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Feature

Have I Made The Most Of The Switch's Portability Based On Nintendo Commercials?

by Marcus Stewart on Jul 09, 2021 at 04:43 PM

My favorite part about the Nintendo Switch OLED reveal wasn't necessarily its flashier screen, improved kickstand, or ethernet port (side note: I never noticed the original Switch dock lacked an ethernet port until that video). It was watching a new, highly produced montage of cheerful actors enjoying their Switch in various locales. These delightfully goofy clips are, of course, meant to show off the Switch's portability. Whether it's at your friend's house our within the mouth of an active volcano, you can – and should – take Mario and friends everywhere you go.

I always chuckle at these scenes, often thinking to myself "who actually plays their Switch in such a place?" But then I started wondering: after owning a Switch since 2017, playing undocked at least half the time, and traveling with it quite a bit over the years, how many of these exact scenarios have actually occurred? Am I truly getting the most out of the Switch's most appealing feature? To find out, I combed through several Switch commercials to get a tally of whether or not I've done the things that Nintendo clearly expects the average Switch owner to do on a regular basis.

In bed - Yes

On an airplane - Yes

At a basketball court/under an overpass - No/No

On an outdoor bench - No

At rooftop parties - No

At regular parties - Yes

In a locker room - No

At a restaurant - Yes

At the Hilltop Cafe, the home of famous pies - No, sadly

With children - Yes

In a college library/lecture hall - No/No

While poolside - Yes

At the laundromat - No, but I think I leaned on my home dryer for a bit while playing Yu-Gi-Oh or something.

Inside an empty convention hall room - Yes

With Brie Larson - No

With my grandparents - No

While camping - No

At a skatepark - No

At a rock climbing place - No

On a boat tour - No

On a bus tour - No

In space - No

At a ski resort - No

In a hotel room - Yes

In a garage - No

At the beach - No

In a workshop - No

In an RV - No

While getting my hair done did - No

Look's like I've played my Switch in 8 of the 29 places/situations listed. Nintendo is probably en route to my home as we speak to confiscate my device as I am clearly unworthy of it. Until that happens, I want to hear from you: How many of these scenarios have occurred in your life?

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