I have played over 2 hours of the Nintendo Switch. Ask Me Anything.

Today, I got to go hands on with the Nintendo Switch for a little over two hours. I got to play with the system in a variety of form factors and forms, play a whole lot of games, and just generally got a pretty good feel for the system on the whole.

Please feel free to ask me anything!

I played the following games:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Splatoon 2
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Ultra Street Fighter 2
• ARMS
• Sonic Mania
• Has Been Heroes
• Fast RMX

I got to play in the following form factors:

• Console
• Handheld
• Tabletop

I got to play with the following controllers/configurations:

• Pro Controller
• Joycon Paddle
• Individual Joycon
• Dual Split Joycons
• Handheld

What naughty things did you have to do to get that opportunity?

Nothing lol, they brought it to Toronto this weekend as part of their tour of North American cities.

How do the different controller options feel? Did you get to try the Pro controller? Is it confirmed that Zelda has no motion controls?

@charizard1605: what are your general impressions of it?

• Split Joycons was actually my favorite, it's just really comfortable to have the controls be apart like that. That said, the Pro controller was great, and the Switch works surprisingly ergonomically in handheld form. The Joycon paddle is definitely the worst, and individual Joycons are surprisingly comfortable from an ergonomics perspective, but they have way too many buttons stuffed on there. I'd rank it as Dual Split Joycons>Pro>Handheld>Solo Joycon>Joycon Paddle
• I did, I liked it a lot
• Yes, no motion controls

Joycons:Good or not? Too small or not?

Handheld mode: Easy to setup? Confortable?

Screen: Good/Average/Bad?

Anything on the OS?

---

How did you find Sonic Mania? Fun, hopefully?

How many GOATs is the GOAT LoZ:BotW gonna goat I mean, get? :D

I was surprisingly impressed by it. it feels slick, sleek, and generally high quality, unlike the Wii U, which always felt Fisher Price. The screen is great, extremely sharp and crisp, and HD Rumble is a revelation. The D-Pad on the Joycon is an abomination, and is probably bad enough that I'll end up buying a Pro controller where I had no intention of doing so earlier. The actual 'switching' is amazingly quick and simple- it is, very literally, as simple as lowering the system in the dock, or lifting it out of it.

On the whole, it's a well made, very versatile system that does what it wants to do pretty well.

• The Joycons question is hard to answer, because you can use the Joycons in two ways, not counting with the Paddle. So individual Joycons are comfortable to hold, but they're definitely cramped in terms of how many buttons there are. That said, their motion sensing capabilities are the best of any motion controllers I have ever used (Wii Remote/Wii Remote Plus, PlayStation Move, DualShock 3, DualShock 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U Gamepad, multiple iPhones, Android phones, and iPads), and HD Rumble is really great.
  My favorite controller configuration is split Joycons where you hold each in one hand- this solves the problem of the controls being cramped, lets your hands rest in a natural position instead of the more tensed up stance you generally have to assume while holding a controller, and the ergonomics of the Joycons are great, so they sort of just melt into your hand.
• Handheld mode is very comfortable. Sliding the Joycons on or off is stupidly easy (though I imagine the first time, you'll spend a couple of minutes fiddling with it- I know I did)
• The best screen on a dedicated portable I have seen yet- sharp, great color saturation, very bright, just a high quality screen all around. Yes, I find it better than both Vita screens
• Nothing on the OS
• Sonic Mania was great, but unfortunately, I used that game as my means to test out the Joycon D-Pad (which I hated), so I don't have the most accurate impressions on it because the Joycon D-Pad is an abomination that I spent a good five minutes hating on in sheer disbelief that the inventors of the D-Pad could think something like this was acceptable
• BotW was great! I didn't even realize when my time was up, it only felt like I had been playing it for a few minutes...

How was the HD rumble thing?...GS staffs that tried it..said it only really worked with that 1, 2 Switch crap...on other games the rumble felt weak sauce.

