The Nintendo Of It All

The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally out, and after this long wait, Many people are picking up their switches for the first time and being shocked by all the new improvements and the different feel of the console. So here is a rundown of my first a couple hours with the switch and and my thoughts on the changes.

The Look

Contrary to some opinions the Nintendo Switch 2 does have a unique look when compared to the original Switch console. First and foremost, the screen is a lot bigger and that is instantly apparent. That’s probably the first thing I noticed when I saw the switch 2 in person. Next, the joy-cons are slightly bigger and feel better in the hands of a bigger person.

Gone are the days of squinting to see what buttons need to be pressed and tightening your palms around a miniature plastic kazoo. As for the UI, It has had a pretty significant overhaul as well. There are a few more buttons at the bottom of the screen, but because of the new found 4k Ability of the new Switch, 2, The pictures of the games seem to pop against the background. Maybe this is just my perception, because I’ve been staring at the original Switch, user interface for so long. But it definitely seems to be more appealing to the eye, while going through the menus on the Switch 2.

The E-shop, though, is where we have a problem. I can’t say for sure, because right now I’d imagine that so many people are downloading games and going to the E-shop on their Switch 2 because they have too, As stated before in a previous post, there are a lot of game key cards available for the Switch 2.That is a game where the physical cartridge will be taking them to a download of the game instead of having all the game info on said cartridge, so there will definitely be a lot of traffic on Nintendo servers right now. With that said, the E-shop experience is faster and snappier than the previous Switch E-shop, but there is a lot of slowdown, and I’m guessing we’ll have to wait at least a week before we can see if it’s because of the server load or It’s a programming issue.

The Switch 2 dock also is sporting a slightly different look with more curved features that remind me of a 1970s Corvette, or maybe Porsche. Something about it, has this purposefully retro modern design, which I really like. At the initial look of the dock is still flat, but the edges are rounded this time which exposes the Switch 2’s large screen a bit more than it did for the Switch One. On the back there is still space for the the power, HDMI, and Ethernet cables. 2 USB, are on the side,but surprisingly, there is no USB C. Cable to be found on the doc, it’s not a necessity.But for some reason, I just thought there would be one.

The Feel

Right off the bat, you have to know that everything is heavier. The joy-cons feel heavier. The Switch 2 tablet feels heavier as well. But not unnecessarily, you can tell that quality is going into the build, and that is what is causing the increase of weight. You can tell that because the texture of the plastic feels dense. Also, the joy-cons now have metal buttons which are used to magnetically lock the joy-con onto the side of the switch, which gives a very satisfying click.

Once the switch gets within range of the magnet, it definitely feels secure and it relieves any fear of it coming loose while you’re playing the game. Conversely, detaching the switch 2 joy-con feels nice, much more difficult than on the previous console. Before you would slide the switch joy-con up and that would be all it takes after pressing the button. But now you have to press the button and pull it away from the Switch 2. I like this personally.

It feels more secure and less likely to be damaged as compared to the previous Switch where you could damage that rail system that held a joy-con to the Switch. If that happens then that’s it, you have to send your switch out to be fixed or get a new switch, because that joy-con is not going to hold steadily anymore. The downside to this is it does take quite a bit of force to pull it apart. If you’re holding the Switch 2 awkwardly, or you’re holding by the other joy-con, it is kind of jarring to pull one of them apart without feeling as though you’re going to drop the Switch 2. Just the feeling of going from using a lot of force to being gentle again with your device can be a little scary. All in all, I still think this is a win and a great improvement

The Experience

There have been some changes to the hardware, but even the accessories have changed. Most notably, the power cord, is now separated into 2 parts. There’s the head that plugs into the wall and a USB C Cable that is detachable that connects to the power plug. This may seem to many people like a small change, But for me it makes a massive difference.

This is because many times that I have traveled long distances with the original Switch and the thing that was always a thorn in my side when packing was the switch power cable. First of all, the head has 2 prongs that always felt too long for the power plug and I would always try to keep that from scratching anything else in my bag, but because the wire was attached to it I was never able to roll it up perfectly and keep it safely in a small pocket of my bag. Even the carrying case which was meant to hold The power cable properly, showed signs of distress when I finally zipped it up completely. So now that I can separate them, put them in different parts and have a good packing experience i am more that happy.

