Three Problems Significant Problems of the Nintendo Switch

From drops in frame rate to dead pixels, it’s easy to see why the gaming community would be rather upset about the recent release of the Nintendo Switch. No one wants to drop $300 on a faulty device, but with the Switch’s ability to deliver great games (that allows users to go from playing on a big screen TV to playing portable mode in the comfort of our Java class) some of the flaws are easy to look past but some of them prove to be rather discouraging to the buyer. There are three main problems that I have discovered about the Nintendo Switch.

The drop in frame rates are a big thing for gaming. It reducing the window given for our reaction time, makes the gameplay look choppy and distorted at times, and can be frustrating to watch the lag occur a few times while playing. Although the graphics quality in the Switch is notably better than when compared to the Wii U, we see that there is a decent drop in frame rate. This drop in framerate is also present in the Wii U (both dropping from 30 to 20FPS) but for those who are thinking of switching from the Wii U to the Switch, solely for the new console may be having second thoughts.

There is also a problem with the battery life. As someone who goes on several flights a year, I find that battery life can determine a purchase. With a battery that lasts two to six hours (depending on the game), I don’t feel as if I would be able to use the Nintendo Switch for the whole flight unless there’s access to a USB port.

What bothers me the most is the aweful taste of the Nintendo Switch cartridges. We understand that Nintendo doesn’t want children to put the cartridges in their mouths because it’s a choking hazard, but with the hazard only proving to be problematic with children then that leaves the hardcore gamers susceptible to the aweful taste. It’s common to pinch a cartridge with our lips while swapping games but we may have to switch to another method.

These flaws won’t discourage most of us from buying the Nintendo Switch and it shouldn’t unless you find it to be an absolute deal breaker, but being able to own a console that you can easily pick up to take on a family road trip so you don’t have to listen to your parents talk about politics is one of Nintendo’s best selling points for their new portable gaming device.