Remember when the Nintendosphere went crazy for an overpriced Calcuator app on Switch? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Yes, joining Calculator in our growing list of 'expensive and unnecessary apps that you almost certainly have access to for free elsewhere' is Notes, a notepad application that lets you, well... Take notes.
We'd usually write a paragraph or two here about what makes the game tick, why we think it could end up being worthy of your time, and going over its finer details, but the eShop listing really does a better job than we ever could. Here's the entire official description:
This is a simple and useful (it works perfectly) notepad for you, gamer or not gamer, to take notes in an easy and quick way. It comes with automatic saving.
Is it just us, or does the "it works perfectly" look like something that would be put there by someone who knows that, in actual fact, it doesn't work perfectly?
Either way, Notes launches on the Switch eShop today. If you're interested in reminding yourself to eat or taking down Zoey's number (see the screenshots above for more context), you'll probably want to download it sooner rather than later. It's currently on offer at £1.48, but will soon shoot up to a whopping £9.99!
We wonder if this will ever get a physical release?
Comments 67
Does it support touch screen?
I’m sick of the Switch getting all these great ports but with shoddy frame rates. Notepad on my PC runs at a SOLID 60FPS at 1080p. Can’t wait for the Switch Pro.
NINJA APPROVED
Calculator has some worthy competition now for GotY.
I'd actually like to be able to take notes on the Switch but it's pointless if I have to close whatever game I'm playing to open them so yeah, no thanks.
I can't wait for clock and stopwatch to make their appearance.
The most obvious question is, how do you write the notes?
The lack of detail there is suspicious, is it hand-writing input, does it support USB keyboards, or what exactly?
Edit: Actually, I'm willing to bet this software could have a bunch of vulnerabilities because of the nature of it storing large volumes of user input-values. Who knows, I bet this junk software doesn't have proper input sanitisation.
@Blooper987
I am sure you meant to say ‘..“note”worthy competition..’
It's useless if you can't print the notes though. Nintendo should make a Switch Printer so we can print our letter to take with us or at least make a printer app.
@RupeeClock Manual.pdf costs $5 to find out. 😂
@BenAV like what the 3DS had? That would be cool
All these can be accessed elsewhere? No way. It's almost like getting YouTube on Switch came with a karmic fine print.😜
(Yes, YouTube is free, but if all these were, they wouldn't be quite as karmic)
I can't wait for Sabec to release a finisher like a retail-priced app that controls Switch volume.
@stinky_t Yeah, something like that. Being able to take screenshots does the trick most of the time but there are times that taking a few organised notes is more convenient.
Cool.
I can write something on it.
I can draw something silly on it.
I can use it for cheating during test.
What's next ?
MP3 / MP4 Player ?
Nintendo really needs to improve moderation on the eShop.
@BloodNinja 60fps? You're living in the past, it runs at a smooth 144fps on mine or I can drag it to my other screen for some 4K HDR notepad action 😉
"(it works perfectly)"
WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN YOUR "GAME" DESCRIPTION
Up next, a $10 app that tells you how much battery you have left on the switch! Just open the app and it’ll show the remaining charge in large font. It even has alerts for when your battery gets low!
IAP (additional $10): you get to select the percentage remaining to get a notification!
Okay this was funny at first, now it's just getting annoying. lol
"Here we go again" is such an apt subtitle for this review.
@carlos82 I’m running it on a toaster, forgot to mention
@Ghost_of_Hasashi Even the Gameboy had a printer. Make it happen, Nintendo!
This would really only useful as a system feature that you could access without having to quit the game. Now I think of it why have no console manufacturers implemented it before?
Is there an app to make my switch a nuclear reactor?
I actually liked having these kinds of utilitary apps on 3DS. But then again today even the cheap phones are quite confortable to use and packed with all these features, so I cannot see the use for these anymore.
Granted, that doesn't mean I wouldn't want some more non-gaming apps in Switch, like Netflix. =/
@BloodNinja Notepad runs at 4K/10.000 fps on my PC with my AMD Ryzen 9 5900X.
I also have RTX 3070 to show all colors in Notepad in all it's glory.
@Ventilator That’s true eye-candy. You must be living the dream. I still have to run notepad with AA turned off so I get lots of jaggies
Finally! Now I can stop using my phone
@RupeeClock exploiting by huge text inputs... you are 15 years late to the party...