Secondly, this new design means that if one part gets damaged, you don’t have to replace everything. Of course, if the head gets damaged, then you’re certainly going to have to replace it. The wire is where all the new found grace is stored. At least with the wire, which is the thing that usually gets damaged in dealing with power cables it can be replaced separately. When a wire is on a power cable as a single unit and it gets damaged, you have to replace the whole thing. Also if the wire is too short for your liking, you can replace it with a longer wire. Although the wire, it comes with does seem to be a reasonable length already.

As far as the initial experience, there were some things that I did not enjoy when setting up my Switch 2 . There was the system transfer for which I was told that you had to do when setting up the console, because you would not be able to do it otherwise. So I took that advice and I started the system transfer right away, I did not delay it. It was easy enough. I simply had to log into my Nintendo account and get my previous Switch ready, have it nearby my switch 2 and begin the process. It did not take very long, but one issue that I came across, that was very frustrating was trying to stop the Switch 2 from downloading every single digital game in my library.

There are multiple reasons why this will be a problem for most people. But for me, it was because my monthly data cap was nearing its limit and Because I have particularly high-speed internet, The games were downloading very fast and I was barely able to stop it before it had already downloaded 3 games. I put it in an airplane mode, Or at least I tried to, but you can’t put the switch to in Airplane mode when it’s connected to the TV. I had to pull the console out of the dock and put it in airplane mode. I then searched for a way to stop it from downloading everything. I was sure there was some way to have it only download things on command, but I could not find such a thing.

It would try to download games every time I took it off airplane mode and I did so 3 times. The third time I moved with confidence because I found something called auto download and backup. So I turned that off and I was sure that with this change, it would not try to download or back up anything. Also, I already chose to stop all the downloads that were on my Home Screen. But unbeknownst to me, there were still downloads that we’re trying to take place in my Switch folder for more games. I then had to go to each game individually to turn them off so that I would be able to check the E-shop, or do anything online. This was a bit of a hassle, but it did not ruin my experience.

I wrote in a previous blog post that I was scared that there would be problems with data caps or a lack high speed internet causing issues for customers with this new console, but I was speaking about it happening to someone else yet some how it happened to me. Since the Mario Kart World bundle does not come with a physical copy, I can’t play the game until my data cap is reset. Usually this is not a problem, but this month was a particularly high usage of the internet. my son is out of school and we spent a lot of time watching movies and playing games. In all my excitement I didn’t ration enough gigs for the Switch 2’s arrival. This leads to the other thing about the Switch 2 launch day experience that I felt diminished the enjoyment slightly, The game key card situation

I wanted to get Bravely Default at launch, but then I found out that it would not be on the cartridge. If I bought it, I will be sent to download it which would use more data but also meant i wouldn’t actually own it so I did not get it. That meant that I only got the Mario kart, digital download and nothing else.

All things considered the Switch 2 feel much better than the Switch one in my hands. The games from the original switch look better and they feel like things are happening faster and loading faster. I’ve only played my old games so far, yet I still noticed the difference. I’m sure that once I get into all of these new games, things will look amazing as well, but for now, I think the most important part of the Switch 2 is that one, it plays the original Switch games. This was a non negotiable feature to be included with this device for man and many others. It was important to me because I have more games for the Switch one than I have had for anything console in my life.

So it’s nice to know that I can still continue to play these games as well. This new Nintendo Switch brings fresh graphics and higher frame rates, which are things that we were begging in the later stages of the original Switch’s timeline. The new capabilities coupled with the excitement around all the new games promised by Nintendo and third parties alike is very refreshing and exhilarating.

Were you able to pick up a switch to or are you going to wait till later? Those are your choices, get one. now, or later. I’m Just joking here, but I do feel that a lot of people have already have picked up the system. Especially if i go by what I’m seeing on social media, there is not much talk of people being unable to get systems. Some people were even picking up systems on launch day and without pre-orders. I hope that everyone is able to pick one up and there aren’t any shortages so we all can play and game together.

Audio and Video

Thanks for reading blog. I really appreciate it. I have a full video unboxing here so you can see the Nintendo Switch 2 and all its parts for yourself and get a little more context for some of my thoughts on it.