
Since the Nintendo Switch launch there's been plenty of positivity, but in this era of social media and the internet there's plenty of opportunity to see how others are experiencing the console. Naturally problems arise, and two notable concerns have been doing the rounds not only on the likes of Reddit but in outlets such as the BBC et al. You likely know what these are already - Joy-Con disconnections and screen scratching.
In 'grading' some of the web complaints we considered the Joy-Con issue to be valid with the proviso it's arguably been overblown, as the conditions to cause the problem may not affect many. Such has been the coverage - accurate and otherwise - that Nintendo is finally trying to address it properly, albeit with little solid detail. TIME spoke to Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime this week and he stated that, at present, Nintendo is gather information from affected customers to try and pin down the roots of the issue.
First, we've seen the inquiries, and we here in the Americas are looking at all the information we can get our hands on. We are in the early days of a system launch, and so for us, we want as much consumer feedback as possible. We are directing consumers to contact us through Nintendo Support for any and all potential questions they may have.
Specifically on Joy-Con syncing, all I can tell you is that we are aware of and have seen some of the reports. We're asking consumers a lot of questions. That's why we want to get consumers on our help line, so we can get as much information to understand the situation as possible. And so we are in a fact-finding mode, to really understand the situation and the scenarios. And with that information, we'll look and see what the next steps are.
In our own light-hearted grading of online complaints we gave a little less credit to the complaints of the dock scratching Switch screens. Some have been very unlucky - one prominent user on Reddit inadvertently and through no fault of their own put their system into a dock that was damaged out of the box, and Nintendo apologised and offered a replacement. Cases like that happen, but we put the dock in the hands of a career engineer who rather liked its build; frankly, some people may just be too darn reckless with the thing.
While far too careful to say that, Fils-Aime did say the issue hasn't come up at various expos and tours where systems have been in and out of docks a great deal.
Again, this is why we're encouraging consumers to reach out to us directly. We have done, as you know, literally hundreds of events, starting with our activity back in January, and most recently the various tours that we continue to take the system out on. As soon as I heard of this report, I asked my teams, "Have we seen this in our own experience?" And the candid answer has been no.
So throughout all of those experiences, throughout all the docking and undocking we've done, we haven't seen it. So this is one where if it is happening, we want to understand more as to what the specific situation is. Which is why we want consumers to let us know through our support site.
Fils-Aime also addressed the ongoing wait for stock of additional docks - to be blunt, though, spare docks sold by NoA have been shoddily dealt with in our experience, sent loose in packaging and damaged in transit. Hopefully that'll improve with a more formal retail solution.
At Nintendo of America, we were the initial market that was pushing for the idea of a second dock. The production quantity is just not ramping up as quickly as we hoped it would. So it's a pure availability situation. More will be available shortly. But certainly we understand the desire, and it's something we pushed hard for from a production standpoint.
Some official updates, of sorts, albeit with little actually said. If you have an issue with the Switch it's worth seeing what support Nintendo's customer services can provide. Oh, but don't forget the Reddit thread and YouTube video - it's a great way to boost subscriber counts, it seems.
[source time.com]
Comments 112
They really should have done better testing and quality control. A "fact finding" mission after launch is better than nothing at all, but still sounds like it shouldn't have gotten to this point to begin with.
In the gaming world of 2017, early adopters can expect some issues with new hardware, except Nintendo, they must get it 100% on day one and Reggie is [insert hyperbolic insult here].
For the record, I don't have a Switch yet...probably around Christmas so I can let early adopters deal with the issues lol.
@flapjackashley2 So, out of approx. 1-2 million units distributed to customers, there should have been no technical issues at all, is that what you're saying.
Cars costing thousands of pounds/dollars are sold that then do things like catch fire etc. But Nintendo can't be excused a few screen scratches?
I have yet to have any issues, but as a provision, I'm going to wait a bit before buying additional joy-cons. I really want more Joy-Cons though, but it isn't like I can afford them anyway.
I wonder if, further down the line, some games will come with Special Edition Joy Cons, instead of Special Edition consoles?
It's how Nintendo respond to these issues, whether fake or real.
The stupidest thing I have heard from Nintendo in a while is to tell users to keep smart devices away from the joy con.
The same freaking smart devices that they are implementing to play a major part of their online strategy.
"Yeah, you can chat on your device in play, but to do this put the joy cons down and move away from them during a live game".
Utterly stupid.
Yeah, and I need a long freakin' cable for my headphones playing in TV mode because.... no wireless headphones.
They could at least have had the intelligence to put an earphone jack into the controller, similar to the WiiU.
Then again I can understand why they didn't do that but it is still stupid.
BTW NintendoLife, those portable batteries you listed as great accessories for the Switch DON'T WORK properly, actually I don't think the are any that does work properly due to the 15V/26A charge rates. I am not blaming you or anything... just saying.
@gcunit No, I'm saying that the more major issues like the wide spread JoyCon disconnecting issue should have been detected well before launch. And the screen scratching could also have been prevented with better design, stronger/tougher glass used like most tablets have, etc.
I am fully aware that hiccups at launch can happen. But that also doesn't mean companies should get a pass on stuff that could have been at least attempted to be prevented.
EDIT: I should use "lessened" and not prevented when talking about the screen scratching at least. Any type of surface like that can be scratched with miscare, but a stronger glass like gorilla glass would have been better than the plastic they ended up using.
I also have not had an issue. That doesn't take away from those that have. As long as Big N takes care of the problem then it's all good.
