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The Nintendo Switch Is A Technological Work Of Art

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(Credit: Nintendo/Erik Kain)

The Nintendo Switch is a sexy beast.

These are words I never thought I'd use to describe a Nintendo product, let alone a video game gadget, but here we are. Gone are the days of the clunky Wii U and its haphazard, half-baked design.

In fact, Nintendo's upcoming video game console is so impeccably crafted, it gives both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One S a run for their money. This is a gadget with sex appeal, and the first video game console to achieve what Apple achieved with the iPad. Making tech sexy is no small feat, and it's this achievement alone which has the potential to do what the Wii U couldn't: Appeal to a broad consumer base that goes beyond traditional gamers and Nintendo fans.

Nintendo has taken all of its gaming chops and coupled them with a design straight out of the Apple playbook. The combination is something truly magical. The Switch may not have much on it just yet---I've only used it to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild so far---but the hardware itself is beautiful to look at, to hold, to listen to. It's a work of techno-art, and I'm more excited by it than I was by any of the VR headsets that landed in 2016.

First Impressions

(Credit: Erik Kain)

Before we go further, this is not a review. My full review will come after I've had much more time with the Switch. I can't judge a console based on one video game, and I haven't even tried the system out in table-top mode. These are first impressions only. A preview, if you will, until a more in-depth, fleshed out piece materializes.

While it's true that there isn't much to do with a Switch yet---we learned today that the Virtual Console won't even be available at launch!---this is only an issue of timing. I'd be much more concerned if there were plenty of software but the hardware was lackluster. Instead, we have fantastic, sleek hardware that works really well and a software deficit. That's easier to fix, even if it's yet another console launching with too little content.

It's hard to really describe how the Switch feels without actually playing with it. It's a really visceral experience, that calls on all of your senses.

With the Joy-Con controllers attached to the tablet, the machine looks awesome. It's a slender device that defies the proportions we've come to expect from tablets, wider and not as thin. When you slide the controllers into either side of the tablet, they make an audible snap sound, similar to what you hear at the beginning of every Switch commercial. Sliding them back out requires the press of a button, but is fairly simple.

Happy Happy Joy-Con

(Credit: Erik Kain)

Having not played with the tabletop mode---my copy of 1-2 Switch is on the way and will have to be featured in a separate piece---I can't speak to many of the Joy-Con controllers' functions. They have haptic feedback, motion controls and just about everything else you could ask for in a controller, but until I've spent more time with them I can't say how well all of these things work. I do like that motion controls exist as one aspect of the overall experience. At least in Zelda, this comes in very handy when it comes to aiming (and some other mechanics as well).

One thing I noticed right away is that the controllers are pretty small. I have big hands, and I can almost completely engulf a gamepad. This worried me at first, but I've realized after hours of play that I really don't mind. Even attached to the grip rather than the tablet, the controls feel fine. Unlike some critics, I don't find them too cramped, though I do plan on investing in a Pro controller for TV play.

User Interface

(Credit: Erik Kain)

The UI is simple and easy to navigate. To be fair, there's not much to navigate to at this point, but the simple, minimalist aesthetic is very appealing. It's very simple and straightforward and clean and snappy. There's none of the lag you experience with the Xbox One or Wii U.

There's a screenshot button on the left controller that makes taking screenshots a breeze, though I'm not sure how to share screenshots just yet.

Put the Switch into sleep mode and it pops right back alive when you hit the power button. This brings you to a screen that shows the app you were last using (Zelda of course, for the time being). Transitioning from TV to handheld mode is a snap, and would be even quicker if you had a Pro controller for the TV and simply left the Joy-Cons attached while docked, only removing them for tabletop mode. The system itself charges via a USB-C cable, which is the same as my Pixel phone. That's a happy coincidence.

A More Grown-Up Video Game Console

(Credit: Erik Kain)

The system itself feels less "kiddy" than the past two Nintendo consoles. The Wii U constantly hummed at you, while little Mii avatars chirped away. The Switch has none of this. Its audio feedback is as sharp and sleek as its physical design. This is a video game console that's designed to appeal just as much to grown-ups as kids.

Perhaps the least impressive things about it are the dock and grip, both of which feel a little less substantial and more plastic than the tablet and Joy-Cons, which really doesn't matter. I expect we'll get a third-party grip that puts a little more space between the Joy-Cons at some point also, making it more of a rectangle than a square.

Obviously this is too early to give a recommendation one way or another since we still don't know so much about the system---how its multiplayer will function, for instance---but in terms of design and basic functionality, the Switch is leaps and bounds better than the Wii U. It actually feels like a next-gen console rather than just a system with a better processor in a new box.

Nintendo has designed something truly special with the Switch. Let's just hope that they can keep the content flowing and bring more third parties on board.

I'll have much more to say about the Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other Switch titles in the coming days so stay tuned. And if you have any questions that I may not have covered here, don't hesitate to reach out.

See Also: My unboxing of the Nintendo Switch

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