Nintendo Switch isn’t even a week old yet, but it has already received its fair share of criticism. A number of critics are saying several elements of the hardware fell short of what they intended to offer, such as the “flimsy” kickstand and the “inconvenient” position of the charging port. The folks at Kotaku came up with the following points in regard to some of the hardware’s “noteworthy shortcomings.”
- The kickstand on the back of the Switch is flimsy and seems destined to snap off. It props up the screen at a steep angle unsuited to a lot of situations and generally feels unsteady. It also doubles as a cover for the MicroSD card slot, so if it does break, your memory card will be exposed.
- Both the Joy-Con grip and the Pro Controller lack a headphone output, putting the Switch behind the PS4, Xbox One and even the Wii U in terms of allowing you to easily listen to game audio on headphones from your couch when you’re using the console to play a game on the TV.
- The charging port is on the bottom of the Switch, which is fine when you’re holding it but means you can’t prop up the screen on a table while charging it, because the plug gets in the way.
- The release buttons you use to detach the Joy-Con are small and hard to press without accidentally pressing other buttons as well.
- The caps that slide over the Joy-Con when you’re using them separately are oddly tricky to get on and off.
- There’s no HDMI output on the tablet, so if you want to plug the console into a TV at a hotel or your relatives’ house, you’ll need to bring the dock with you.
- There’s no support for bluetooth headsets, which feels like an omission in a high-tech tablet device in 2017.
- You can’t transfer your saved games to a new console or a MicroSD card, which means there’s currently no way to back up your saves.
- If you want to use the included AC adapter to charge the console on the go, you have to open up the dock and remove it before taking it with you.
- The included HDMI cable is a hair under 5’ long, a foot shorter than the 6’ that I’ve come to think of as standard and too short to use in my entertainment center. Apparently Nintendo likes shipping things with cables that are too short.
- The included Joy-Con grip doesn’t charge the controllers, so if you use the Switch for TV gaming and want to charge the Joy-Con every night you’ll have to disassemble the grip controller and re-attach the Joy-Con to the handheld in the dock. It’s an awkward process, and your only alternative is to buy a Pro Controller or shell out $30 for a nearly identical “charge grip” with a USB input.
I love the Switch, think it’s great,however these shortcomings are a perfect example of a rushed product. In a year or so, we’ll see a Switch Mk. II which will fix all these things. At the very least, Bluetooth headset support is fixed with an update.
Yet I can name of 10 “Noteworthy Shortcomings” of the PS4 and Xbox One at launch.
PS4 Launch Shortcomings:
1. Lack of any good exclusive titles that would make you want to purchase the system at launch.
2. The glossy covering of the HDD area scratched up pretty quickly despite it being black and looked out of place from the rest of the system.
3. Dualshock 4’s battery life is poor to the point were you’d need to actually get a wall USB Micro charger for the controller.
4. The touchpad on the system is barely used for any games and feels like a tact on gimmick by Sony rather than something that would improve gameplay.
5. PlayStation Camera is not included with the base system which means that the free game you get with the system is rendered useless.
6. You can’t turn off the light which many people have had issues with.
7. Developers barely even use the lightbar on the controller anymore which was meant to “improve the experience”.
8. PS4 Stand for the system was not included with the actually product, this means you had to go out and buy the stand separately if you wanted the system to be horizontal but even then that causes some very horrible overheating issues.
9. The launch system is prone to overheating like hell and sometimes die faster than the Xbox 360 did with the red ring of death.
10. Even with the included 500GB, the file sizes for most games took up the space really quickly.
Xbox One Launch Shortcomings:
1. Kinect needed to be connected to the system at all times if you wanted the system to turn on (Before the update).
2. You had to connect your console to the internet to authenticate your system thanks to the moronic DRM that Microsoft had put in place (Before the update).
3. Lack of good exclusive launch games which meant that the system had to rely on Third Party titles which in itself was pretty lacking.
4. The Xbox One controller still requires AA Batteries instead of an actual chargeable battery that both the Wii U and PS4 have. You can buy a recharging kit but that’ll cost you about $30 extra.
5. Overheating issues were more common in the Xbox One than on PS4 but both systems had a fan noise issues.
6. Disc munching Xbox….
7. Kinect was useless outside of menu navigation and playing some of the awful launch titles that were designed for the Kinect.
8. Xbox One controller itself felt really cheap and nasty which meant that throwing or dropping the thing would result in a lot of breakages over time.
9. It comes with a Power Brick which is moronic seeing how the size of the system would easily fit a power supply inside the system without any issues (Xbox One S managed it in a much smaller form factor).
10. Xbox One itself is just massive and looks like an eyesore in a home entertainment area, this also meant that you couldn’t even stand the system on it’s side without fear it’d fall and break.
So there you go, also those ones are much more sever than what these Switch “Shortcomings” are.
Sounds like damage control.
*Sniff* I smell a butthurt fanboy
So the PS4 and Xbox One had no issues?
Sounds like you’re calling my list “Damage Control” mainly because you’re just damage controlling.
You stupid thing! It’s always you blind fan boys who always have to mention the Xbox One or the PS4 because someone brought up something negative about the Switch; or any Nintendo product in fact. Do you really think anyone gives a shit about your list? Also notice how you’re the only one that brought up the Xbox One and PS4 because the Switch is its own issues. Both of those consoles are already successful.