I do think the Joycon issue exists. I don't think the screen scratching issue exists. People are being irresponsible and maybe dropping their Switch into the dock too hard or not pulling it out right. I've pulled mine in and out of the dock and don't really see how the screen could get scratched. It is plastic inside but I don't see any scraping going on. A handful of people are saying they're having a problem, then people spread it around and it makes it seem like everybody is having a problem. It's unfortunate for those who are having issues but Nintendo can easily fix/replace those few Joycons or Switches. People are so quick to complain or judge especially when it comes to video games.
We have two Switches being used extensively, as in "switched" in and out of two separate docks several times daily with not even the faintest hint of a scratch on either. Don't foresee that being a problem and I feel for all the people scared to use their Switch due to the fear of scratches. I definitely feel it has been wildly overblown.
Also none of our four Joycons appear to have any desyncing issue. I can't even replicate it with our setup, though we have minimal signal interference. Maybe we lucked out, but both of our systems are in perfect order--even the screens appear identical with no distinguishable variation in calibration.
The dock touches my screen when docked. I can see small very light surface scratches starting to form at the bottom and edges. I can see what they mean but really I bet this wouldn't happen if they had gone with glass. Also, the joy con disconnect is an issue! But the last few days I haven't had the issue so I don't know what changed? But I did experience it at first. Maybe they secretly updated it and no one noticed.
I haven't seen firsthand the screen scratching issue but the JoyCon issue is very real and touches several people I know personally.
What I want to hear from Nintendo is whether or not they'll replace them free of charge since it seems the JoyCon themselves are at fault from what I have witnessed, with some pairs losing connection and others not, on the same one system.
This is what happens when you rush a product out before everything is properly ready. They can use all the facts they find for the Switch Lite XL.
I have one and can't understand how somebody can scratch the screen when removing or inserting it into the dock. Maybe they are shoving it in there or pulling out with a bear claw, I don't know but I know it's super easy to use. Maybe their stock is defective or was a bad batch.
@RazorThin The screen scratching issue most definitely exists. I've been extremely careful docking and undocking my Switch all 4 or 5 times and it has gotten scratches at the bottom left, but not on the part that actually shows picture so I don't mind.
@razorthin Do the penny test on your dock and I bet you have a perfect shaped dock. I am extremely careful with my components. I still have flawless systems from when I was a kid because I save boxes, gently handle my hardware, and take care as to how things are stored. I still have no scratches on my screen, but I must lean the unit towards the back of the dock because my dock came warped out of the box. I can hear the plastic scraping each time. I believe this is a true issue for consumers who just slid theirs in and out on a warped dock.
Such defects can often not be found before the mass production has started, simply because often these defects are a direct result of mass production. Automated machines that do precision work can lose their exact calibration over time, and if it only happens to a handful of people on such large sale numbers, there's no way quality control is a certain way to prevent this from slipping. Unless they intensively test every single unit for twenty plus hours. And that's where the early buyers come in.
Like it or not, you're ALWAYS a test subject. And although a few vocal consumers that had issues shared them online -I've had them as well, and it IS something that can't be overlooked when it's there, and that SHOULD (and most likely will) be addressed by Nintendo under warranty- you should never forget that the internet is gonna do what the internet does: blow things out of proportion for whatever reason.
@Galactus_33 it's a bad thing, but still, I'd prefer light surface scratches on an easily replaceable piece of plastic to all of the broken smartphone screens I've seen, which happened to next to everyone I know who ever paid €500+ for a "smart" phone, and again €200 to replace the broken one.
I'm fine with a plastic screen, just make sure it has a screen protector. The intention with the plastic screen design is to protect kids from the potential of glass cracking and harming them.
Personally, I have noticed that my left Joy-Con drops out momentarily every now and again - the issue isn't too serious, but it certainly requires attention.
I haven't had this much fun with a console since Nintendo 64. I have experienced the disconnect twice, and although it was annoying for a second, it did almost nothing to detract from the fun. I do hope my screen doesn't scratch though.
If i had to guess, the screen scratching dock is due to a few production errors and possibly some caused by foreign objects finding their way into it. I have a toddler and and infant in my house, i can see that happening.
The joy con connection issue has been minor in my experience. It happens when i am sitting on the floor next to my couch, and there is a large jumper for my daughter obstructing between me and the Switch. Moving that will solve my problem, and if not, i can move the Switch to be in the center of the room. The signal is certainly better on the right hand joy con, but i have to assume I'm not experiencing the full issue here.
Scratch your ass Ninty not the screen.
@Action51
Nintendo is not singled out as the victim because fanboys from all factions attack each other and the PC "Master Race" attacks everyone.
This is nothing compared to what the PS3 went through when it was launched. The press and Nintendo fanboys slaughtered the PS3 and laughed at Sony's dire economics at the time. The Wii and Nintendo were flying high then, and X360 had PROD.
But you are right. Early adopters always suffer but that is their purpose in life.
I bought a Switch and had a good offer from someone to buy it from me.
I might take a leaf out of your book by selling it and getting another around December when/if Nintendo fix the issues that I experienced with my Switch, like the joy con.
over the last week, mine was docked 6 times, no scratches and now it has a screen protector. I've been using joy cons mostly as Wiimote style Zelda and have has no issues. Switch is an amazing system. Zelda helps . I with there was an otterbox I could get for it though.
