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  • - Hey guys, this is Austin.

  • Is the Nintendo Switch worth it?

  • So, Nintendo hooked us up with one

  • of the very first Switches.

  • So I'm curious to see what we actually get in the box.

  • So, inside we immediately get the actual Switch console itself.

  • Now, as you can see without the Joy-Cons,

  • this looks exactly like a tiny tablet.

  • It's actually not even much bigger than like a phone.

  • So, for size comparison,

  • this is the Switch next to an iPhone 7 Plus.

  • You know, this actually might even fit into a pocket.

  • Oh, yeah, but of course,

  • we do need to add the controllers

  • which are right here.

  • So, these are the Joy-Con controllers.

  • So, the way they work is they just slide onto a rail

  • and that's it.

  • So, once we add both of them,

  • the Switch definitely gets a little bit bigger

  • but it's a lot smaller than the Wii U gamepad.

  • So, inside we actually get quite a few accessories,

  • starting with a full-size HDMI cable.

  • So, it's actually got a standard USB-C cable.

  • So the cool thing's about the Switch

  • is that if we just plug it in here,

  • we should be able to charge it

  • but you can also use that USB-C to drop it on the dock

  • or, in fact, you could probably even use

  • something like a battery bank to charge

  • the Switch while you're on the go.

  • We also have the Joy-Con grip.

  • So, if you want to use the Joy-Con by itself,

  • you can just slide this guy on

  • and it gives you better access to the top buttons,

  • and, of course, a very, very secure and safe strap.

  • This is what safety looks like by the way.

  • There also is the Joy-Con grip.

  • So in addition to being able to use them individually

  • or with the Switch,

  • you can also snap them in here.

  • So, if we slide the same Joy-Con on,

  • this is pretty similar to what you would find

  • with a standard console controller.

  • But the cool part is,

  • not only can you use it like this,

  • but we can just pop the kickstand out on the Switch.

  • You can imagine that you have yourself

  • a nice little portable gaming setup.

  • So, we've got ourselves a tiny little bit of paperwork,

  • so good job on not including an enormous user manual.

  • And what I assume is the actual dock for the Switch.

  • So, what this guy will do is not only power the Switch

  • but it also will give you HDMI out to a TV.

  • So, if we pop open this door here,

  • you'll see this port for the AC adapter,

  • there's USB 3 port as well HDMI out.

  • And on the side, there's also a pair of USB ports here.

  • So, what's cool about this

  • is that it all runs off of the single USB-C port

  • on the bottom of the Switch.

  • So, when you dock the Switch,

  • it pretty much just rests in place.

  • So, it doesn't take a whole lot of force

  • to pick it up

  • and when you're ready to actually game in portable mode,

  • you can just slide your Joy-Cons on

  • and pretty much like that,

  • you have the full Switch experience.

  • So, even with the Joy-Cons attached,

  • the Switch is still pretty small.

  • There's actually a lot going on here.

  • On top, there's the power button and the volume rocker.

  • You have the exhaust as well as a headphone jack

  • and the slot for the game cards.

  • Speaking of games,

  • we have the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

  • So, if you pop it open,

  • you'll see that the Switch cards themselves are pretty tiny.

  • So not only are Switch games smaller than the 3DS cards

  • but they're even smaller than an SD card.

  • On the bottom of the Switch there's not much.

  • You had that USB-C port for charging

  • as well as connecting to the dock.

  • And around back you have the kickstand

  • as well as hiding behind that, is the microSD card slot.

  • That slot's going to be important

  • as the Switch itself only ships

  • with 32 gigabytes of storage.

  • So, in theory you can put

  • up to a two terabyte microSD in here

  • but realistically right now,

  • you're maxing out at around 256 gigabytes

  • which should still be a fair bit of storage for the Switch.

  • Even though they look the same,

  • the Joy-Con controllers are actually different.

  • So, the right one has the XYAB buttons up top

  • and it has the stick on the bottom,

  • and on the very bottom of the controller,

  • there's an IR sensor.

  • Take a look at the second Joy-Con

  • and you'll see that the analog stick is on the top.

  • So, when you're using them separately

  • or together in the actual grip,

  • you'll find that the sticks are actually offset

  • which feels much more like an Xbox controller

  • than something like the PS4.

  • The first thing that jumps out to me

  • is that the interface on the Switch

  • looks so much better than the Wii U.

  • So, not only do we have a capacitive touchscreen

  • which makes things feel a lot better,

  • but everything just looks clean.

  • It looks a lot less cartoon-y

  • than previous Nintendo consoles.

  • So while the Switch has 32 gigs of storage,

  • out the box you only have 25.9 gigs of free space.

