Nintendo Switch

Hardware specs

Startup

A Switch's boot animation is a simple 2D piece: two stylised white Joy-Con shapes, with the right one sliding down to snap into place against the left. It first appeared in the console's original reveal trailer and has been reused in Switch game trailers ever since.

• The "click" you hear on boot is deliberately the sound of a Joy-Con snapping onto the console, tying the boot audio directly to the machine's signature physical gesture (source). Since 2017 that click sits at a higher pitch, and the very first boot of a brand new console instead plays a longer, cheerier tune with a drumroll.

Trivia & Fun Facts

• To prevent small children (and pets) from accidentally swallowing the tiny game cards, Nintendo coats them in Denatonium Benzoate. This is the most bitter chemical compound known to man. If you lick a Switch cartridge, the taste is so repulsively bitter it lingers for minutes.
• The Switch was Nintendo’s first home console to officially remove region-locking. This allows players to buy and play games from any part of the world—such as Japan-exclusive physical editions—without any hardware restrictions.

Games