My left joycon doesn't go out often, but it happens at the worst times. Aka character walked off a tower. I'm 8 feet away, so this should not be happening. Also I rarely take the Switch out, but after getting the reports I took is out and the screen was scratched on both sides. The comment in the article "it's arguably been overblown" and by Reggie are giving him and the website a black eye. The problems are real and all they need to do is address it and move forward. But what was said won't be forgotten.
@flapjackashley2 Glass adds cost and weight which might be why they chose plastic. But also with all surfaces there's a tradeoff between impact resistance and scratch resistance. There's not a wrong answer. We saw the drop test videos where the switch basically bounced and flexes and survives numerous massive impacts just fine. Glass would not do that, glass shatters when dropped, and on tablets/phones that are glass then generally have a rigid aluminum structural support to reduce fracturing of the glass. That adds weight (and cost.)
Personally I'd rather have scratch resistance than drop resistance, but I'm not as likely to drop my equiment as, say, kids would be. Going for better drop resistance isn't necessarily a cost-saving issue as much as a priorities issue. There's also the heat issue. Gorilla glass is, essentially, borosilicate. It's an impressive heat conductor. The Switch runs a lot hotter than your average tablet/phone and the SOC and cooling solution is mounted on the screen side of the device. It's possible glass was acting as a sink and ruining the cooling solution.
What I want to see is a comparison to Vita's plastic.....that stuff is very tough and scratch resistant.
Conspiracy theory: The dock scratching the screen was a story made up by screen protector companies in a bid to... well, sell more screen protectors.
But seriously... this is the first time I've ever bought or used one. I have two tiny bits of dust stuck under it though, and it's annoying me to heck. Will that scratch the screen?
The only real problem I have with my Switch so far is it has a TERRIBLE connection to the WiFi. I put the Switch ON TOP of the router and it has only 2 bars. If the Switch is in another room then forget about going on the eShop or doing anything online. I'll likely not bother with their online service because of this, and that kind of bothers me as I do actually want to subscribe.
I've had no issues with the joy-cons or the dock (got a temper glass screen protector anyway, like I normally do). One thing I have noticed and it seems to be gaining traction on some forums, is the over-sensitive d-pad on the Pro Controller. Pressing Right seems to be triggering Up in BotW.
To be honest, both these issues are the ones that are holding me back right now. Hope the months to come will shed some light on it.
Question for all the people reporting "the screen was scratched" Are you certain the screen is actually SCRATCHED? I've had a few times I've taken it out and there's SCUFFING where the silicone bumpers inside contact it. Mostly on the left side for me. Yesterday I took it out and saw what looked like a solid line on the right. I thought "ahh, this is it, now I've got the scratch!" Nope, it rubbed out with my finger....just more scuffing.
I'm curious how many scratch cases are actually scratches, and how many are scuff marks that come out but people are assuming it's a scratch because it looks like a scratch and they've read online that it must be scratches?
@NEStalgia I've been wondering this too. Mine shows up light scuffs but they're easily rubbed of with a finger or cloth.
@Moon I think that's just NIC power saving. It detects a strong signal so it bumps down to low gain to conserve signal. My laptop does this too when the NIC is set for max power saving. If you take it farther away does the signal actually degrade?
I'm sure the Switch I'll buy this Christmas, bundled in a pretty colourful box with Mario, will be perfect.
Every time I buy something, I pay with 100% flawless money so I expect 100% flawless products.
@NEStalgia What is NIC power saving? The signal is very bad on the Switch. I thought my 3DS was bad - but wow.
For reference, I have my router in my living room, and my bedroom is the room opposite. The Switch is about 3 or 4 meters away (granted there's a wall in the way) from the router... and it gets NO signal whatsoever.
My phone, Laptop, Xbox and TV all connect fine. My phone even connects to the WiFi from down the street for goodness sakes My 3DS sometimes has issues but it at least connects. I have even turned off every other device and I still can't get any signal on it. To use the eShop I must take my Switch into the other room or tether my mobile data. Annoying.
I've looked through the settings on the Switch but can't find anything that might help. :/ Maybe it's just my console that's having this problem.
The New 3DS also scratches itselft when closed, but they seem to treat it like a design feature and not an actual issue.
Typical Nintendo as always.
Hey as long as they are looking at it. I have not had these issues but it happens sometimes. Testing doesn't uncover everything.
@Moon Could it be to do with the channel your router is transmitting on?
Does no-one recall the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death? Or PS3's conking out? Hardware issues are always inevitable due to the complexity of the systems.
For the record - I've not had a single sync issue with my Switch and have been playing a hella lot of Zelda and Snipper Clips in various modes.
@moon Are you using 5G? That will sometimes give you better signal strength, but does worse over distance. I have my Switch in the same room as my router and have noticed it lags at times. My Wii U was notoriously bad if I had it downstairs from my router also the PS3. Weaker/cheaper wifi adapters inside those units. Might be the same issue with Switch cutting costs.
I saw a Switch in the wild yesterday at college and couldn't believe how tiny it is, especially the joy-cons.
@NEStalgia I had the same experience. After all the reports about scratching I checked and found a small scratch on the right side next to the screen.
After cleaning the Switch because of fingerprints the scratch was gone.
@rushiosan Really? I can see light all the way through my New 3ds XL when closed. My screen is perfect except for my fingerprint smudges.
I have problems with my Wii U gamepad - problably caused by my 5G-modem. Hope this won't cause trouble for my Switch when I get it tomorrow.
