Nintendo has warned Switch owners in Japan not to let their consoles get too hot or too cold.
Spurred by the high temperatures in some parts of Japan, Nintendo posted a statement to Japanese social media informing players that by playing in “high-temperature environments”, the device’s temperature, too, may rise, potentially causing “malfunctions”.
“When using a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 in a high-temperature environment, the device’s temperature may rise,” the statement said, as translated by Automaton. “This could potentially cause malfunctions, so please use it in a location between 5–35°C.
“Recently, temperatures have been exceeding 35°C. Please be cautious when using it outdoors.”
Interestingly, the statement not only warns about ensuring the device doesn’t get too warm, but also warns about low temperatures, too, suggesting playing it in environments where the temp struggles to get past 5°C could also be problematic.
It’s caused a number of players who live in colder climates to respond to Nintendo on Twitter, with one player from Hokkaido, where it regularly falls below freezing in winter, writing: “5°C?! [Is Nintendo] telling me not to fight in Hokkaido?!”
“It’s midwinter outdoors, so it’s naturally below freezing lol,” they later added. “But there are times when it’s 5°C indoors.”
While Nintendo didn’t explain why players should avoid playing when it’s very hot or very cold, much like using any electronic device in extreme temperatures, it’s thought that this can slow the charging speed and degrade the battery, ultimately shortening the console’s lifespan.
Yesterday, we reported Nintendo sold 5.82m Switch 2 consoles worldwide in its first month of release and 5.63m copies of Mario Kart World, meaning the launch title has an attachment rate of around 97 percent.
The figures came from Nintendo’s latest earnings release as of 30th June, where the company added software sales for Switch 2 reached 8.67m units in that same period. That means Mario Kart World accounts for 65 percent of all software sales on the new console.
Nintendo added, in the seven weeks since launch, the Switch 2 has sold over 6m units worldwide. Even so, Nintendo has noted demand is exceeding supply in many countries.
Shortly after the console’s launch, Nintendo announced the Switch 2 was the company’s fastest-selling hardware ever, moving 3.5m units worldwide in its first four days on sale. Last week, it was reported Switch 2 is the fastest-selling video game hardware device in the US, beating the PS4.