The Hunt for the Perfect Switch
We’ve all been there. We meet a nice Switch and take them home. We slowly unpack them, removing their packaging as we eagerly await a night full of gaming. Finally, one thing leads to another, and we finally end up sliding our tablet into the Switch’s dock. Once we’re done playing, we withdraw the tablet to discover it’s gotten all scratched up.
Alternatively, it is possible that you get the Switch home, grab their Joy-Con and it comes loose. Or everything seems fine until you’re riding the bus and decide to subtlety play with the Switch to discover it has some stuck and/or dead pixels.
With Nintendo’s claims that the Switch is their highest selling console ever, Switches are in short demand. If you return your Switch to the store, you’ll likely find that they don’t have an available replacement. Granted, it should be possible to get your money back, but you can also drop your standards and settle for the one you’ve already brought home.
Nintendo America’s Reggie Fils-Aimé tells Time magazine, however, that doesn’t believe that there are issues with some of the Switches out in the wild — all Switches are perfect and should be loved equally.
We have done, as you know, literally hundreds of events, starting with our activity back in January, and most recently the various tours that we continue to take the system out on. As soon as I heard of this report, I asked my teams, ‘Have we seen this in our own experience?’ And the candid answer has been no.
So throughout all of those experiences, throughout all the docking and undocking we’ve done, we haven’t seen it.
Fils-Aimé also discussed a reported issue where various Switches' Joy-Cons won’t sync properly, saying:
Specifically on Joy-Con syncing, all I can tell you is that we are aware of and have seen some of the reports. We’re asking consumers a lot of questions. That’s why we want to get consumers on our help line, so we can get as much information to understand the situation as possible. And so we are in a fact-finding mode, to really understand the situation and the scenarios. And with that information, we’ll look and see what the next steps are.
Fils-Aimé’s humblebragging about how he and his team have played with numerous Switches at hundreds of events, all without issue, should not dissuade those who believe their Switch isn’t perfect from seeking help. In fact, Nintendo has made the surprise move of creating a support service for those living with an imperfect Switch.
If you are considering playing with a Switch however, you should probably go to the effort of making sure you have a healthy supply of screen protectors, and ensure that you put one over your tablet. Remember, safety first.