@countzero @Loui Yeah. I'm sure some people have legit scratches, but with the hysteria the internet creates, I'm betting more than a few people saying "I have the scratches" actually don't, they just think they do because the internet told them they probably do, and the scuffing can look like scratches. Twice as much so if you're looking specifically to find scratches
So long as the plastic used in the dock is a softer plastic than that used in the screen scratches should be theoretically impossible in the dock. Some docks having burrs inside or something though could be creating the issues on a handful of units. Or some docks missing the rubber bumpers inside. (Or some people that got hard dirt trapped on the bumpers....like with Gorilla glass where grinding your keys into it won't scratch it, but that tiny speck of quartz dust in your pocket will devastate it...)
@Shambo that's true.
And even with the two issues I'm still a very satisfied customer and I don't regret buying early at all. I'm very happy. And the disconnect issue hasn't happened again so that's good. I'm careful pulling out of the dock so I think it'll be okay. Eventually I'll get a tempered glass protector on there and then I'll really get comfortable dropping it in the dock quickly.
@Loui It could be, but I'm not tech savvy enough to know anything about it unfortunately. All I see is that every device I have connects almost flawlessly, besides the Switch (and sometimes my 3DS).
@JohnBlackstar I've got a WiFi home broadband thing and also I've got a 4G Dongle that I use for extra internet when I go out and about.
The 3DS is the only other device that I've had problems connecting with, so yeah... I'm leaning towards Nintendo using cheap or bad parts.
So like, just wondering those of you who tried the console out at these demo events...how were the units you used? Covered in scratches? One would think those units would take a battering. Or did the staff dock it very carefully for you? Surely it would have come to their attention after seeing what a weekend of heavy use did to the console?
@Moon Do you use an Android device at all? If so, install Wifi Analyzer and test your router's channel rating. You'll soon know if it's a factor of not.
@BeardBurger I remember the original Xbox had reports that it was setting on fire, lol.
Thought I'd also mention that I've tried to recreate the Joy-Con issue and so far I've not seen any problems with it. I tried putting them behind my back and from standing across the room and it has always worked fine for me. Not denying the issue is real for some people though.
I have had no issues. That being said, I am sure there are some legit issues out there as well as complaints from people who don't even own the system.
@Loui I don't personally, but my girlfriend has an Android phone. I'll check that out ASAP. What should I be looking for in the results? Does it explain in laymans?
It's issues like these that makes me wish that Nintendo will release a hardware revision sooner rather than later.
@Moon You can't configure it on Switch (you can on windows laptops.) But if it's the same kind of thing most modern WiFi cards for mobile/portable devices have multiple levels of power saving modes. I imagine Switch just set it to max due to its battery requirements. It throttles down to the MINIMUM required antenna gain to achieve any connection at all to maximize battery. So "2 bars" might not mean "at full gain it only sees 2 bars of signal" but rather "signal is still so strong I can drop to near-zero gain and still maintain connection."
If it's actually dropping connection though where you're trying to use it that might be an actual weak wifi issue. My 3DSXL had BAD signal strength. My N3DSXL was really good though. I haven't wandered too far to test the WiFi on my Switch yet. Signal seems fine but it's hard to judge since it took like half an hour to download the 250mb Zelda patch on day 1 over a 25Mbit connection Ninty's servers have been pretty bogged down after launch!
Joycons: I've accidentally replicated Joycon dropouts 4 times (2x left, 2x right) mostly by holding it in a way that my hand fully encloses the Joycon. Twice while playing, twice while just holding the joycon while doing something else and not holding it in a "gaming position" I don't see it as a particularly big issue. The worst was the right one dropping out, not reconnecting, thus I had to use the Procon to hit the home button! But I don't rate it as a serious problem and not "reconnecting" seems to be a software fix. I think the BT antennas are just not blasting out power strong enough to pierce through too much signal absorbing human meat. Which is probably a good thing, as the alternative would be spending hundres of hours blasting strong radio waves through our hands....
@Moon Just connect the app to your wifi, then tap the eye icon and then 'channel rating', you'll see what channel your router is on and if there's a channel available with less interference from other networks then it'll tell you what channel you should try instead.
"Naturally problems arise, and two notable concerns have been doing the rounds not only on the likes of Reddit but in outlets such as the BBC"
BBC FAKE NEWS, VERY FAKE NEWS
@Loui Thanks dude, I'll give it a go.
@NEStalgia It usually says it's connected with 1 bar, but going to eShop will hang on the orange screen for ages then an error message pops up. I've not been able to successfully post any screenshots to twitter yet either. If you do end up testing your WiFi I'd like to know the results Don't know if I should contact Nintendo or not...
@JohnBlackstar Just looked that up and now I understand the scratching issue. When I get home I'll try this penny test, but I guess mine is alright since it's not too tight around my Switch as is. It's a shame that something could be overlooked like this, but I guess those on the assembly line don't have enough time to check for stuff like that.
@Moon Sure. I'm not sure when I'll get to do my benchmark test that I can compare to 3DS. It involved standing outside...and I don't think the weather will be conducive to that for a while I'll have to at least ping the upstairs router Might not be a fair test if I don't compare it to that since that's where the XL had really awful performance and dropouts while the NewXL performed great.
If you do have 5GHz and 2.4Ghz do check which you're using (And if you're using AC rather than N it's 2.5+5GHz). Might need to set up a second subnet on the router if you have it configured for AC.) 5GHz has TERRIBLE through-wall penetration to the point of near uselessness. I'm running enterprise wifi APs and even my high end phone/laptop struggles through walls on 5GHz. I think Switch might be the first Nintendo device that supports 5GHZ AC though, I'm not sure N3DS did.