The whole fanboy thing is stupid but so was the “fanboy”s list. Because no no one does care. The switch is fucking awesome. I feel bad for people who don’t love it like I do. I don’t want to argue about it tho lol. Who gives
Fare enough:P
Nintendo fanboys. They think if they list the shortcomings of their competition’s consoles that it makes Nintendo’s non-existent. Of course, the Sony & Microsoft fanboys aren’t any better. Fanboys, regardless of system, are all mindless trash with their delusions. They can cry about it all they want but it doesn’t change a damn thing. The rest of the world doesn’t revolve around their head-canon.
Oh & I forgot to say welcome back last night when I saw one of your first posts. I hope the military life is treating you guys well.
Okay dude you have clearly gone full fanboy mode to damage control. There are issues with the other consoles, but your lists are pathetic at best.
PS4:
1. The Switch has basically One game that is getting tons of praise and that’s Zelda and it’s not even exclusive to the Switch as you can get it on the Wii U. So technically speaking your “exclusives” are crap like 1-2 Switch and Bomberman R which very few people are talking about. So if that’s a shortcoming than the Switch shares it too.
2. I’ll give you that one, but at least the PS4 has an excuse: It’s a stationary unit so it is not intended to get scuffed or anything. The Switch’s screen being easily scratched is a huge problem because it’s a portable. Also scratched screen can affect the ability to see games, and this list is for shortcomings and most of the ones listed for the Switch actually could affect the usability of the system or the end user negatively. The PS4’s Hard drive cover having a scratch or two doesn’t affect anything. It’s kind of a weak comparison in other words. It’s grabbing at straws.
3. It lasts about 5 hours. Which is still longer than the Switch. More importantly, it’s not a portable console so battery life isn’t a huge deal since you can plug the controller into the system and keep playing. Also virtually anyone has a Micro USB laying around these days so it’s not like you’ll have to buy a wall charger or anything for it. I have like 10 of them from old phones and other devices just laying around. Even an iPhone wall charger will work. If you don’t have at least like 4 wall chargers already then you must live in 1997.
4. And you think the Switch’s touch screen will be used heavily? Look at the 3DS which seldom advertises the 3D feature anymore, they even made a version of it without the 3D. Look at how the later DS library didn’t focus on the touch screen. Look at how poorly the Wii U’s second screen was used. If this is a criticism to the PS4, it applies to the Switch too.
5. The playstation camera is literally not required at all. It’s only needed for VR and there is a VR package that includes it. VR is totally optional, unlike a screen protector for the Switch which is almost mandatory with how easy it is to scratch.
6. Okay? You can’t turn off the lights on virtually any controller what’s your point?
7. How does that inconvenience the player though? How does that shortcoming affect the player negatively? A non-point, again grabbing at straws.
8. Not many people stand their system up, also where are you getting this overheating information?
9. Where did you get that information? I didn’t see any reports of PS4s dying any more than a normal system. Also to imply they die more than the 360’s red ring? Lol. Totally bogus dude, let’s see some numbers, sources for those numbers, etc. Don’t exaggerate to make yourself feel better.
10. At 500GB the system’s default storage surpasses the entirety of what the Switch can hold. The hard drive is also expandable and you can attach and external. The reason why games were so big is because they needed to be to house larger files for the higher res graphics and textures.
Xbox I don’t own so I can’t really attest to most of those, but my point being: I get it. You like the Switch. That’s cool. You are entitled to like it, but honestly jumping to attack the PS4 and Xbox One when the Switch is criticized is the sign of a butthurt fanboy. Can’t admit there are issues with the Switch so you need to point the finger elsewhere.
Honestly you should hold Nintendo accountable. You should hold them to a quality standard and request they fix issues like this so they don’t happen again. Giving them praise and saying their competitors are shit is only telling them to keep delivering shit like this.
I enjoy all the systems, and I enjoy PC as well. Blind loyalty wins you nothing. Blind Loyalty only benefits the company, not you. Not being a sheep forces them to keep the quality high.
You can’t game off of an external HDD connected to a PS4.
Actually, the PS4 is getting an update that will allow the use of external HDDs.
As of today, you can.
*just started up PS4 & saw the update* Yay! :D
Perfect could not of said it better myself, … Most of these Switch ones are null so it don’t count
This list is BS. 2 things here are valid complaints (Saves and included joy con grip). The rest is just useless nitpicking.
The console wasn’t rushed. Soft launch and same problems that plague any other console launch. You honestly sound like half the damn dreamers who were like “nintendo is going to use x86 and they are going to be back in teh game with a normal console”
It’s really nitpicks more than anything.
PS4 and Xbox One had more “Noteworthy shortcomings” at launch and more.
Kotaku Haters, i only see 2 issues, but I really don’t care, did they even had a list like this for the ps4 or xbone launch? it just shows the Kotaku Writer is just a hater.
Some of these are fair criticisms (the kickstand is actually a HUGE problem to me) but there are some weird ones… No HDMI output on the tablet? Is that really that big of an issue? The dock isn’t THAT difficult to carry around, and it would mean another port that they would have to design around for the console…
I think no video out from the tablet is a big deal, but I travel for work half of the year. I bought a Hori stand that solves the kickstand issue and let’s you charge while in tabletop mode. The biggest issue to me beside the left joy con is the lack of Bluetooth headphone use and not being able to transfer saves. Those should be fixable Via software updates I assume.
