has resolved the issue for some, but other users still have desyncing problems.
Nintendo has chimed in on the issue, saying it’s caused by interference. According to them, it is best put the Switch “out in the open”, instead of placing it in a cluttered area. Among the areas frowned upon by Nintendo are “near an aquarium”, “pressed against a large amount of wires and cords”, and “within three to four feet of another wireless device.” The last two I listed would disqualify me from having a Switch, as I have 23 other consoles in an area dedicated to them. I would have to create an isolated space for the Switch in order to make sure I don’t have desyncing issues.
You know, assuming I’m going to buy a Nintendo Switch. Which I’m not.
Reports have also popped up about dead pixels on the console’s built-in 1028×720 screen. Dead pixels vex perfectionists like me, who don’t want to have black dots ruin our image. Nintendo, however, doesn’t seem fazed by this. On their support site, their stance is made very clear: “Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect.”
Many companies, including Dell and HP, accept a number of dead pixels – usually five or six – as usual, so Nintendo isn’t necessarily alone on this. Apple, to their benefit, has a zero-tolerance approach for dead pixels on smaller screens. If an iPad or iPhone has a single dead pixel, Apple will replace the defective device and kill it with fire. On laptop screens above 9.7 inches, however, they loosen their stance a bit and ape Dell. The amounts vary; 30” screens can get away with as much as eight dead pixels on-screen before Apple lights up the furnace.
Nintendo seems to be a bit vague in this area. Considering the nature of LCD and LED displays, it may be in their best interest that they stay vague. Customers, however, won’t be as forgiving as Nintendo is.
Avoid Aftermarket Skins!
For those who like to personalize their consoles and controllers with aftermarket skins, DON’T!
Aftermarket skin manufacturer dbrand posted a series of tweets outlining the issues with sticking aftermarket skins on the Nintendo Switch. The short version: the Switch’s surface does not like adhesive surfaces placed on it. Adhesives eat up the Switch’s surface, which owners would not appreciate. dbrand has backed away from supporting the Switch as a result. Expect other skin manufacturers to follow suit.
Nintendo Being Nintendo
(Note: I missed this section entirely when I first posted it. As usual, we can blame alcohol for the slip-up.)
Of course, a Nintendo launch wouldn’t be complete without stupid Nintendo antics. Apart from its shenanigans with its online service, which have not been rolled out fully, reports have come out that you can’t share micro SD cards between consoles. Looking from the outside, it makes a bit of sense. But tell that to a person who tries out a friend’s Switch, saves a game, and then gets his own.
Of course, Nintendo would prefer that you buy their micro SD cards. It makes sense to stick to first-party peripherals, especially during the first week of sale. Except that Nintendo Switch-branded micro SD cards are up to 3x more expensive than offerings from other companies. That is also to be expected; the Nintendo branding will require a premium price. At least, it’s to be expected if it were a proprietary technology, like the memory cards used for the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2. If you’re charging more for a standardized technology just because NINTENDO, then it’s shit.
…but how does it taste?
I commend Nintendo for making their game cards taste bad.
I can attest to the fact that small children will stick ANYTHING in their mouths. To combat this, Nintendo has added Denatonium, a chemical used in anti-nail biting treatments, to dissuade the little scallywags. This is a good thing. Parents don’t want to have their precious little demons swallowing $60 games and either having them get sick or, most likely, having to fish out their copy of 1 2 Switch from the child’s feces. Nintendo has done them a solid in this regard.
YouTubers, on the other hand, seem to feel this is a challenge from Big N!
YouTubers (and publications like Kotaku on YouTube) have been posting silly videos where they lick the fucking things to test this! Listen…I don’t eat vegetables on general principle. The reason is obvious: THEY TASTE LIKE NUCLEAR SOIL!!! And I had to actually EAT them to come to that conclusion! If you tell me something tastes rancid ahead of time, WHY THE FUCK would you think I’m putting my tongue on it??? For me, a Nintendo Switch card only goes in two places: the console, and the case it came in!
I will, however, give Jim Sterling a bit of credit for doing it as part of a dumb bit. Kudos, Jim Fucking Sterling Son! I laughed a bit.
Still a Solid Launch
All told, however, Nintendo has a pretty solid launch for the Switch. GameStop called the launch a success, as stated above. GameSpot, the website, noted that the Switch had a better first-weekend launch in the UK than the Wii U (80,000 vs 40,000). It did, however, perform worse than the 3DS (113,000), the PS4 (250,000), and the Xbox One (150,000) in comparison. GameStop, the retailer (God, I wish one of them would change names just to end the confusion!), did not release figures to back up its proclamation, but it may not need to. Although there were a few consoles available for walk-up customers, it absolutely blew past its pre-ordered stock.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I want Nintendo to succeed. A legitimate third competitor in the video game space can only be good for the gaming consumer. Also, Nintendo is steeped in history and reverence among its fan base, and seeing Nintendo thrive will please them especially. Despite my disdain for their antics, I also personally want to see them do well.