@uoi100 Tempered glass doesn't have sharp edges, though it can be a choking hazard.
I'll just throw this here for those who are familiar:

@BinaryFragger I love the irony of the post that followed your comment.
I've not had any issues with my switch with scratches of disconnecting joycons.
Only complaint I have is the height of the plug (to fit under my units). I tried just using a USB plug with a USB C Cable for the Dock, but I get a message on screen saying you must use a Ninty Plug to connect to TV.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE You realize "Switch Lite XL" is a nonsense phrase, right? XL models are bigger, whereas Lite models are thinner. It's like saying "I want a PS4 Slim Phat!"
@Action51 For me it isn't about them getting it 100% right. As an early adopter, I expect issues. Every system has them. It is just the way Nintendo has handled it. It took them way too long to come out and admit there could be an issue and say they are looking into it. Instead they issued some guidelines that basically told me that in order for my left joycon to work properly I had to cut the power to my home.
Obviously I'm being hyperbolic, but those troubleshooting guidelines were pretty ridiculous.
@NEStalgia
After reading some comments here, I was thinking about protecting your Switch screen.
What if I put Flip cover onto Switch just like Ipad did to protect Switch screen from scratches ? Will it fit with docker hole size ?
@Ralizah
PS4 Slim Phat, LOL XD
Slim + Fat = Curvy XD
The fact is that even though many of these problems are isolated, its the one who have a bad experience that are the loudest, as normal. That montage video of all the Switch users having problems is the No. 1 trending video on YouTube and has over six million views in less than a week. That is not good, any way you slice it.
What Nintendo does with this from here is a real test. Will they dismiss issues like dead pixels or provide a way to make it right? Will they acknowledge there are a handful of issues that they are sincerely working on and assure us that complaints and concerns are being heard?
The Switch has had a great launch overall, I feel. It has a buzz around it that was not present with the Wii U. There is a genuine excitement for it, and the first weekend sales prove it. I think it is bringing a number of disenfranchised Nintendo fans back into the fold. But it is vital that Nintendo not brush off people and their issues because that would be very bad press for a company that is fighting for relevance in a world that already has two consoles that are more powerful than it.
@Anti-Matter The only flip cover that I've seen (Ozrly, I think is the company making it) reportedly does not fit in the dock. Also, in the dock where it generates more heat is probably not the best place to wrap it in a warm, comfy quilt
@Stubi Maybe so, but generally it's the people with a problem that race to complain about it, and the ones without problems are never heard from, not just on the internet but in general. Honestly when you look at all the complaints about switch problems, only part of them are problems even. It's a mix of actual hardware defects in limited numbers + complaints about the actual design/intent/featureset of the product + complaints about features the product doesn't have, doesn't claim to have but people want + fears about it + disputes with company policy that people disagree with all rolled into the "problems with the Switch" bubble.
The Joycon issue might be a design issue or a software issue, but is being made into a much bigger problem than it really is in practice. The screen scratching issue is likely a real issue for which we don't know the cause....all signs point to defective docks for some percentage of products (plus people maybe thinking they have scrathes that don't, just scuffs). The handful of truly defective consoles reported with screen drop outs and such are real hardware issues, but is it a bigger number than average of DoA consoles of a launch console? PS4 had a TON of DOA consoles. I believe Sony ultimately claimed it was mostly Amazon shipped units and due to insufficient Amazon packaging. Amazon DID insufficiently package them (I got lucky without a DOA console.) But how did Sony design them if banging them around in normal Amazon packaging breaks large numbers of them? And why hasn't that problem returned even though Amazon certainly hasn't changed their packaging?
Nothing about this launch seems out of the ordinary in terms of defects. And the griping in Sony circles during PS4 launch was really no better than the griping here. And "Sony always screws their customers, first the PSN hack, now this, never buying Sony again!!!" was in every thread there too. I don't think Nintendo would mind PS4 numbers....
@flapjackashley2 That IS bad if that's the #1 video. OTOH when was the last time anything Nintendo managed to conquer all of Youtube? Good or bad that means the entire Youtobe-o-sphere is aware of Nintendo's product. Maybe if they dipped WiiU in 100% genuine Fukushima water and Youtube outraged they'd have sold more
I'm inclined to believe them about screen scratches. Looking at the dock design and how it docks...I'm just not seeing how that's possible. Their events did have people constantly docking/undocking. People are reporting scratches in days to weeks. That certainly would have been noticed were it common. That just sounds like RMA replacement defects to me. Sucky, but there it is. Joycons is more of a universal issue for them to examine. Random DOA units is just tech. And are we honestly talking about dead pixel policy as though it's unique to Nintendo? It's an issue BECAUSE they acknowledged it, and wouldn't have been mentioned had they not issued a press release about it. And people wonder why Nintendo stays silent.
I don't disagree too much with the rest, but I don't see Nintendo policy on any of this as anything unusual or unique, though the internet would have you believing otherwise. No problems short of he joycon disconnect seem to be widespread. But on the internet if two people have a problem it gathers a cult around it. If 50 people have a problem it's a life changing experience, and if 500 people have a problem the world is over.
Ultimately it's this process that gives us "silent nintendo that says nothing about anything ever and just quietly addresses issues."
On a nintendo forum it seems like Sony gets a pass for everything. On a Sony forum it seems like Nintendo gets a pass for everything. Each is inhabited by people that think the one they're talking about has let them down compared to the other one they're comparing it against.