HD Rumble was great- it worked really well in ARMS (which, I believe, was the only game I played that supported it?)

Can you elaborate on the HD rumble feature? How is it different or better?

@charizard1605: didn't quite get the HD rumble from the presentation can you describe what it does different to just rumble and can it enchance gameplay?

I get the feeling the HD rumble is a you have to try it kind of thing

Nice! Much obliged! :)

Is it worth $300 IYO? And why?

So the Joycon paddle is what they call that grip controller?

Would the portability make you consider getting multiplats for the Switch instead of the other 2 consoles?

It's really hard to explain- it's finer haptic feedback, the intensity and even, to some degree, kind, of vibration differs according to what is going on in the game. As an example, in ARMS, the vibrations vary based on the direction, speed, and type of punch, and the ensuing impact- so each punch feels different in your hands just as real punches would feel different. Theoretically (I did not get to try this out myself, and the game does not support HD Rumble anyway, I am only using it as an example to explain what the feature does), in a game like Zelda, HD Rumble can lead to harder vibrations when your sword hits a shield, softer ones when you cut the grass, it can simulate the drawing of a bowstring when you are readying your bow, and so on.

Have any of you used an iPhone 6s or iPhone 7? This is literally the same thing as Taptic Engine on those devices.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how much butthurt do you think it can induce on lems? I'm just trying to consider if I should get one. Thanks.

I mean, I have already pre-ordered it, so I've come to terms with it being worth $300 to me. To the average mainstream customer, as the Switch is right now? I can't say it will be, no- basically, it comes down to me not believing any console or handheld is worth it at launch. Unlike the 3DS or Wii U, the hardware here is great, and extremely well designed, achieving what it wants to do really well- but there is definitely going to be a lack of games right out the gate. I'd say for most people, Holiday season is where it might be worth $300.

Basically, if you are asking me, is the hardware worth $300? I think it is. It's not the most specced out system in the world, but five minutes with it and it justifies its cost incredibly well. As a gaming system, it needs actual games before it can be worth the price of admission to most people. That's where I take pause.

Yep!

And yes, I always prefer portability over anything else- were the Switch to get a reasonably equivalent version of a multiplat game, I would get the game on it because of the portability factor.

@charizard1605: Cool!..just hope devs will take the extra step to make a use of HD Rumble. :) :P

Did you get to try Arms with the Pro controller, or was it only the motion control variant? Also, do you think Arms is worth the price? How do the Joycon shoulder buttons feel while in the different controller configurations?

Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of decent options on that thing. Another "Nintendo haz no games" situation, if you ask me!

What games are you excited to play on this console?

ARMS was only playable with motion controls at the event. It felt great, and I am now completely sold on it- really, the one thing this event sold me on more than anything else was ARMS. It basically feels like the fighting game equivalent of Splatoon.

The Joycon shoulder buttons and triggers feel extremely great, easy to reach, and comfortable in all configurations.

Well, this has less to do with my hands on today lol, but the games I am looking at picking up the first year include:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• ARMS
• Sonic Mania
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Super Bomberman R
• Splatoon 2
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• Fire Emblem Warriors
• Super Mario Odyssey

I may not pick all of them right away, or even at all, but those are the ones from the games currently announced that have caught my eye.

@charizard1605: Ahh, okay. I guess I stand corrected! Still though, nothing that really appeals to me except for ARMS. I'm normally not one to buy a system for just one game, no matter how good it seems.

I look forward to your longterm hands on impression post March 3rd.

• Do the joycons feel good when attached to the screen, I heard it was weird when the second analog needed to be used. Also how stable is it in that mode? Ever feel like it would slide out?
• How was the joycon paddle?
• Can you charge it while in tabletop mode?
• Did you feel like its a console for ants?
• Can you feel the ice cubes?
• Is ARMS the new goat?