  • Now, with a console like this,

  • I do feel like I would probably be buying

  • more physical games than digital,

  • but if you're planning on that

  • you really should look into a microSD card.

  • Since we got the Switch early,

  • we're missing some major features such as the eShop

  • but that will be coming in a day one update

  • when the console launches on Friday.

  • So, while we can't test everything right now,

  • what we can do is play some games.

  • One of my favorite parts of the Switch

  • is just how seamless it is.

  • So, right now I can be playing

  • on the normal handheld mode

  • but if I drop it onto a dock,

  • you'll see that almost immediately

  • it will come right over to the TV.

  • So, you can imagine that you play on the TV.

  • for a few minutes, whatever the case is,

  • and when you're done, you pick the Switch right up

  • and it's right back on the display.

  • Out of all the modes for the Switch,

  • my favorite might just be handheld.

  • So, this is the Switch by itself

  • with the Joy-Cons attached and it feels good.

  • So, one of the biggest differences here

  • is when you actually compare it to the Wii U gamepad.

  • So, from the front they look about the same

  • but when you compare the thickness especially,

  • it is a huge difference.

  • And of course, keep in mind that the Wii U gamepad

  • had to be tethered to a full Wii U console.

  • Whereas with the Switch, sure there's a dock

  • but you don't need that at all.

  • You can absolutely take this on the go no problem.

  • You can also use the kickstand.

  • So, if I pop off the Joy-Cons,

  • all you need to do is kick the kickstand out

  • and I can set it down.

  • So, the cool part about this

  • is that your really not losing any controls.

  • And honestly, I kind of like the idea

  • of having full freedom

  • and I have to kind of keep my hands nice and tight.

  • The only problem is the kickstand is not the greatest.

  • It works fine on a table like this.

  • But if you try to set it down on something uneven

  • like a couch, it's gonna immediately fall over.

  • So, some reviewers have had issues

  • with the left Joy-Con de-syncing from their Switch.

  • However, I haven't had any issues.

  • Not only has it been really reliable,

  • but being able to drop them on,

  • take them off, it's all been super seamless so far.

  • The Joy-Cons really are

  • one of my favorite parts of the Switch.

  • It's so nice to be able to just drop it on the dock,

  • slide the controllers off

  • and then I like kind of use these guys separately.

  • But if I want more of a console experience,

  • I can slide them onto the grip accessory

  • and play it like this.

  • The grip controller's decent

  • but I feel like my hands are slightly too close together.

  • Honestly, my favorite way of playing on the TV

  • is really just using the Joy-Cons by themselves.

  • It's nice and comfortable

  • and especially when you look at this as a full package,

  • Nintendo's done a really good job.

  • There are a lot of moving pieces here

  • with the removable controllers and the dock and everything,

  • but it does completely work seamlessly together.

  • Interestingly, the Switch has

  • two different performance modes.

  • So, when you're playing handheld on battery,

  • it runs at a lower clock speed.

  • But when you drop it on the dock,

  • it over doubles the performance.

  • And the main reason for that

  • is that while this has a 720p screen,

  • when you connect it to a TV.

  • you can run it up to 1080p.

  • Now, while some people have complained

  • that 720p seems like it's kind of low,

  • honestly this screen looks fine

  • and I would much rather have better battery life

  • and better performance with a slightly lower res screen

  • than something's that's more high end

  • but completely kills the battery life.

  • Speaking of, the Switch is rocking

  • a 4,310 milliamp hour battery.

  • Now, that's decent but it's not that much bigger

  • than most smartphones.

  • Now, Nintendo says that you should expect

  • about three hours on a charge

  • when you're playing an intense game like Zelda,

  • and in my testing that sounds about right.

  • It's decent but nothing spectacular.

  • So, there are a couple of ways of charging the Switch.

  • By far the easiest is to just drop it on the dock.

  • Not only will that give you the TV out,

  • but it will also charge not only the console

  • but also the Joy-Con controllers.

  • However, since it's got a USB-C port,

  • you have other options such as using something

  • like the MacBook Pro charger.

  • And you can also use battery banks

  • but you do need to be careful

  • that they will supply enough power.

  • However, because of that USB-C port

  • you have a lot of options for topping this guy off.

  • The Nintendo Switch is hands down

  • the most powerful portable console ever.

  • Now, yes, some might call it a little bit gimmicky

  • but honestly, it works and it works really well.

  • Sure, there might not be a ton of games at launch,

  • however, when you consider just how cool

  • and unique this thing is,

  • it is absolutely worth it.

  • So, what do you guys think about the Switch?

  • Let me know in the comments below

  • and I will catch you in the next one.

- Hey guys, this is Austin.

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