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Nintendo Switch had its live TV debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon earlier this week, which means it's time to start geeking out over its every detail. The entire production was exactingly overseen by Nintendo, I'm sure, but the conditions were still less controlled than those of its expertly edited reveal trailer. In other words, this is the closest any of us outside of Nintendo's inner circle have come to the actual Nintendo Switch experience yet.
Before we begin way overthinking this late-night TV advertorial, a quick note: this isn't necessarily the final model of Nintendo Switch. You may see tweaks to the mass-produced models that aren't reflected in the one Nintendo brought along to The Tonight Show set, but it will probably be very similar.
The big Nintendo Switch reveal, which Jimmy *definitely* wasn't briefed about
The Joy-Con grip has a special stand in this shot. I wonder if that stand will come with retail units or if it's just to make the setup look nice for TV. Also note that, as far as we know, Switch will only come with one set of left and right Joy-Cons, not the four depicted here. Not like leaving them attached to the Switch while it's docked would do you much good.
Reggie grabs a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
This image gives you a pretty good idea of the Pro Controller's scale versus the Nintendo Switch itself. The Pro Controller looks a little smaller than the Joy-Con grip. In fact, the Pro Controller looks really small in this shot, but that's mostly because Reggie Fils-Aime is a big, meaty fella with big, meaty hands. Just look at this picture of him holding an original 3DS if you don't believe me.
Reggie shows the top of the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Here's the Pro Controller from a top-down angle. The shoulder buttons jut out enough to have a good pressing action and that looks like a charging port in the middle. Wii U Pro Controllers had a USB-mini port in the same spot for charging, but rumor has it that the Switch system itself will use fast-charging, reversible USB-C cables. Hopefully that applies to the controller, too.
Here's the back of the Nintendo Switch
The front shots of Jimmy and Reggie also offer a great look at the Switch dock's backside. You can see the power and HDMI cables run out to the side of the system, rather than directly behind, so you should be able to scoot it right up against your TV or cabinet without bending anything. And there's a subtle black Nintendo logo right in the middle. Stylish!
The Nintendo Switch un-dock-ening
It did the thing! Nintendo Switch appears to slide out of its dock with little force, immediately transferring Reggie's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game over to the system's embedded screen. You can see the cartridge slot on the top-left and the headphone jack on the top-right. I think that's a fan exhaust port in the middle but I'm still not quite sure. I'm also not sure if I'm into that big, white Nintendo Switch logo on the back. I wish it was a little more subtle, like the Nintendo logo on the back of the dock, but maybe it will grow on me.
Nintendo Switch looks pretty lightweight
It's pointless trying to judge the color quality of the screen based on how the cameras picked it up. But you can see that Breath of the Wild's user interface didn't change a lick going from big screen to little screen. It's 100 percent the same game. Also pay attention when Jimmy holds the Switch up in just his right hand. The system and attached Joy-Cons must be fairly light if he's able to do that comfortably. Or maybe he's been doing wrist-ups for weeks in preparation for this big moment. You never know with TV magic.
Gaze upon Nintendo Switch's charging(?) port
That looks like a USB-C charging port to me, though you can judge for yourself. Using the USB-C standard would make Switch super easy to charge while traveling. And its central location suggests that Switch uses the same port to beam out its video signal while docked. Having one port for both charging and data would help cut down on size and cost, both of which are major concerns for portable game systems.
The Nintendo Switch kickstand sure won't pop out by itself
That kickstand gave Jimmy some trouble! But better for it to be a little hard to pop out than to come loose while you're playing, I guess. Seems nice and stable once you get it set up.
And here's Jimmy Fallon freaking out about Nintendo Switch for eternity
This is why Nintendo comes to him for these things.
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