The no video from the tab is a bullshit complaint. How did you play your wii or n64 when you traveled? Oh thats right, you either didn’t have the option or you brought the whole thing… the dock weighs like and ounce and the cables all wrap up inside it lol. I think they will eventually come out with a switch xl or somehing similar to cater to these complaints but IMO right now its the coolest video game machine ever and people need to stop bitching
I don’t think Nintendo will be letting us move our saves. They did that to prevent pirating. Nintendo is wayyyy too focused on pirating when they really shouldn’t be.
ESPECIALLY when the hardcore pirates can easily get around whatever bullshit Nintendo does to stop them. Essentially, Nintendo is just punishing those of us that DON’T pirate shit.
I personally see these as minor issues and hasn’t truly affected my enjoyment with the system thus far.
Except the bit about the Joy-Con Straps; I feel like I’m going to break something every time I take them off. If anything needs a redesign, it has to be those.
I can actually destroy this pretty easily.
1. The Kickstand maybe flimsy, but you’re not going to be touching the system a lot and it sounds like you’re just complaining about it because CNET did it.
2. I can see why having no headphone jack on the either controllers would suck, but don’t forget the Xbox One required you to use a proprietary headset with the older model of Xbox One controller and it wasn’t until the Xbox One S is when we saw them using the standard jack that Sony’s Dualshock 4 was using.
3. So you’re complaining about the charging port, huh? One problem… If they put the port on top of the system with the rest of the buttons, vent and Cartridge port then it’d be covered up whilst inside the dock. So having the port at the bottom makes sense.
4. Really… you had a hard time trying to get the release button to work? I managed to do it without even touching any of the other buttons just fine… then again, you guys are slowly turning into CNET and really just want to complain for clicks.
5. The caps have a secondary lock near the strap itself which you need to flip down to unlock, otherwise you’re just pulling at it and it could damage your Joy Con.
6. No HDMI out on the system itself… oh jee, it’s like they did that deliberately so you’d use the dock which would be much safer and work much better… Seriously, this article feels like clickbait.
7. No support for overpriced Bluetooth headphones you say? Even though it could come in a later update… again, not many people will have bluetooth headphones to use on the system.
8. … Really… this one is the dumbest complaint of them all…. Transfer saves from what? I didn’t know all the Wii U games are coming to the Switch.. Oh, only Zelda and Mario Kart 8 are on Switch? SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT TRANSFERRING SAVES?! Seriously, you guys really are just making clickbait articles now.
9. Yet you can go out and buy a pretty cheap HDMI that’s longer… also, would you set your PS4 20ft away from your TV? No? Well then, feck up.
10. The Included grip not charging the grips is a valid complaint, but it would have meant that Nintendo would have jacked up the price to around $30 more.
So out of 10 of those “Noteworthy Shortcomings”, only 2 of them really are valid complaints… sort of. The rest sounds like you just nit picked because you wanted clicks… MyClickBaitNews. com
It seems you think whoever made this list also said all those issues were major AND that the PS4 and Xbox one didn’t have any flaws. But the point of the list is just listing the issues this particular user has with his Switch. No need to bring “console wars” to the commentaries.
the kickstand is a problem if you try to use it an a train that is shaking alot the thing is going to be offbalance eventually
Such butthurt. Just because you have impressive damage control ability doesnt mean nothing the author said is valid to others.
regarding transferring saves, it is simple. for example a person plays a game for hours and later the switch shows a defect or whatever, upon replacement of the switch you may want to backup your save data, well with the switch you’re out of luck, because you cant transfer your data anywhere.
I can some of these are fair criticisms but I see some of these as not really there.
These “criticisms” are what I like to call Entitled Snob Criticisms because they are pathetic and/or have an easy solution
Most of these are ok criticisms but “There’s no HDMI output on the tablet, so if you want to plug the console into a TV at a hotel or your relatives’ house, you’ll need to bring the dock with you.”
The dock is the tv console. kinda like if i want to bring my xbox to my freinds house i have to phisicly bring the console
Nintendo considers it a portable home console and even brought up the handle on the GameCube as being an influence for the Switch yet, in that case, it’s somewhat more cumbersome bringing it to other people’s houses than most consoles since it’s more pieces. I’m also assuming it isn’t a good idea to bring around in the dock.
I love the Switch so far, and every console in existence has shortcomings. Especially at launch. Haven’t had a single issue with mine so far.
same… either these people can’t take care of their shit or they’re just disturbed people that enjoy ripping things apart for no apparent reason
Should I just get Breath of the Wild for Wii U, regardless of 3GB installation and load times?
If you don’t have a Switch then yes, get it for Wii U. It’s still a fantastic game and you get almost identical experiences on both systems.
3gb install was pretty quick… you can have a meal and its ready… load times are something we’ve all gotten used to and they aren’t that ling either. Game is so good, it makes no difference.
The only thing I wish it had is a head phone jack in the controller cuz I game mostly at night while the fam is tucked away but if I must this is the only time undock the switch. Other than that it stays docked. HDMI cord was pretty short though but it’s mean to be next to your tv so no real biggy either to me.