@flapjackashley2 Well I guess you'll be disappointed by most technology then. I once got a computer that wouldn't even boot a couple of years ago.
Pretending like the issue doesn't exist just makes things worse.
@BinaryFragger My Switch is fine, must be a user problem. 😂
Do you guys have this issue with the right joy con where the motion sensor works good in portable mode but not in dock mode? It happens all the time to me when I aim in Breath of the Wild.
Funny, I never buy the first generation of any electronic device, except for consoles, which I usually get on day 1. I'm actually surprised the consoles haven't been even worse (not just Nintendo's, but all of them). So far I've been lucky, but I recognize it really is just luck.
No big deal, all they had to do was fix the left JoyCon. Maybe also let us replace our crappy one for the fix one too.
@Hotfusion I'm not sure what issues people are having with their portable batteries, but I have one that outputs USB-C at 5V/3A and it works fine. If I play Zelda while charging it with that, it charges slowly, but still faster than the Switch drains.
As for the joycon disconnect issues, they are very real. I commonly have dropouts in docked mode, regardless of how close or how far I am from the console. I'm not sure, but it seems like it happens more often when the lady is also playing Wii U, so my next step is to try to find a way to get them set up as far away from each other as possible and see if that helps. But as of right now, I hardly ever play in docked mode, because the disconnects are frequent enough to sour me on the experience.
So far I haven't had a problem. My right joy-con did disconnect once on the second day I had the system, but since then, no issues with those controllers. But I've mostly been using the Pro, which has never disconnected (and feels amazing btw)! Also I don't have any issue with the screen. While the dock should have been made soft on the inside, I have been docking/undocking very carefully. When paying close to $500 CDN for this system, you handle the device very carefully. I also put a static cling screen protector on it just to be safe.
I haven't had any issues with scratches. Though I do have a screen protector on my Switch. I have not seen any scratches anywhere else. But since hearing about the issue, I have been extra careful docking it.
I have experienced the left joycon issue. Not when its portable. But when its docked. It's annoying when it happens. But not a deal breaker.
No scratches for me. The rubber on the dock did leave smudge marks which looked like scratches but it wipes off every time.
And 4 Joycons, all work perfectly. I think that's a hardware issue now. Like a bad batch or something.
But ya, they did right with the plastic screen, cause once they go glass there's no protection from cracked and shattered screens. Half the people I know, their phone has a cracked screen. Plastic prevents cracks and you can just apply a $8 tempered glass protector and have the same protection without the downfalls.
What we are reading is the situation that occurs when a product such as a gaming device or tablet is expedited to reach store shelves before said device is ready to do so with all of the fundamental bells and whistles that amount to a stellar performance. Perhaps with this research they will put their findings towards a revised edition of the console, such as a Switch XL/Lite variety.
@Stubi a significant number, out of a significant number. What's the failure rate? At 2m consoles, a failure rate of 1% it top of industry perfection....thats 20,000 failures. Thats as good as good gets. 5% is more average in tech, still excellent....thats 100,000 failures. And on Yt you're seeing the whole world's falls
Isn't the gaming community used to this, have you ever played an early access game haha
@Stubi And yes, I'd be really really bummed and feel like Switch was a failure if mine was broken....so I do understand people's feelings about it that DO have a broken one. But lets face it, most of the hand wringing is being done by those who DON'T own one and/or don't have the problems.
And for Sony's PS4 launch, I believe their official failure rate was 0.5% (according to them though they've been known to fudge numbers), which is a STELLAR failure rate. But if you visited youtube and Sony's own forums, it seemed like PS4 was a walking time bomb destined for recall and failure.
Even a 10% failure rate, 200k units wouldn't be an industry first or a catastrophe, but it would be a fairly severe failure rate.
You want facts? you fools put an antenna embedded in a circuit board right next a giant piece of metal. Soldering a wire to it and re routing it to the opposite direction completely fixes the issue and enhances its range by at least 3X.
I wish consumers were more concerned with consumer interests than with corporate
Alternative facts, Lol!
Haven't had either issue,but I couldn't get a tv signal when going docked earlier.
There was a time where Nintendo products were built to last. Other than taking the cheap route, what happened?
I was informed that my Switch console was ready to be picked up yesterday, I told the person at the store to throw it in the bin lol
Knowing my luck with consoles, as soon as I open the box a facehugger would burst out from it and attach itself to my face (I did pick up the BOTW limited edition though)
I'm going to wait for Switch 2.0
After reading the comments I've had it a week today and no issues at all.the scratches I say come from careless owners not a defect
In regards to the dock, why is there even plastic in the front at all? it should just be a cradle with zero chance of the screen being even touched. This "lifelong engineer" is a fool
@NEStalgia
6 sigma manufacturing aims for 3.4 failures per million.
Please understand!
I have no problems with de-syncing. My Switch is always docked unless a game calls for it. Also i am very gentle with placing the switch back into the dock.
I have no scratches, nor had any joy-con issues. Then again, I don't handle my device like a drunk bull.
If it is an uncommon issue, then hopefully it won't happen to me when my Nintendo Switch arrives.
For once, I don't blame Nintendo for this. They produced a value-priced premium piece of tech and, like all value-priced premium tech, it has the small potential for issues out of the gate. If they'd taken the time to properly QA and perfect it, it'd cost more than an iPhone and get released late this year at the earliest.
I mean, yeah it sucks with them not QAing but in the grand arms race of video gaming, pushing tech out the door before it's perfect is a thing everyone is doing so I can't put this (entirely) down to a "Nintendon't" moment.
