My experience with the Nintendo Switch

I got a Nintendo Switch for my birthday a couple months ago. I want to share with you my experiences with this console so far.

The Nintendo Switch is a versatile console. You can plug it to your TV and you can use it as a handheld device. It has a tactile 720p screen (6.2 inches) with enough brightness to play outside, and it comes with a dock with HDMI output in order to play at home in TV mode. The output resolutions in TV mode vary from 720p to 1080p, depending on the game.

The Nintendo Switch

Right outside the box, it comes with two small controllers named Joy-Con, which can be joined together by means of a grip resulting in a full controller experience with a button layout similar to the Xbox One controller (not as confortable tough, but it resembles a puppy face, wich is nice). Separated, each Joy-Con is a functional SNES-like controller ready to be used in casual games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Ultra Street Fighter II. Hence, from the beginning you can enjoy the local multiplayer experience with friends or family, at home or outside.

Joy-Con controllers

The small Joy-Con can be unconfortable at first, specially if you have big hands, but for short gaming sessions, they work well. In the case of single player experiences, e.g. in Zelda Breath Of The Wild, you can use them with the above mentioned Joy-Con grip or without it, the later letting you have a relaxed posture with extended arms. It felt weird at first, but after a while it was confortable and cool. Both Joy-Con also have motion sensors, useful for games such as Just Dance. They also have screen capture and home buttons, an also a NFC chip in the right stick, necessary for Amiibo.

About the OS, it is minimalist, quick and straightforward. I wish it had Netflix or YouTube apps, but it's fine overall. You can access your games, the e-shop, the screenshot galery, settings menu, etc. After its release on March 3rd, the Nintendo Switch has received four updates to enhance the user experience.

Nintendo Switch OS - UI

About its processing power, the Switch has an NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip (Maxwell architecture). It's not the latest, most powerful or power efficient of the Tegra chips, but it delivers on running the games on both handheld and TV modes. Its processing power is lower than the chips on the PS4 or Xbox One (not even mention the PS4 Pro or the Xbox One X), closing doors to many upcoming AAA games such as Anthem, Call Of Duty WW2, Star Wars Battlefront II and Wolfenstein The New Colossus. Nevertheless, the Switch is an original proposition with big games on the horizon such as Super Mario Odyssey and Splatoon 2, as well as previosly released masterpieces such as Zelda Breath Of The Wild, whose original artstyle looks good. It could run better, with higher resolution and framerate, but it looks good.

Screenshot from Zelda Breath Of The Wild

Speaking about games... Not all the important third-party games are out. Popular titles such as FIFA 18 (EA), NBA 2K18 (2K) and Roket League (Psyonix) will be released for the hybrid console this year. Plus, you will be able to play them anywhere, solo or with friends. Undoubtedly, these games will bring many benefits to the console in terms of sales.

FIFA 18 - Nintendo Switch (29/09/17)

For now, I have three games. Zelda Breath Of The Wild, Mario Kart Deluxe and Ultra Street Fighter II - The Final Challengers. I've already played the first two on my Wii U and the third one on the arcades many years ago. Hence, no surprises so far. But the upcoming games... the upcoming games have me really excited. Splatoon 2 and Super Mario Odyssey will be awesome! Let's hope 2018 brings with it many more strong titles to the Switch.

Super Mario Odyssey - Nintendo Switch (27/10/17)

For now, my experience with the Nintendo Switch has been good. Thanks for reading this blog entry. Any suggestions, criticism or questions are welcome. Don't get to follow me on Twitter @WoomyGamer. Bye!!!