• The handheld mode in general felt fine to me. Surprisingly comfortable, and the Switch is super lightweight. No issues with the controls layout in that mode. It feels super stable- things can't actually slide out, because there is a lock holding the Joycons in place that you have to manually release before you can slide your Joycons out.
• Pretty bad, my least favorite 'controller' for the Switch. I wasn't going to, but I might have to buy a Pro controller after all
• All Switches were tethered, so this isn't a question I am answering from experience- however, I can tell you that it would be impossible to charge it in tabletop mode, because the USB-C port is at the bottom
• No, in all forms except for single Joycons, it felt surprisingly comfortable (and even individual Joycons are ergonomic if nothing else). I guess the paddle is too crammed, and very uncomfortable, so I guess that would qualify too
• Yeah, HD Rumble is great
• I loved ARMS, surprisingly so- it's really fun, has a surprising amount of depth, and is a delightful twist on the fighting game genre. ARMS ended up being the game I returned to the most out of all of them.

How do the analog sticks feel? I'm interested to know how rigid they are and of what material they are made.

How about the triggers? Springy, firm etc. ?

If you had a chance to use it, how did the non-cross d-pad array feel?

How heavy does the Switch feel in tablet mode?

Were there any indications that the fan was rotating while in handheld mode? (Ambient noises probably kept you from hearing any sounds but still...)

Finally, was ARMS as fun as it looks?

Press impressions never seem to mention some of these details.

• By the time I got to them, they were a bit lose (I was in the last batch of people who got to use the Switches for the day), but they are a bit different. They have a smaller radius of rotation, so it took me a bit getting used to. Once I did, there was no issue
• The triggers are pretty firm. Think Wii U triggers with slightly more give
• It is a crime against humanity, and is so bad that it has single handedly pushed me towards looking into picking up a Pro
• Not too heavy at all- it only felt a teensy bit heavier than my 3DS, and far lighter than my iPad
• No way to tell that, it was stupidly noisy!
• ARMS is ridiculously fun. It was the game I returned to the most- I didn't even go back to play Zelda as much as I did ARMS

@charizard1605: Eh, I'd say it's about time you outgrew Zelda anyways. ARMS is clearly the much better game!

Naw, Zelda was still better. ARMS was just... unexpected.

(also, Zelda had far longer lines to play it that I didn't feel like putting up with more than I had to lol)

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

@charizard1605: I haven't got to play ARMS yet (since I'm not one of the uber cool insiders who gets to participate in these affairs, hahaha), but it looks visceral, alright. I have always dreamed of challenging the inner energy of Goro when I was a little child, so ARMS will give me the perfect opportunity to do that. It will also be a better way for me to vent my anger. I have enough holes in the walls around my house as it is, there's no need for any more!!

42 meters per second

Ha, this event was actually open to the public :p

did u steal it ?

No, but I did get a Nintendo Switch pin!

@charizard1605: Thanks for the info. ARMS looks like it'll be a blast. I can't wait to pick up a switch in the 3rd with Zelda and Bomberman and then Arms once it releases.

Will it make a good waifu?

okey serious question though how the controls feel

No, but it will have loads of games with good waifus in them

Split Joycons was actually my favorite, it's just really comfortable to have the controls be apart like that. That said, the Pro controller was great, and the Switch works surprisingly ergonomically in handheld form. The Joycon paddle is definitely the worst, and individual Joycons are surprisingly comfortable from an ergonomics perspective, but they have way too many buttons stuffed on there. I'd rank it as Dual Split Joycons>Pro>Handheld>Solo Joycon>Joycon Paddle

You may have spent 2h with the Switch but was it spent on the roof? If not, your experience wasn't as advertised.

What are my lucky numbers?

Oh damn given the name I was hoping it was into swinger clubs but I see is more like harems.

@charizard1605:

fair enough if u allowed can we see pics or a video of the box as well as some of the games boxarts

1, 6, 111, 116, 11, 16, and 1116

brb, filing lawsuit

These are the best ones I could take (most of the times I was too distracted actually playing games lol):

@charizard1605: Something else I thought of, you notice any pop-in or frame drops in Zelda? I heard around a lot of grass there were some issues