@cleveland124 At that goal was reached by exactly how many processes in the consumer goods fabrication industry, again?
That's a wonderful ideal for aerospace and pharma. Consumer goods can't exactly afford that kind of process. Even consumer automotive doesn't get anywhere close to that ideal let alone $300 video game systems. Industry standard remains 5% with 8% not uncommon, 10% bad but not unheard of, and 1% or less being stellar. Lets see how many first wave defects are counted into the hundreds of thousands. Sony claimed under 1%. Frankly I think they were lying through their teeth and then some, but we'll never bee the wiser.
And on the other end of the curve, the Note 7 and first wave XBox 360 with ultimately a 100% failure rate due to fundamental design flaws.
@EternalDragonX FWIW, nothing DOES contact the screen unless you're sliding the thing back and forth like it's a hacksaw, and if you're doing that it's never going to mate with the USB-C. When people say it scratched the "screen" they don't actually mean the screen. They mean the clear plastic lens that covers the screen and extends beyond the screen over the body where the setting adhesive is. The part that gets scratched (or scuffed) is really the screen cover where it overhangs the chassis, effectively the bezel area, not the screen. It creates a cosmetic issue with the chassis, not an actual viewing issue with the screen, unless, again, they were massively abusing it and using the dock in a way it clearly shouldn't be used.
Something that causes a cosmetic issue on a new product is still a defect, but with regard to your comment that nothing should be touching the screen, whether they're at fault or not overall, there really isn't. in fact the "ribs" or "struts" that are causing the scratches seem to be there specifically to make sure nothing actually contacts the screen area if inserted straight down.
There might be merit to the argument that "it should be designed that drunken idiots can't roll the system back and forth through the slot like it's a "saw the woman in half" magic act"" since they generally target kids, but for the hopefully mature adults on this forum and youtube channels, that shouldn't be the issue
The Joy Con issue is not overblown. Not sure how Nintendolife can suggest this. I would gladly trade my Switch with one of theirs that works perfectly so they can see how overblown having to sit 5 feet from the TV to maintain consistent control is.
I am going to need Nintendo to replace my joycons because I can't even sit less than 10 feet away without them disconnecting.
@NEStalgia
I was thinking the dock issue would be a manufacturing tolerance issue and really shouldn't be happening. Electronics are trickier but to your point, there's no real way to know defect level because unless it's pervasive like the RROD, no company will acknowledge their defects. Which looks to be happening here as Nintendo is not admitting that joycons drops and docks scratching screens are defects.
The closest we can get is something like squaresoft since they are a third party warranty company. But they see a limited market and are secondary coverage so the consoles could still be sent back to manufacturer if it's within that warranty window. http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-360-failure-rate-237-ps3-10-wii-27-study/1100-6216691/
As they show the RROD as only a 12% failure rate when other surveys pointed to failure rates >50% from RROD.
What's concerning is the dock is something new so that's a new reason for failure and I've never really seen a console have issues with joystick connectivity. These two areas are disappointed to have issues on.
@NEStalgia
Nintendolife didn't identify the dock as a culprit, but they got their screen scratched in the limited review. I'm curious if they were to try and identify the issue if they would find the scratches match up with the dock. if In theory the dock shouldn't cause scratches, but it seems if you got a bent dock it's likely to cause scratches. There are a number complaints out there. Now it may be limited but throwing out stuff like 1% of people have issues isn't really worthwhile as you don't know and you are just throwing that out there.
@cleveland124 I wasn't really saying it IS 1%, I was throwing out what numbers would be at various normal percentages. The common thinking on the internet seems to be "there's so many reports of problems!" and my point was the sheer volume of how many it would look like and still be a very low and normal percentile. Especially early adopter tech items, you can bet the majority of people with a problem immediately check online to see if others have the problem. A good portion of the people with problems are the ones that have mentioned it somewhere online. Not all, but the earliest adopters are also going to be the most internet engaged for the most part. My only point was that for anyone saying "but there's hundreds of reports" or "there's thousands of reports" it's also very likely that those, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands they might see mentioned online might be >50% of all failures based on who the early adopters are most likely to be, and even if you're seeing 50,000 reports online, and even if that's only half the total failures and the real number is 100,000, you're still at a 5% real error rate and is all perfectly normal. The internet amplifies appearance and perception. And we're a long, long, long way from a 50,000 count online. We don't know if the real number is in the millions or in the hundreds but based on the quantity of online reports I don't think we've broken the thousands yet. That could be a very GOOD sign.
Could it be RRoD level? Sure, we don't know yet. And LOL at those RRoD numbers.....I was telling Plywood about the reasons for the RRoD (the solder temp, pin design, etc.) It was a 100% gurarantee that 100% of those first wave units would fail. 4% is lough out loud hilarious. Every single unit was doomed from the time it was boxed.
And yes, I'm guessing malformed docks for one reason or another are the cause of most of the scratching. And also that if so it's still cosmetic...which is still bad and I wouldn't want it but far from RRoD.
@Mr_Zurkon It only happens to the smaller model, that's why I had to buy screen protectors for my regular N3DS, my New XL never had the issue.
@TossedLlama : I did that without thinking… about three times. XD I'd kick myself if I could. I did panic a bit and I think that my Joy-Cons and/or straps may have suffered a bit of minor superficial damage, but I'll know not to make that mistake again (though others might!).
I was surprised that the console did not come with any sort of manual. Even a "Quick Start" leaflet would have been useful. That could easily have alleviated some of these simple problems.
