Since the release of the Nintendo Switch, there are mixed reviews over the included dock. Some have had no issues switching between portable and TV experiences, but others haven’t been so lucky.
According to various Switch owners on the internet, some docks are leaving permanent scratches on the plastic screen of the device. It is a problem that has led people to create custom solutions. Easily one of the best mods so far is this Nintendo 64 modification from Youtuber Tettzan Zone.
Before people worry about the destruction of a classic Nintendo console, Tettzan Zone has confirmed that the N64 was completely broken with no way to fix it. Rather than tossing it away or displaying it on a shelf, he modified it into a fully functional Switch dock.
The modification took just under a week’s worth of work, and the modder has been open about his process. For anyone wondering why he didn’t allow room to dock the Joy-Cons, it apparently would have been a very tight fit. If anyone else has a busted N64 lying around, this looks like a great way to make it feel loved again.
As far as the original Nintendo Switch Dock, Nintendo still says they have yet to experience any screen-scratching themselves. During an interview with Time, Nintendo of American President Reggie Fils-Aime asked customers to reach out for Nintendo support.
“This is why we’re encouraging consumers to reach out to us directly,” Fils-Aime said. “We have done, as you know, literally hundreds of events, starting with our activity back in January, and most recently the various tours that we continue to take the system out on. As soon as I heard of this report, I asked my teams, ‘Have we seen this in our own experience?’ And the candid answer has been no.”
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.