GOTY material.
Literally, the developer releases everything to take some bucks.
@Anti-Matter the next Switch will be a smartphone lol
I could see a calculator actually work on the Switch. (If it had some graphical features as well). But a digital notepad? Really?
@Anti-Matter you are allowed to play Switch while taking a test? What kind of a school allows that?
Will these all be put together in a physical bundle release of Nintendo Switch Office 365?
Autosave is a bonus. Many a time have I used conventional paper only for RL to crash and I lose my progress.
Unfortunately it's digital, otherwise I could use it as toilet paper...... What ever next!!! GOTY my AR*E PS I can't believe the original price was over £9..... Someone has a sense of humour I guess?????!!!
To be serious for one moment, you can take notes on the Switch.
All you have to do is take a screenshot of a white (or black) screen and add text to it. It's not the best option, but it's possible.
Now if only the Switch would let you write actual notes like on the 3DS.
Come to think of it, the Wii U didn't have it either.
Being able to take notes without having to exit your game would be great.
@Ghost_of_Hasashi There is Nintendo Switch printer for the Pokemon snap, it could be made compactible
The Nintendo Switch is slowly turning into the Game.Com
Only thing missing is a Phone Book app.
I think I own a physical release.
In fact, I think I have many copies on my desk.
Actual notepads.
What we really need next is a flashlight app on the switch. Just a white screen with brightness turned up all the way.
Reggie just announced that google chrome is coming to the switch for the ridiculous low price of $99.99 . internet connection not included.
reminds me of flashbacks of kid-me buying the dsi notebook, i didnt even get value from it back then
Somehow I get the feeling they made the price high so they could sell a lot more to bargain hunters while charging what it's actually worth. It's an interesting strategy.
@Anarquista “Please understand: it works perfectly.” (We are totally not desperate, really.)
@KingMike Did you get them from Limited Run? The special edition comes with a pen!
Thanks to the idi-geniuses that bought "Calculator" and similar, no-talent developers are now marching in with their useless and offensively overpriced "apps" that I'm sure 99% of people already have on their computers, phones, and/or dedicated devices.
Plus, if I wanted to take notes on Switch, I'd just take a screenshot of a black screen and type a note over it in the screenshot gallery.
The worst thing about these apps if that they can't be used in between gaming sessions; that you need to close whatever you're doing in order to use these apps.
Nintendo really ought to have such functionality built in to the OS.
I'm pretty sure I already have this game on my phone.
Should have waited till E3 to drop this.
Ok but can it run Crysis within the app while playing Doom within Crysis? Can it? Huh?
@iuli I am sorry, some switch owners don't have phones
groans intensely
"to take notes in an easy and quick way"
Nothing easy and quick about writing on a Switch, mate. Pen and paper or a keyboard get the job done, anything else is a hassle.
@infernogott yes
@RupeeClock Write with Switch's virtual keyboard
I wish this were built into the Switch.
My List
Exactly what is going on here
About a physical release that was mentioned jokingly: What if they had all of these in a physical thing and charged like $10. At least note pad it is cheaper at least in Europe at first.
@infernogott yes
@HammerGalladeBro oh my god! thank you! I forgot you could annotate screenshots
I want this.
BUT, I'm gonna need OatmealDome to take a quick look at it first. Also, did any of you guys buy this? Feedback?
@BloodNinja Yeah. In fact Notepad is the most precious thing for me ever now.
Devs are simply trolling at this point.
"It works perfectly" is my new "featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series".
But seriously for a moment, a notepad on the Switch IS a useful feature. I write notes about my games all the time. I don't like writing them on my phone, because it slows me down. Pause game, put Switch down, pick up phone, wake up phone, get to the Notes program, write note, put phone down, pick up Switch, unpause game - that's eight steps to write "Laura likes olives". It's silly and disrupts the flow of the game. And the old eco-warrior in me hates the concept of using another electronic device to support the one you're actually using.
I usually use an actual notebook. I'm sure many people here have gaming notebooks like mine. But it would be handy to be able to just jot something down on the Switch. It's not a ridiculous feature at all.
What's ridiculous is having to pay for that feature. And this thing's actual asking price of $10 is the best joke I've heard all week.
But hey, it works perfectly!
How about a calendar app, devs?! I've been wanting one for ages now!!
Rather lame. Need to jot down the password to a Virtual Console game? Screenshot it!
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