So far just the joy con issue for me.
Any word on how the Switch seemingly attempts to takeover all TV inputs? Like if I play Wii U or PS3 with the Switch connected, the screen will flash black for a second or so every few minutes. Almost like the signal got cut. I turned off that setting to let the Switch match my TV state, but it still happens. If I unplug the Switch, the problem goes away.
EDIT: I found "HDMI CEC" and some auto power on/off over HDMI settings on my TV and turned those off. I'll see if that fixes it. Those have never worked for me anyway. I always have to manually turn on the TV and choose the input. Cheap Walmart black friday Funai. lol.
@NEStalgia There should be zero chance at all that a dumb dock even comes in contact with the front of the device. They have ZERO reason for it and can do nothing but hinder the user. mine is in on a narrow shelf behind a glass door in my entertainment center so my kids may by chance slide it in while its leaning forward, thus making contact with the stupidly designed dock. I promise you they will redesign this with just a cradle or a 3rd party company will make one.
@EternalDragonX The irony is I'm certain the design is there to protect the screen. That said an open front cradle is a disaster (I have a device like that, a very, very, very expensive programmable remote control, getting that thing to sit properly in the cradle that it just leans back on is a disaster, and a Switch couldn't lean back as far as that does to maintain balance because it would muck with the cooling solution.
The design is also likely to secure it while swapping Joycons without removing it. It doesn't need to be redesigned overall, just padding all of the front ribs rather than just the bottom.
Remember, the ONLY part that makes contact with the machine is the RIBS that extend down the front, so if you're sliding it centered, they're not going to touch the viewing surface of the screen but could scrape along side the sides of the screen if you're grinding the machine against those front ribs. If you don't slide it roughly centered then sure you can hit the screen or the joycon, or whatever with them.
So padding those ribs more solves all problems. Or a small tweak in design that prevents you from inserting it anywhere but dead center would prevent it. No major redesign needed. That would be an improvement that lets you be reckless with it and still damage nothing. I definitely would NOT want to see a front-less dock though. They're fiddly, and it also needs to drop vertically if it's going to use USB-C rather than a proprietary contact system.
@NEStalgia Yes "IF" you slide it down in the center it won't touch but I dunno about you but I feel like I'm playing the game Operation every time I dock my Switch.
@EternalDragonX I'll never argue against further tightening the idiot-proofing of any product, so I'm all for improvements in the dock in terms of more padding or some sort of "auto-centering" concept or something, I'm very AGAINST a frontless dock design....that would be a terrible dock prone to droppage that will do a lot worse than those front rips do now. If you want to see just how bad a dock design can get, take a look at Sony's cradle for the original model Vita. Mine has fallen off the table, Vita firmly attached, at least 5 or 6 times, just by every so gently tapping the cord where it hangs off the table (hint the a dock should weigh more than what it's docking, OR have a firmer center of gravity.) . And I can see how children might just shove and cram it in like poptarts in the toaster, so that's an area for improvement. But for adults, you would have to try fairly hard to be so reckless that you'd miss centering by that much. Near the bottom third it does have a guide-pin built into the dock and a mating groove in the switch to center the USB-C to recenter it based on a fairly wide "off-center".
I mean my first few days I treated it like a uranium control rod on insertion, but since then I just plunk it in, no special thoughts. Since you're most likely holding the joycons as handles when inserting it anyway, it would really be hard to not center it by any meaningful margin. You'd have to miss to the point of having the joycon INSIDE the dock to miss wide enough to get the ribs over the screen. Wide enough that you'd have no hope of hitting the centering channel.
If you're docking without Joycons...well then that's arguably even easier since the edge of the unit is flush with the sides of the dock....if you can miss that you've probably racked up too high a tab at the bar/pub depending on your fancy
There's improvements to be made particularly for kids, but by and large, it's actually pretty well designed as-is minus extra paddding, but mostly the defective/warped docks. What I would NOT recommend doing is docking it the way that official press pick shows docking it, holding it one handed with the top of the screen pinched between thumb and forefinger. Scratching aside, that's just a drop hazard waiting to happen. I'll lift it out one-handed that way (no scratches), but dropping it in that way sounds awfully risky.
It's expensive electronics. if it's treated like expensive electronics it seems to work just fine without special care being made. I don't fling my dSLR camera around by the strap and land it on the table, either
@NEStalgia Yeah I suppose you are right but there are definitely ways to make a sturdy cradle why not just have the front of the cradle maybe half way or 1/4 the size it is now. Point is I personally would much rather it be idiot proof/child proof/dorito hands proof(not sure how)
@EternalDragonX A 1/4 height dock might be somewhat better, and immitate the N3DS dock a little, BUT where it would cover would still be exactly where people are getting scratches, so it might not actually help anything at all. And then it doesn't protect the screen when docked (say, for people who just want a home console and never undock it) from being knocked around by other stuff in the rack (and just looks like a docked handheld rather than a proper console which it looks more like as-is. Imagine the internet rage
If not a centering rail of some sort, just padding the front ribs is probably the only way to go. They probably didn't do it (there's pads at the bottom but not the top) because then it risks the console "gripping" onto the dock on removal and picking the dock up with it (and dropping it.) Teflon could be slippery for it, but could still scratch it easily enough. Choosing a padding material soft enough to not scratch but dense enough to not grip would maybe be a challenge. Felt and such...but that can hold dirt (which can scratch even more easily than the dock plastic.)
Product design ain't for the faint of heart
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