Yes, we know. Nintendo Switch cartridges aren’t exactly what you’d call gourmet fare – neither is any other gadget for that matter – so what gives with this story?
Well, earlier this morning we spotted a story on Polygon about a tweet posted recently by Giant Bomb’s founder Jeff Gerstmann. Apparently he’d popped a Nintendo Switch cartridge in his mouth and was reporting that it tasted rather foul.
I put that Switch cart in my mouth and I'm not sure what those things are made of but I can still taste it. Do not try this at home.
— Jeff Gerstmann (@jeffgerstmann) February 25, 2017
We thought nothing of this – really, who used game software as a snack? – but the next thing we knew game journalists from several other sites – Eurogamer, Kotaku and The AV Club among them – started reporting that staff members were taste-testing Switch cartridges and they tasted bloody awful.
“I can report the label has a slightly acrid taste, the plastic has no flavour.” Eurogamer editor, Oli Welsh said.
“Immediately upon touching a Nintendo Switch cartridge one’s tongue is assaulted by a harsh bitterness that spreads like a brush fire through the mouth,” Kotaku’s Mike Fahey said.
Polygon’s Julia Alexander went into a bit more detail saying, “in just a few milliseconds, though, a very sour taste invades your taste buds. It smells bad; you can feel it in your throat. It’s revolting, and the only thing I can equate it to is when you’re at the dentist and a drop of sour cleaning material hits the back of your tongue. Your entire face feels it.”
Right, at this stage we thought the gaming media was losing its collective mind so we did a bit of digging. Apparently there’s a reason Switch cartridges taste disgusting and it’s all about health and safety.
“To avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion, keep the game card away from young children,” Nintendo told Kotaku. “A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card. This bittering agent is non-toxic.”
So, there you have it. Your Switch cartridges taste like ass so your toddler doesn’t snack on them. We haven’t been sent any and, in the interests of full investigation, we will be taste-testing them when they do. Well, the person who irritates me the most ahead of their arrival will at any rate. Can you guess who the front-runner is, Clinton Matos?
