The Nintendo Switch, the hybrid console that single-handedly brought Nintendo back to the top of the video game industry, is also apparently useful in the early detection of hand tumors.
Yes, you read that right. Already with amazing games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and creative uses such as Nintendo Labo, the Nintendo Switch apparently has another useful application up its virtual sleeves.
Nintendo Switch Detects Hand Tumor Early
Chris, a 28-year-old gamer from Sydney, Australia who has owned every console released by Nintendo since the Wii, was able to detect a tumor in his hand early, thanks to his Nintendo Switch.
In a Reddit post, Chris said that he felt severe pain on his right hand whenever he played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The pain shot from his palm to the first joint in his index finger whenever the HD Rumble feature of the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers activated. The pain was particularly noticeable when collecting coins in the Super Mario-themed racer, as the Joy-Cons vibrated in short but powerful bursts.
Chris at first did not mind the pain and attributed it to a busy season in his work as a programmer, he said in an email to Kotaku. However, the pain did not go away and eventually forced him to stop playing his Nintendo Switch.
The suspicious thing about it was that his hand only hurt with the rumbling of the Joy-Cons. When playing PC games with an Xbox One controller, Chris did not experience any pain. After a few weeks, the pain did not subside, and a small mark started to appear on his right palm. The doctors at that point told Chris to just monitor the situation.
Nintendo Switch Gamer Now Set For Surgery, Thanks The Nintendo Switch
Six months later, Chris' hand now hurts with anything that he does with it, and there is now a small lump on his palm. Doctors said that it was a hand tumor.
Thankfully, there is only a 5 percent chance that the tumor is cancerous, with the doctors to find out once it is removed. Chris is scheduled for surgery on Feb. 19.
"I definitely believe that if it hadn't been for the Switch I wouldn't have gone to the doctors until the mark started to raise from my palm months later," Chris said, as he attributed the early detection of the tumor to the hybrid console and its vibrating Joy-Con controllers.
