Originally, I was fine with the idea of getting Breath of the Wild on the Wii U, rather than going all-in with a Nintendo Switch. I usually wait a while before getting a brand new system, usually to see if any more interesting games come along before I drop another $300. This was my usual method, but when I had done that with the Wii U, it was only a few months after I purchased it that Nintendo revealed the Switch and planned to cease production of all Wii U games. I was pretty ticked, but I should have seen it coming with how sales were bombing for the system.
There was also the fact that Breath of the Wild would take a substantial amount of memory — I remember it was the exact amount of memory I had left on my Wii U. While it was my gut instinct to wait a while before the Switch was released, I was working at Toys “R” Us at the time and figured I had an in to get one on launch day with a discount on all the accessories (granted, it wasn’t a very big one, but still). Everything seemed to be pointing towards me getting a Switch, and so I decided to do just that.
I should have waited.
I took the morning off and headed to the store about two-or-three hours before opening. My friend came with me and waited with me. We were the first ones there, and it was actually a while before any other folks joined us in line. Though I hated waking up early, the whole experience was rather exciting for me. I had never gotten the latest product on the first day of release, and being first in line didn’t hurt either.
About ten minutes before the doors open, one of my co-workers came out and handed us all tickets. We were directed straight to the R-Zone (or video game counter) to receive our shiny new Switch systems. Being first in line, I also got to pick up a ton of amiibo that were behind the counter as well. I was in a good place financially, saving up for a few months now specifically for this, and constantly working so it was time I treated myself.
My friend split and I went home to play Breath of the Wild. I literally played it all day — well, that is, until I couldn’t play it any longer. It wasn’t because I was tired or getting kicked off the basement television, no. Suddenly in the middle of my adventure, the left Joy-Con stopped working. I was having some trouble with some really bad drift moments, but I figured that was just a bad Bluetooth connection, but it just shut off and would not turn back on.
I panicked and put the Joy-Con’s onto the system while it was docked. I pulled it out and tested the controls and, thankfully, they were working. I thought I fixed the problem, but once I pulled the left Joy-Con off the Switch, it shut down again.
I thought that perhaps it was just the batteries, as I was playing for such a long time. I continued playing in handheld mode for the rest of the night until I went to sleep. The next day after my shift, I picked up the charger handle for the Joy-Cons so worrying about batteries would not be an issue. If only that was an option during Skyward Sword.
I went downstairs as soon as I got home, plugged in my new accessory, and was ready to continue where I left off in my Breath of the Wild adventure. The same thing happened. As soon as I removed the left Joy-Con from the system, nothing. Instead of wasting even more money, it was time to take this more seriously.
I got on the phone and called Nintendo support. I got ahold of someone and told her about the issues I had been having. The two of us went back and forth for a while, trying to figure out a solution, but nothing we tried worked. The only thing she said that was left to do was to send it in for repair. I was upset that I would have to give away my brand new system and put my game on hold for a while, but it seemed like the only option. Then she said it would only cost about $50 or so. What?
Now, I didn’t buy the extended warranty because Nintendo has always been fantastic when it comes to building durable systems. I have never had an issue with a console until now. Even so, it was only the second day and I had (I believe it was) a month warranty that came with it, so it should not have cost me anything. I was more upset than angry and I literally ended up sobbing on the phone with this poor woman, who I knew was only doing her job, but man was I unhappy. She actually did recognize that she was incorrect in saying I had to pay, and that at least got me to stop crying. They would pay for it to be shipped in and back, but it was going to take a week before I got my Switch back, so Zelda would have to continue to hold back Ganon for a few more days.
A week passed and I got my Switch back in the mail. I grabbed it and ran back downstairs, eager to try it out again. I prayed and prayed that it would work when I put the Joy-Cons onto the controller base. For a while, it worked just like it was supposed to, but it didn’t last. I don’t remember if it was later that day or later that week, but once again, the Joy-Con went kaput.
I thought perhaps if I got a new left Joy-Con, everything would work again. At Toys “R” Us, they only sold the Joy-Cons with the Switch system, so I couldn’t get a new one there. I headed over to my local GameStop and saw that it was $80 for a new set of Joy-Cons and audibly gasped. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask one of the workers if it would be possible to swap the Joy-Con’s I had for another pair to just buy a single left one. I, of course, mentioned that mine was wonky as I would not want them to answer with false information. It was a long shot, but it was worth asking. I’ve been going to this particular GameStop for years and the full-time staff knew who I was at this point, and they graciously allowed me to swap the controller for a new one. Say what you will about GameStop as a company, but these people were the kindest employees you’d ever meet.
I hoped and prayed this would work, and again, for a while, it did. Then it powered down again, and it was time to talk to Nintendo again. At least this time I knew it was an issue with the Switch connectivity and not the controller itself. A gentleman answered the call and he told me this was a common issue they’d been having. It definitely needed to be sent back again, but he assured me it would be 100% fixed this time. I was skeptical and losing patience at this point, but what other choice did I have? I sighed and agreed to send my Switch back to be repaired. All I could do for the next week was longingly stare at the game box for Breath of the Wild until my system was returned.
Another week or so passed and my Switch came back in the mail. I was holding my breath, hoping that everything would go right this time. Everything seemed to be working just right again. I was waiting for it to just disconnect at the worst possible moment, and a few times it did disconnect — but this time it would always reconnect. It was actually fixed this time. It was so surreal, I just expected things to keep getting worse, but finally, everything was as it should be. I was finally able to explore the land and save the princess!
However, all this being said, I will never purchase a brand new video game system on the first day ever again. You best be fixing all those bugs before you release a product, Nintendo. Love you.
