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TECHNOLOGY Thursday 2 March 2017

Review: Nintendo Switch is impressive, but needs more games

LOU KESTEN just $20, is a more inspired
Associated Press cooperative puzzle game.
When you’re deep in a vid- The marquee attraction, of
eo game, the last thing you course, is “The Legend of
want to do is leave home. Zelda: Breath of the Wild”
If only you could take the ($60). It is spectacular, but
game with you for your also available on the Wii U,
commute to work or your so owners of that console
bus ride to school, or to liv- don’t need to upgrade yet.
en up your lunch hour. Granted, I am a hardcore
Nintendo’s new Switch gamer, the type of guy
console tries to address who would buy a Switch
that by letting you play it just for “Zelda” and spend
anywhere. You simply yank 100 hours happily wallow-
the Switch out of its dock- ing in it.
ing station. Casual gamers who get
It functions as a tablet with by with the occasional fix
a built-in display, so you of “Candy Crush Saga” on
don’t have to worry about cellphones will probably
finding a TV. wish for a broader selec-
Games typically work with- tion.
out a persistent internet Nintendo says more than
connection. Once you’re 80 games are in develop-
back home, just slide it In this Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, file photo, a model puts the controller onto the Nintendo Switch ment, with homegrown
back into the docking sta- during a presentation event of the new Nintendo Switch in Tokyo. franchise titles like “Super
tion to play games on a Associated Press Mario Odyssey,” ‘’Mario
big-screen TV. hardware introduction is “Super Mario Run” — were each Joy-Con functions as Kart 8 Deluxe” and “Spla-
The Switch works like a big for any company, and made to be played on a freestanding controller toon 2” coming this year.
traditional game console even more so for a compa- other companies’ devic- for party games like “Just But Nintendo hasn’t said
when you want that; it of- ny in such a state of transi- es. “Pokemon Go” wasn’t Dance 2017” and “Super whether the Switch will get
fers portability when you tion. even developed in-house, Bomberman R.” some version of its Virtual
need that. Nintendo’s Wii U console but under license by a Cali- It remains to be seen just Console, which delivered
Over the past week, I’ve bombed when it came out fornia company called Ni- how many games you’ll classic hits from the com-
played the new “Legend in 2012, and its long-held antic. want. There’s a drab col- pany’s 30-plus-year history
of Zelda” game at home, dominance of the portable To play a solo adventure lection of multiplayer mini- to the Wii U.
outside, in a laundromat game market has been like “Zelda,” you’ll need all games, packaged as The long-awaited “Zelda” is
and in a mechanic’s wait- usurped by smartphones the buttons on both Joy- “1-2-Switch.” The package a good start for the Switch,
ing room. and tablets. Cons. would have been great as but Nintendo will need to
The game picks right up Its two big successes of But Nintendo also wants a free starter kit; instead it deliver this kind of quality
wherever I left off. A new 2016 — “Pokemon Go” and you to play socially, so costs $60. “Snipperclips,” for more consistently.q
Twitter adds more safety tools, will curb abusive accounts

BARBARA ORTUTAY rial on its service. It’s a sign er users who deliberately
AP Technology Writer Twitter is getting more se- search them out.
NEW YORK (AP) — rious about the issue; it’s In addition, Twitter is also
Twitter is adding more tools faced criticism for not do- giving users the option to
to curb abuse on its service ing more in the decade filter the notifications they
as part of its ongoing effort since its founding. get when someone men-
to protect users from hate Twitter’s effort to auto- tions them in a comment.
and harassment. matically flag abusive ac- For example, people will be
Among other things, the counts is a new twist. able to filter out accounts
service will attempt to Once it identifies accounts without a profile photo, or
identify offenders on its that repeatedly engage in unverified email addresses
own, even if no one has re- abusive behavior, Twitter or phone numbers.
ported them first. will place temporary re- This can be helpful in
It is the second time in strictions on them. screening out accounts
three weeks the company For example, tweets from that have been set up This Nov. 4, 2013, file photo shows the sign outside of Twitter
has released new ways such accounts will be vis- solely for the purpose of headquarters in San Francisco.
to root out abusive mate- ible only to followers or oth- harassment or trolling. q Associated Press