Switch is amazing. Love sleep mode and hdmi-cec support.
A lot of these points I totally agree with (the inability to transfer saves is utterly ridiculous), but many of them seem to be simply subjective opinions.
What gets me is people acting like the Switch’s problems are somehow surprising. Have previous console launches suddenly been forgotten?
It’s par for the course these days – hardware launches will have missing features, quality issues and a lack of games. I don’t know why Nintendo is getting singled out here – I guarantee PS5 and Scorpio will also have launch woes.
Oh well, back to Zelda.
The one where he complains about his entertainment center made me laugh, lol.
What’s an “entertainment center”? Oh yeah, a waste of crappy furniture that deserves to be on the side of the road. Mount your tv son haha
Yeah because you an “entertainment center” means a tv has to be held by furniture as opposed to being mounted. Even more reason for longer cables if you mount your tv imo. Or your room doesn’t have as many conveniently placed wall outlets as you thought. There are a number of issues that could occur, and to generalize an “entertainment center” as something out of the mid 90s that you bought at Kmart that takes up half a living room is pretty ignorant.
It absolutely sounds like a rushed product with Nintendo trying to get their “new way to game” out there because they fear knock-offs. But it’s ok guys, because Zelda is awesome. So don’t worry about anything else. I smell
Wii U 2.0. Yeah, I’m being that pessimistic. Sue me.
this is a totally different product than the wii u. And it wasn’t really rushed lol.
Of course it’s a “different” product, I’m not directly comparing them in that regard, duh. But the way in which its launch and execution of the console in general has similarities to the Wii U – little information and marketing about the console, “hype” from 3rd parties saying they’re “intrigued/excited/(insert adjective here)” along with Nintendo saying they’ll have lots of 3rd party support, etc. Meanwhile Nintendo seems to be comfortable with revealing little, or revealing things at a later date, or saying they’ll probably have “insert feature here” down the line, or just being arcane and cryptic in general because Nintendo is so damn paranoid and likes to bury their head in the sand.
By the end of its lifetime, the Wii U had a decent amount of -cough 1st party cough – games, but it came with a whimper and died much the same way.
The tech inside may not be rushed (obviously Nintendo puts a lot of time into ensuring their “new way to game” has plenty of R&D), but, again – it seems like Nintendo continuing to do their own thing, hold empty promises of what gamers actually want over our heads, and then give us a nibble (ZELDA, GUYS. OPEN WORLD ZELDA) before taking it away from us.
So yes. Still rushed.
I honestly roll my eyes when someone says the Switch wasn’t rushed. It clearly is with how basic it is with menus & stuff. I had a feeling those of us buying a Switch the 6 months to a year of launch would end up being beta testers. It does explain why Reggie keeps spouting off with the “We want our customers to be up front with us & communicate directly with us about their issues with the Switch.” It’s not because they actually care to listen to us but that they HAVE to listen to us. You don’t do beta tests then ignore the damn beta testers. That’s just incredibly fucking stupid.
Okay, expect my lawyers.
Nitpicks and things that can and probably will be remedied in the future.
None of the above has affected my enjoyment of the system so far.
But I do hope they enable Bluetooth headsets rather sooner than later.
Some of the issues can only be remedied with hardware revisions. No firmware update is gonna allow the Switch to be charged while it’s standing on it’s kickstand. No firmware update will give the left JoyCon a better antennae or prevent the kickstand from popping off.
It feels like anytime someone brings up a legitimate criticism of the Switch, they get dismissed as nitpicks. People did the same when Digital Foundry when they pointed out that areas of BotW run at 20 fps. You may not care and it may not negatively impact your experience playing the game but they’re not asshole for pointing out that the game runs choppy even on Nintendo new hardware.
Charging port had to be on the bottom to make the docking work.
It was the most simplest and cost effective way of doing so.
Do I like it? Not really. Does it bother me enough to whine about it? Not really.
Have you had connection issues with the joy con? Do you know a person in your life that has had an issue with the joy con?
I could not get mine to exhibit the symptoms even when I moved about 4 to 5 meters from the console and blocked the straight view between the console and the joy con.
Kickstand was designed to pop off, so that you do not damage the console if you improperly handle the device.
I do say that the stand should have been few mm closer to middle, and have little wider area like upside down T.
Zelda was being worked on before they announced Wii U. That was a PowerPC platform.
If it were build for the console ground up, it would obviously have less issues on performance.
Though in my experience, noticeable FPS drops happen only when there is a lot of particle effects on the screen, otherwise the game runs fairly well.
Just because you or anyone you know hasn’t experienced these issues doesn’t make them non-existent & a problem for others. Contrary to popular (retarded) belief, not all devices of the same model are released 100% perfect. While many people might get theirs with a live battery, there will be a few that get one with a dead battery & have to get a brand new one.
Just because some youtube clips exists, contrary to popular (retarded) belief does not mean every unit is defective.
Generally. failure rate is about less than 10% for consumer electronics and about 1% are out of the box faulty units (DOA) (statistics that I have had pleasure to get familiar with on my line of work).
