Nintendo released it’s ninth-generation console, the Switch, to much fanfare back in March of 2016. The question still remains, however; three months later, has the Switch lived up to the hype? Let’s dive in. The DesignFirst and foremost, the Switch is plastic on plastic. Some have speculated that this is because plastic screens don’t crack, but this leaves us with a separate issue. The screen is extremely prone to scratches, even by Nintendo’s included Dock attachment, so a screen protector is a must for this product. The central console is a relatively small, yet wide, tablet with two detachable controllers, called Joy-Cons. The tablet has a battery life of five hours at most in our testing; the Joy-Cons live up to Nintendo’s estimate of twenty hours. The two Joy-Cons can be attached to a Grip accessory, that makes for a more traditional gameplay experience. They can be used separately too, and of course, like previously said, can be attached to the Switch tablet itself. This is how they charge. The tablet can be docked to bring the gameplay to the television, which makes it a “hybrid” console. The tablet charges both through this TV dock and through a USB-C port at the bottom. The SpecsInside the console is a Nvidia Tegra X1 chip. This is a great processor for Android tablets, but not so much for a game console like the Nintendo Switch. Gameplay is smooth, but this won’t replace your PS4 or Xbox One. The tablet can also get extremely hot during heavy gameplay, such as in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the console’s launch title. There is a capacitive touchscreen on the tablet, which won’t be very useful for games, but for things like social sharing and navigating the OS, it is miles better than the resistive screen on the Wii U. Speaking of the OS, it also trumps the Wii U in terms of aesthetics, but the U has support for an internet browser, Netflix, and the Miiverse social network. Nintendo has promised support for streaming services on the Switch, but so far they have not shown up. Finally, the Switch does have support for WiFi, but for some reason our unit wouldn’t even notice the existence of the two networks we tested. The GamesComments are closed.
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June 2017
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