The Nintendo Switch was released on March 3. The cost for the console is $299.99, not including any games.

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” “1-2-Switch,” “Snipperclips – Cut it out, Together!” and “Just Dance 2017” are now among the few games available for the Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, available April 28, is one of the games planned for future release. Many Nintendo fans are disappointed by the short the list of available games.

The Nintendo Switch consists of a tablet-like console, which includes a screen and a kickstand for tabletop mode, a dock, which holds the console for charging and TV mode, and two controllers, called joy-cons. The joy-cons’ side controllers slide off the main console to become individual joysticks and can also be combined with each other to create a single traditional-style controller, allowing for single or multiplayer gaming.

The joy-cons come with removable wrist straps which also feature larger L and R buttons. The right joy-con also has an IR scanner that can detect hand signals, such as rock, paper and scissors, a feature which does not have many, if any, in-game uses yet.

The Nintendo Switch also has a motion sensor, a feature used in some of the games, such as “Breath of the Wild.” In this game, the player can tilt and turn the controller to change the orientation of items held by Link’s magnesis power.

The Nintendo Switch is currently available in two color schemes: standard gray and the more rare “Red-Blue” version, as users call it, which features one neon red and one neon blue joy-con.

The Nintendo Switch also allows for online gaming, which is free until the paid service launches in the fall. 

Many users have experienced the occasional glitch or lag while playing certain games, particularly “Breath of the Wild,” as well as issues connecting to the internet. Things like these are to be expected with the release of a new console, especially one as complex and versatile as the Nintendo Switch.

However, these issues do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the Nintendo Switch. Other than those issues, which will hopefully be fixed as time goes on with software updates and new games, the Nintendo Switch meets a lot of the expectations fans had for it.

“My favorite thing about the Switch is the versatility, the capability to use it as a home console you can take anywhere you want,” said James Kessler, an Oswego State freshman.

Kessler was among other gaming fans at Wal-Mart on the night of March 2 for the official midnight release of the Nintendo Switch. The Oswego GameStop ran out of pre-orders earlier that night, but Wal-Mart had yet to put theirs out.

Oddly enough, there is a trend of licking the game cartridges, comparable to the cinnamon challenge or the salt and ice challenge, though not as hazardous to one’s health. A tweet from Jeff Gerstmann, co-founder of the game blog Giant Bomb, revealed the cartridges taste absolutely awful. A Nintendo spokesperson told the website Polygon that the cartridges are coated with the “most bitter chemical compound known to humanity” to discourage people, specifically small children, from swallowing them.

Though some may view this as a smart idea, others feel that it is a bit ridiculous and unnecessary, considering that such things should be kept out of reach of small children.

Though the Nintendo Switch is far from perfect and still has a ways to go, it has already made its mark as an innovation in gaming. Its ability to act as both a home console and a handheld game system makes it great for those who cannot bear to put their game down to go eat or to get to class or work on time or to go hang out with friends.