I never said that no one ever have had any problems with their electronics. I know a thing or two about defective electronics and manufacturing defects due to my work, I just wanted to bring some contrast, since these things tend to get blown out of proportion very easily.
I’ve seen a number of people talk as if their experiences are the same as everyone else’s so thanks for clarifying. I’m desperate to see the Switch, & Nintendo, succeed, too, but I’m not gonna pretend my experiences reflect others like some other people are doing. One of my pet peeves, I guess. *shrug*
Difference in architecture is less relevant here since development on the Wii U and Switch isn’t bare-metal. Most of a games code is just generic C++ while a small portion may be architecture specific.
If the drops are because of the particles then the we agree on what the issue is, bandwidth. The Switch in handheld mode gets the most stable frame rates. Well in docked mode, the resolution goes up and the GPU clock speed goes up (2.5x) yet it only gets to 900p with drops, that’s because bandwidth doesn’t increase the same amount. Many of the particles in the game (the rain, the rain mist, fog, etc) are transparent which means they stacked on top of each other with only opaque objects able to bock them. That uses a lot of bandwidth.
In other words, if it were made for the Switch from the ground up, it would still have the same issues.
As for whether or not anybody I know has JoyCon issues, no I don’t know anybody who had any. I do know somebody with a dead pixel issue and another bought one just to resell it and he wound up bringing it back without opening it.
Well, I do not know anything about game developement, and not going to act like I do.
But there has not been a console that has not had performance issues on the early games.
I’m just going to wait and see what they can do with a game that has been built from ground up.
Manufacturers have pretty much the same policies regarding dead pixels.
Most of them allow 4 if they are not next to each others.
Understandable. I wasn’t necessarily making a statement about the dead pixel issue there as much as I was pointing out that I know very few people who want one.
In the case of the next Zelda game, I imagine it will be 1080p docked and 720p when mobile but only because they cut down on bandwidth usage not because of more optimized code. The Switch doesn’t have memory that’s much faster than the Wii U. External memory is twice as fast on the Switch but it has to do the same work that the Wii U is doing with it’s external memory plus on-chip memory. Since the GPU probably has a decent sized cache though, it’s understandable why it fares pretty well with BotW at 720p but has some trouble when pushing 50% more pixels.
Also, they could have had the USB C charging port at the top and a version of USB C that just uses contacts on the bottom to have the best of both worlds. It’s redundant, yes, but these are the kinds of design problems that happen when something is designed to be two very different types of devices at a time.
yes this is true but some of the things posted in here under the title of hardware issues are plain software things, just like save backup or BT headsets.
A shame Nintendo didn’t think about allowing the Switch to flip the screen’s image when you flip the thing upside down so you can play tabletop mode & charge the thing in the process.
I wondered about that but they would have to make it so the JoyCons can be put on the other way but the bigger issue would be cooling. Heat rises so you want to suck air in from the bottom and shoot it out the top. Yet another problem with the hybrid idea. Other than laptops, no other portable devices use fans. If the fan is on in portable mode than that also means it’s sucking I believe 1.8 watts out of the thing.
||Xbot confirmed, irrelevant list by default…||
Dude u r so fucking lame
||Do not worry, your life as well as the rest of the human race will cease to exist in the near future, then your worries will be irrelevant as if they aren’t already because well, you will be erased from existence…||
I don’t own any of the current Gen twins or a switch. But I do know that no system launches perfect. Things will be patched up and there is hope for switch fans because, like the ds and 3ds, the switch could have a switch xl or switch pro or something, which would notice stuff over time.
I got the the Switch on launch day (waited 8hrs in 20 or less degrees and high winds outside of a Best Buy in West Des Moines for one – a Neon), and found myself agreeing with every single point on this list, even smiling at a couple points, because it was like “ah, so I’m NOT the only one to struggle with this”…….
……and at the same time, I can’t help coming away from this list with the feeling “So? It’s still a fantastic system!” I guess the things that I like about the system, no, LOVE about the system make this utterly spot-on list of totally legitimate complaints feel less than deeply troubling in its significance.
At the very least, nothing here makes me question my very positive assessment of the system, the feelings of joy I get from playing it, or even admiring it from across the room, or the worthwhileness of the bitter long wait in line I endured to nab it on day one – making it only the second system in history that I’ve had on launch day (the other also being a Nintendo system – N64), and the very first system ever that I’ve waited in line for.
So, “here here!”…..but “so what?” :-)
Cheers!
Wait, you can play a game on the Wii U, displayed on the television and have the sound come out of the gamepad using headphones? This doesn’t work for Zelda Breath of the Wild for me :/
Not all games support this but yes for the most part you can use the game pad headphone jack while playing the console game displayed on your tv screen.
Would have been possible if developers had done off-screen gameplay as a mirror mode instead of sending a black screen to the TV. I never understood that. If someone is using off-screen mode because someone else needed the TV than what harm is there in still sending input to the screen.
The positives of the SWITCH easily outweigh the negatives – oh – i can’t find any negatives – my system works perfectly as it should.
Why publish this ridiculous article?
The only thing that’s annoyed me is the pressing other buttons when removing the joycons it should prevent you pressing buttons if you’re pressing the release
Did I click on the CNET site? *Sees the kickstand part.*
Yep.
