Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch finally arrived before my birthday. Honestly, after buying a 2DS I already felt like the Switch was inevitable, and after thinking it over I went ahead and bought one.

I bought it locally in Zhengzhou, picked it up in person to avoid unnecessary hassle. When I checked it over at pickup, it turned out the three serial numbers all matched, so it should be fine. I picked up Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2, and I’m currently playing Breath of the Wild.

Most of the time I use it as a handheld. I haven’t run into any of those weird problems people complain about online, so I’m pretty happy with it.

There’s not much to say about the console itself, so let me talk about a few accessories I bought that turned out well.

1. Tempered glass screen protector

The Switch needs a screen protector, because the stock screen doesn’t even count as Gorilla Glass. For protectors I personally recommend teenjoyaka’s shop — the seller is a gamer too and actually thinks about how the finished result looks. Once it arrived and I put it on, the effect was striking: curved edges, oleophobic coating, 0.2mm thickness, satisfying on every front. Wipe it down and the clarity is excellent. Worth recommending.

2. Carrying case

teenjoyaka’s case is also worth recommending. It’s small but fits the console perfectly, has a protective layer inside, and works well. There’s also a discount if you buy it together with the screen protector, so I’d suggest getting both.

3. Dock output adapter

I recommend KACOSATA’s product. It’s simple, effective and cheap — only problem is it seems to be out of stock.

As for performance, it’s basically the same as the official dock. Just remember to push it in firmly when plugging it in; there’s a two-stage insertion.

Works well, everything you need is there, and you don’t have to worry about it overheating and warping. Just find something to prop it up on.

Only thing is, in dock mode you have to take the Joy-Cons off to use it directly, so I’d suggest buying a Pro Controller and being done with it.

Also, 8BitDo’s little controller supports the Switch too, but the feel is so-so. Probably fine for Bomberman and Mario Kart.

And finally, the Switch market is really picking up, with lots of new titles coming, including the Western version of Honor of Kings.

I’m all for it. Of course, some of the noble gamers out there definitely won’t be.

I mean, it makes sense — playing games obviously has tiers.

People who play Fumito Ueda games went to Oxford or Harvard; people who play Nintendo have dual degrees from abroad; people who play Halo are ABCs; people who play PlayStation have postdocs; people who play single-player Steam games have 985 undergrad degrees; people who play Dota have regular bachelor’s degrees; people who play LoL have vocational college diplomas; and people who play Honor of Kings can only have gone to technical school.

But hey, anyone who plays games is a friend!