Last summer, I purchased a Nintendo Switch. In the immediate aftermath, I procured some accessories for my new game console. While seeing what was available, I came across the Clip Grip Power for Nintendo Switch, a third-party accessory created by Nyko.
Examining the Clip Grip Power
What does the Clip Grip Power do? According to Nyko’s page for the product, it is a controller grip for the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons. But it is not just any controller grip. Nyko explains, and shows in pictures, that it “allows you to conveniently attach your Joy-Con controllers and smart phone to an ergonomic grip providing an optimal experience while using the Nintendo Online App.” (Emphasis added.)
The Times Have Passed Me By
Now this is foreign to me. I was never much of a phone person, but even if I were, I doubt that I would have wanted to be distracted by the phone while focusing on a game. To the best of my recollection, no one who I went to school with or discussed games with would have wanted to be distracted by a phone during gameplay. This entire concept sounds like the set-up for a 1990s game commercial. A young boy is playing a game. The phone rings. The boy’s uncool mother or father or his older sister tries to interrupt him. Somehow the uncool culprit is thwarted. Something like that. Who knew that the kid grew up and decided to attach a phone to his controller?
To be sure, the Clip Grip Power does have the ostensible practical purpose of allowing Nintendo Switch players to access phone-exclusive online options during gameplay. But that Nintendo saw fit to put some functions on a phone is, like other things, beyond me. As readers of The New Leaf Journal may be aware, my phone (see above) is not fancy enough for this. Not that I would be inclined to attach a phone to my game controller in any event, that is. Something tells me that more people will use this capacity to engage in a video chat while playing a game than to use Nintendo’s online functions.
It Does Other Things!
The Clip Grip Power does tout other features unrelated to phones. You can store up to seven game cartridges (useful) and two microSD cards (not so useful) in the device. It has an internal battery to give your phone, Joy-Cons, or Switch console extra life. All and all it seems well-designed and thought out enough, but I will continue to enjoy my Switch and phone separately.
But I Won’t Let a Marketing Opportunity Pass Me By
With all this being said, if you enjoy your Nintendo Switch and The New Leaf Journal, do not let me discourage you from purchasing the Clip Grip Power to make it easier for you to read our content while playing Animal Crossing or another fine entry on the Switch. Let not this fogy stand athwart your efforts to multitask.