Some of those points are just…. dumb….. like
n. 2 – why would anyone use headphones when playing on TV? Doesn´t it took away the very pourpose of using a TV to play? That just don´t make any sense. If I can´t have the TV audio, just play on handheld mode instead.
n. 3 – not a bid deal at all. That´s only true if you´re using it without a proper stand. And it would be painful to charge on the handheld mode if the port was anywhere else.
n. 4 – the small dettach buttons on the joycon are not meant to be pressed when you´re playing ,duh!
n. 5 – the caps are not tricky. My friend´s children (8 and 10 year old) learned to use them just fine. It´s just that people are lazy to read the manuals to know the proper way to take them off.
n. 6 – there´s no sense to put an HDMI port on the tablet because it´s meant to be used as a handheld when not docked. Lame.
n. 8 – that can be corrected with a simple update
n. 9 – you don´t need the AC adapter to charge the tablet… It´s meant to be used for the dock, who charges three devices at once (the tablet and the joy-cons). Wanna charge the tablet? Use a common cell phone USB charger, duh !
n. 10 – “cable too short”. Maybe it´s too short for people who can´t properly arrange their media centers. To me it was ok and it´s easy to buy a longer cable in any eletronics shop
n. 11 – what´s the problem of attaching the joy-cons to the console for charging them “during the night”. You won´t be playing the game when sleeping, duh.
2 – Some people play games when others in the house are sleeping so they decide to use headphones so that they can hear the game without waking people up. Some people also have crappy speakers on their TV and no room for a sound system.
3 – They could have made the port kind of fold back or they could have had a charging port at the top with a contact-based implementation of USB 3.0 on the bottom for the dock.
4 – I’m not sure I get your point. One of the ways you’re supposed to be able to use this is by standing it up on a table and using the JoyCon’s wirelessly.
5 – NOBODY reads the manual.
6 – Just another reason why the hybrid idea was dumb. In order to justify so many of it’s flaws, people have to constantly move the bar with “But it’s a handheld” or “but it’s a console”. For those who don’t do that, they’re just going to hold it to the same standards as console and a handheld.
8 – True
9 – Recent systems have had ways to charge your controller while you’re playing a game on your TV and even the even include that cable in-box. The Switch doesn’t have that ability out of the box, you need a charging grip and another USB-C cable.
11 – That’s not possible if you have two pairs of JoyCons. I know people like bring up that each JoyCon can be used as a controller but that’s not gonna be the case for all games. Sure they can get a Pro Controller but having another set of JoyCons allows more people to potentially play a larger amount of games.
Let’s be serious.
some of these issues truly exist but dont fit the headline of iffues that the switch “hardware” has.
1) bluetooth headsets, since they joycon use BT it wouldnt be a problem to get BT headphones in with a software update.
2) no save backup, let nintendo do some firmware updates and trhe feature will most probably come.
but putting these aside I pretty much agree., especially about the joycon grip, which is kinda sad and the charger wouldnt probably cost that much more for nintendo to include in the switch.
also there are a few more.
there are only grey and the left-red and right blue joycon mix available. no same color sets, no single colored joycon and what hurts the most, you can just not get the same colored joycons that came with the colored switch (left-blue and right-red) unless you buy another switc, although the situation seems different in japan and US.
the next one is kind of a personal issue. the switch is only available in grey or in neon-mix. I would have rather preferred to have grey, red and blue as 3 colorings instead of that weird mix.
black joycon straps, seriously why not just add the colored straps, and while we are at it, why is it so hard to make the straps exactly the same color as the joycons, for a 3rd party I wouldnt be wondering but this is directly from nintendo, so no mercy here.
I can’t agree with most points on that list:
The kickstand is a cheap functional gimmick, that doesn’t break so easily and only cost $4 if it happens, to replace it. It’s not a key feature. They just built this for some smaller titles like snipperclips, playing with a friend and didn’t had the perfect stand in mind.
Real problem:
Both the Joy-Con grip and the Pro Controller lack a headphone output, putting the Switch behind the PS4, Xbox One and even the Wii U in terms of allowing you to easily listen to game audio on headphones from your couch when you’re using the console to play a game on the TV.
But: That’s exactly the same for all previous Nintendo consoles as well. But if I want to play silent in my bed, I can easily grap the console, plug in some headphones and enjoy my game anywhere. This solution isn’t possible with any other console.
The charging port is at the bottom of the Switch and is still a gimmick, not made for 5 hour sessions. On the go hold it with your two hands while charging and obviously the dock needs the plug at the bottom of the console. The only alternative would have been wireless charging and a USB C plug at the top of the device. But wireless charging is always slower and producing hot temperature, damaging the whole experience in dock mode.
There’s no HDMI output on the tablet, so if you want to plug the console into a TV at a hotel or your relatives’ house, you’ll need to bring the dock with you.
=> Yes but you can definitely buy a second dock in the future and if the tablet is connected to a TV screen it automatically set up it’s clock speed. This thing actually protects your tablet, while playing on a TV with better resolution and should secure, that the tablet is charged while playing.
Real Problem:
There’s no support for bluetooth headsets, which feels like an omission in a high-tech tablet device in 2017.
I hope this will be fixed in the future.
Half Problem:
You can’t transfer your saved games to a new console or a MicroSD card, which means there’s currently no way to back up your saves.
