Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch Dock Review

The Nintendo Switch has been a revolutionary design that combines hybrid at-home and mobile playstyle, which is the reason behind its tremendous success. Unfortunately, Nintendo accessories for the switch are hard to come by. Due to high demand, the peripherals are either constantly out of stock or highly priced. The dock for Nintendo Switch is both low on stock and pricey, plus it lacks a few essential features such as wireless audio support, which deters buyers.

Thankfully, other gaming accessory makers like Brook come in for the aid of Nintendo Switch users with their Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch dock. The device resembles Nintendo’s GameCube console, only smaller, but it’s more affordable and has several valuable additions that make it a worthy purchase.

You can use the Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch dock to charge your Switch console conveniently and safely output video to a TV screen through HDMI to a big screen TV. That’s not all! The Power Bay comes with two GameCube controller ports that are ideal if you want to play Super Smash Bros. There is also wireless Bluetooth audio and mains-powered play.

What is Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch Dock?

The Brook Power Bay is a brilliant portable dock for Nintendo Switch. You can say that it is an all-singing, all-dancing gadget that will elevate your Nintendo Switch experience. The Brook Power Bay is a crowdfunding project that is live on Kickstarter. You can check out more details about the project RIGHT HERE!

Features of Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch

Before making a purchase, you will need to learn all about its features in detail so you can make a sound decision. Every gamer has unique needs, and it is on you to decide if it is a good spend of your money. Let’s check Power Bay Switch features in detail.

Pricing – Is it Affordable?

The Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch Dock comes in two designs with different costs. The Dock with Bluetooth feature will cost you $50, and if you go for Bluetooth-less Crimson edition, it will cost you $40. The price also depends on where you are buying it and the availability in stock. However, if you go with Switch by Nintendo company itself, it will cost you around $100+.

Brook Power Bay Switch costs you less but provides you with a wider feature set and makes your Nintendo experience worthy.

Controller Connection – Is It Performance Worth Trying? 

The Brook Power Bay switch comes with two ports. One is an Ethernet port on the back of the dock, and the other one is a USB ethernet adapter. Ethernet port is a plus point for the switch as competitive players preferred wired connection over a USB one.

If we talk about the GameCube ports in the switch, their functionality is plugged and play. These are Pro Controllers, which can be plugged in without any jaggery. One of the differences between the Nintendo Official Switch and Brook Power Bay Switch is the start button on GameCube Controller. The ‘Start’ button is mapped to ‘Home’ and not ‘+,’ which can be easily amended. A user can press the left button for the eighth seconds, and the Power Bay tells Nintendo that the GameCube controller is registered.

One of the issues with its controller connection is that every time a user powers off the device, the controller will revert to its default settings. It means that a user needs to do a reset every time they switch on the controller.

Bluetooth Feature – Is It What Makes it Great?

By pressing and holding the left button will make the LED pulse purple, which means that the Bluetooth option is now available, and headphones can be paired. It is one of the easiest and simplest options to pair headphones. If you are an avid gamer who loves to play with headphones on, it is a blessing for you.

The Bluetooth functionality is even ten times better compared to any smart TV Bluetooth option.

Switch – Is It Safe?

One of the best points about Brook Power Bay is its Portable Dock Safety. It is one of the safest Portable Docks we have tested so far. It works for 50 hours non-stop with wonderfully optimized performance.

The functionality designed to maintain the flow of current and voltage is applauding. Although, the switch didn’t come with a power source, and a user needed to use a plug. We have tested it and can assure our readers that it is one of the safest Docks available for Nintendo Switch. There are no risks associated with its safety.

Overall Design – Is It Easy To Use? 

The Brook Power Bay Switch works like a treat. The size of the Dock is small, and it can be improved to some extent. But the Dock works the same way as it has been advertised. All the features wonderfully worked throughout the testing of this product.

If some of the little details can be improved, there will be no doubt that it is one of the most wonderful Docks ever. Small details like own power supply can be added, given how much more feature-rich the Brook Power Bay proves to be.

The Controller And The Problems With the GameCube Controller

The pair of GameCube controller ports on the front are the most noticeable addition. It’s a little unfortunate that it just has two buttons instead of four, but it’s still incredibly useful for one-on-one Smash battles, and it can easily be expanded to four with a Joy-con or a Pro Controller. I’ve spent a lot of time playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Brook Power Bay, and there’s no perceptible latency or lag. It works just as well as the official controller adapter by GameCube, just with less mess.

However, one drawback to utilizing GameCube controllers on the Nintendo Switch, in general, is the lack of a home button. It’s not a significant inconvenience, but having to pull your Switch out from the dock to click the home button before you slide it back in is inconvenient. The Brook Power Bay tackles this in a couple of complicated and straightforward ways. 

The complicated method is to push a button on the dock, which resets the controller so it causes the Switch to recognize it as the Pro Controller and the start button function as the home button. It’s a clever idea, but it leaves users missing a start button, thus creating even more complications. 

A small chart in the user handbook shows you exactly what all the buttons on the GameCube controller represent when it’s recognized as a Pro Controller. Still, the answer is significantly more complicated than the problem was. Because the Brook Power Bay exposes your Switch completely, you may simply press the home button on the Joy-con hooked to the system.

That exposure, though, may be an issue for others. Your Switch is definitely more vulnerable to being damaged than it could be in a standard dock, and it cannot be put in and out as smoothly. It takes some effort to align the USB-C plug with the port on the Switch, and it can feel a touch tight when removing it. 

That tightness may give some people pause, as it can feel as if it will damage the port, yet We can confirm that We haven’t experienced any damage to ours thus far. If your Switch is ever destroyed in any capacity by Brook Power Bay, Brook provides a replacement program for broken Switches on their website. 

Because third-party docks have resulted in Switches failing in the past, Brook is confident in the safety of their product and has vowed to restore any broken Switches or reimburse the cost if the damage cannot be repaired. 

It’s worth noting that this Brook Power Bay does not come with an A/C converter, which encourages customers to stick with the official Nintendo version and shift some blame away from Brook. (It’s also worth noting that they will not obey this policy if you’re using modified firmware.) Unfortunately, our Switch never broke throughout our experience with Brook Power Bay. Therefore, We can’t speak to their repair program. 

We would highly recommend Brook Power Bay Nintendo Switch Dock if:

• You are a big fan of Smash Bros and love playing it with a GameCube pad
• You can not find Nintendo Official Power Dock in the market
• You have a tight budget, and you can spend a limited amount on buying a Switch Dock

We would not recommend Brook Power Bay if:

• You are afraid of using Third-Party gadgets with your Nintendo Switch.
• You are not tech-savvy and having trouble docking your switch.
• You don’t have a power supply option available.

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