Unboxing the Nintendo Switch

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The Nintendo Switch arrives March 3, but we have it in PC Labs today. If you're curious about what you get in the Switch box, we have a full unboxing in the video below. If you want a deeper look at the Switch, our lengthy preview of the system goes into exactly how it works (a scored review is on the way).

The Switch itself is a slightly chunky black tablet with a 6-inch 720p screen. That isn't very impressive compared with midrange tablets and smartphones, but it's by far the best-looking screen we've seen on a Nintendo device yet. It's also the first capacitive touch screen, since the Nintendo DS, 3DS, and Wii U gamepad all used resistive touch.

The Switch comes with a pair of Joy-Con controllers, plastic bars that look like a cross between Wii remotes and half of a conventional gamepad. Each Joy-Con has an analog stick, face buttons, shoulder buttons, and motion sensors, and the right Joy-Con has extra features like an infrared camera and an NFC reader for Nintendo's Amiibo figures. The Switch only comes in black, but you can get it with either a pair of dark gray Joy-Cons or a blue Joy-Con and an orange Joy-Con.

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You can attach the Joy-Cons directly to the Switch's sides and use it as a handheld, or you can put the Switch in the included dock and use it as a home console, outputting video over HDMI at 1080p. The dock is a chunky black block with HDMI, USB-C, and USB-A 3.0 ports hidden behind a door and two additional USB 3.0 ports on the side.

While you can easily use the Joy-Cons wirelessly by holding one in each hand on their own, the Switch comes with two accessories for them: the Joy-Con Grip and two Joy-Con Straps. The Joy-Con Grip is a plastic shell with rounded hand grips. You can put the Joy-Cons in the Grip and hold them together like a conventional game-pad. The Joy-Con Straps are plastic bars that click into each Joy-Con and provide a long, adjustable nylon wrist strap. They let you use the Joy-Cons separately without risk of flinging them when playing motion games, and plastic button extenders on the top let you hold each Joy-Con sideways as a small SNES-like controller with shoulder buttons.

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