But: I am pllaying on Nintendo consoles since 20 years a never lost my saves or took them with me. But because the Swtch is a mobile device I hope they add an opportunity in the future.
If you want to use the included AC adapter to charge the console on the go, you have to open up the dock and remove it before taking it with you. Yeah but they obviously use USB C so many customers already take a cable with them for their smartphones or powerbanks on the go. However you can buy a cable for $7 and in 1-2 years everyone will have 4-5 USB-C cable in his house because it’s standard like Micro USB nowadays.
save backup is imo not a half problem. small example:
your switch breaks, and you have to replace it, result: your saves are dead.
another one: you dont have a switch yet but can play at a switch of a friend, now you get a switch, your saves, they are still only on the switch of your friend.
This is the same with the Wii and the Wii U.
This is just a feature you would like to have, not a problem with the Switch hardware….
That’s as bad as Nintendo saying dead pixels are normal in LCD screens & shouldn’t be seen as a defect. It’s just bullshit.
Nah, it’s not… it’s a feature ;-)
I guess I can give you that it’s not a problem with the Switch hardware but it’s most definitely a problem with the Switch software. It needs to be rectified & soon. There is no reason for save data & digital purchases to be locked to a damn video game system these days when it’s not the case with others.
but to a certain degree they are not wrong. not everyting can be perfect and there are norms in the indurstry for how many dead or stuck pixels are needed to be treated as defect.
for class 2 which is considered standard, for example you would need more than 2 dead or more than 2 stick pixels per million pixels, the switch by the way is slightly under a million with 720p.
it is not a feature “I would like to have”, this is goddamn essential.
but it is not a hardware issue, which is true
I would like to have it too, but cloud saved don’t prevent you from enjoying your games to the fullest.
They obviously don’t have unlimited IT bandwidth so they need to make decisions on what they are going to build first. If Reggie is anyone to go by we could see cloud saves in the near future though.
it doesnt have to be cloud, just backing it up or being able to transfer the save files somewhere (like for example, a microSD).
If I remember correctly, the wii supprted save moving since pretty much always, and some games went as far to literally save the data on the Wiimote, so you could take your game with you.
I myself thought I was going to break those little things that slide onto the Joy-Cons. I couldn’t get it off for nothing at first. Even when pulling the little lock out. But I think I was trying to slide them off the wrong direction. I also disliked how the dock was basically nothing but cheap plastic. For whatever reasons, I expected it to be heavier, and made much stronger. I haven’t played my Switch enough to know what other complaints I might have.
Hmmm. the only issue I have with the system is:
– You can’t transfer your saved games to a new console or a MicroSD card, which means there’s currently no way to back up your saves.
Most of these don’t bother me at all.
* It is very awkward to remove the power cable to take it with you (though if you get a pro controller, it comes with a seperate Usb-UsbC charging cable that can also charge the Switch)
* I find Connecting and Disconnecting the Joy Con from the console/grip to be not hard with practice. …
… EXCLUDING the wrist straps. There are some completely needless ‘Locks’ at the bottom that are exactly where I naturally want to apply pressure to slide them off, which I press down into the “locked” position if I do. That requires me to grip the strap/strip with one hand and awkwardly try to hold the button down while holding the joy-con steady in the other, which seems to mash an action buttton (usually +/-) every time, no matther how you hold it. An easier option would be available if only those stupid gray lock bars were not there.
Otherwise, I don’t want/need headphone ports on the controllers. If I’m at home, there are no shortage of audio options. Headphone-Jack Bluetooth adaptors are compatable (if you absolutely MUST use them), and my TV actually has it’s own Bluetooth built in. Long Headphone cables also work. On the Go, you own wired headphones. Something you bought came with some. If you threw them away, decent/better ones are only $10-$30+. As I understand it, Online Chat in games like Splatoon will be through your Smart-Device App (which has Bluetooth) anyway, for when microphones are in use.
If you plan to plug it in to a TV, leave it in the Dock as if it were a normal console. Even in the Dock, it’s smaller, lighter and fits in a bag easier than the competition. Even a Wii Required the hasstle of a Sensor Bar, and The WiiU will not work without the gamepad for many functions, making packing, set up and use more complex. If you leave the Switch and Dock together as one unit, it is the smallest, lightest and easiest to set up of any console. Even PS-TV reqires a controller separate from the console itself, while the joy-cons are attached).
Because I got a Pro-Controller Day One, I’ve not yet used the joy-con’s at a distance from the console and have not experienced the input-lapse issue yet.
However, one Issue I’ve been having that I’ve not seen anyone else mention is that (for me) NFC/Amiibo response has been TERRIBLE.
Regardless of if using the Right Joy-Con or Pro Controller, I need to awkwardly hold an Amiibo up to the sensor point (Stick on Joy-Con, Switch Logo on Pro Controller) for 7-20+seconds before the system even responds to it, and half of those times, it is just an error sound. On the WiiU gamepad, reponse was 3 seconds or less, every time for me.
Even if I move to a flat, open field, outside of a town (BOTW is picky about where you use some amiibo), trying to use Amiibo in Zelda :BotW is always slightly painful. My Wolf-Link seems to be the worst. It took me several minutes of occasional error sounds to get the Wolf to spawn for the first time. Getting items and chests from the others is a little quicker, but still awkward and painfully slow.
