Engineer Builds the World’s Largest Switch For a Worthy Cause
Posted on April 12 2021 by Alexis S. Anderson
Have you ever wished the Switch had a bigger screen? How does 650% bigger sound? Space software engineer Michael Pick recently created the world’s largest functioning Nintendo Switch. The behemoth of a console is 70″x30″ and 65 pounds with a 4K display. Though playing it may require a serious stretch, additional Joy-Cons and Pro Controllers are also compatible. This one-of-a-kind Switch now belongs to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University. So while a massive Switch may not be ideal for the average gamer, it is sure to bring heaps of joy to the young patients there.
Pick chronicled the making of the console in the video above (as well as played Mario Kart and Fortnite on it). He used a real Switch with servos and a microcontroller to get the large buttons to work, and rubber bands connect the small joysticks to the big ones. The rest of the jumbo Switch was made with wood and 3D printed materials. Pick’s creation is set to be installed in one of the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital playrooms. Knowing that the children would love it helped inspire the build, in addition to Pick losing his small Switch in the past and rightfully thinking it would be a “cool” project, he told IGN.
Even though Pick was prone to losing his little Switch, he is no stranger to small hardware. In fact he built the world’s smallest MacBook Pro, iMac, and Gaming PC. According to IGN, Pick’s next project is going to be a Guinness World Record attempt based on a “very iconic children’s toy” (my money is on a giant etch-a-sketch!).
What do you think of this oversized Switch? Are there any other projects you would like to see Pick tackle? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Source: Michael Pick (via IGN)
Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.