…
Has anyone else been having this issue?
… I had no Idea I would get EPONA from the Link Amiibo. That was a pleasant Surprise.
If you don’t know yet: After I got Epona with that amiibo & registered her at a stable, I got TP Link’s tunic, labeled the Tunic of Twilight, from a chest from that same Link amiibo. Of course, it was just the tunic itself, not the entire outfit.
ok some of these points are valid, but some are just stupid, for example (lack of HDMI output port on the tablet) really ?? i mean if you want to place your switch in a hotel room or a relatives house as the article stated you would bring the dock, just like you would bring any other goddamn console, seriously i feel like they just added some points so the can have 10 of them.
The people bringing up the shortcomings of other systems as if that’s supposed to erase the ones of their favorite system are always such a joy to watch. This guy didn’t bring them up in his list & only spoke about the Switch and what he perceived as ITS issues. Not once did he say how the competition was perfect. But that’s fanboys for you. Their delusions make them see things that just aren’t there. As for any of them being nitpicks, so? Even if it is a nitpick to you doesn’t make it so for them. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
1. No comment on the kickstand itself. As for it being where the MicroSD card slot is, I don’t like that fact. Why would you put the slot for something you shouldn’t take out too often in a spot where there is something you could very well use on a regular basis. Eventually that thing could break off at some point & when it does, your memory card will definitely be exposed. Sure you can easily fix the issue when it does break by ordering a 4 dollar new one but that’s gonna take some time to come in. I’ve used Nintendo’s online store & they tend to be rather slow at delivering stuff. Not sure if Amazon is selling these things themselves yet. Anyway, moving on!
2. Once again something that is standard & Nintendo ignores it. I guess they could fix this later by releasing a Joy-Con Grip that does have a head phone jack. I for one might not really be using it much but it’s a oversight for those that will use it alot. Especially when the Switch gets games that allows for voice chat & they need those headsets to hear the people they are playing with online better. So there is that issue for that one guy that mentioned why would someone use headphones when playing a game on their television. Clearly that guy either hasn’t played many online games or never used voice chat in his online games for whatever reason. *shrugs & moves on*
3. This is definitely gonna be an issue for those that might want to continue using their Switch for gaming when the thing is close to dying but don’t want to stop using tabletop play. Especially when they have a get together at a friend’s house. This is definitely gonna ruin multiplayer time using just the Switch. An easy fix would be to hook it to the dock & continue playing on the friend’s television. Unless of course their friend only has one television & the rest of the family is using that so the gamers will be SOL. I could list all the other reasons this is a problem but that would be a long list & some fanboy is just gonna go back to the “but the dock” crap, ignoring every problem that was listed anyway so why bother? Again, this won’t be an issue for me since I either won’t be going anywhere much, won’t be gone from home long enough for it to become an issue, or I’ll most likely end up taking the dock with me, anyway.
4. Those release buttons are small but I don’t have any issues. Of course, I’ve got small hands so there is that. Sucks for those with big hands, though.
5. Ugh! I fucking hate removing those damn wrist straps from the Joy-Cons! I really am afraid I’m gonna break the damn things & that wouldn’t be good since it’ll cost 80 bucks to replace them. Because if that, I haven’t used them since the 4th & have been using the Joy-Con grip that came with the Switch for Zelda. Not that it matters since I can’t actually using the Joy-Con R’s motion controls for the sword & shield, anyway. But this will be an issue later on when and if there is a game that allows for the use of motion controls for swinging a sword.
6. As I mentioned above, this isn’t an issue for me since I’ll most likely be carrying the dock with me anyway.
7. Honestly, this one could have been paired with the issue of no head phone jack in the Joy-Cons since they both involve headphones & headsets.
8. This really pisses me off. Once again shit is locked to the damn console. Nintendo can’t help themselves, can they? If they are gonna patch this with an update, they better be working on it as a major issue that needs fixing since this should have been a feature available AT LAUNCH, not some weeks or months later! In fact, a cloud service better be a fucking thing on day 1 when paid online goes live! If I have another instance of losing my save data because Nintendo was too stupid to realize that stuff locked to the console is a bad thing like I did with Wii & again with Wii U… *low growl*
9. This issue should have been apart of the tabletop issue since they go hand in hand.
10. No comment.
11. This issue was something I had a problem with awhile back but it doesn’t bother me now. In fact, I’ve only had the Switch since the 3rd & it’s already second nature for me to detach the Joy-Cons from the grip, or those blasted wrist straps, and put them into the Switch which is already in the dock when I’m done playing. Of course, it won’t be good for the battery life over time as the batteries lose their charge but that’s an issue for another time and I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Petty gripes to me. Seems like nitpicking just to nitpick.
shortcomings that will most likely be fixed with the inevitable switch 2.0. or not, knowing nintendo.
I’m very curious to see what kind of issues might arise in the future from the way the Switch docks. I can imagine someone accidentally breaking the USB port on the dock. The way the Wii U goes on it’s charging dock was much better since it just used contacts and wheels.
In the Switch’s case, breaking the dock is a $90 replacement and breaking the USB port on the Switch is a $300 replacement since the USB-C slot is part of the main board and not a module.