Nintendo Switch coated the game cartridges with bitter substance as a deterrent against people who puts things in their mouth. Nintendo's newest console released on Friday and people are beginning to tinker the device but some learned their lesson the awful way.
According to Giant Bomb co-founder Jeff Gerstmann, he put one of the cartridges in his mouth and tasted a bitter substance. He also stressed that the taste won't go away immediately after exposure. The incident is widely discussed in Nintendo Switch subReddit.
Another "victim" is Intrepid reporter Julia Alexander who went as far as making a little experiment. Julia tasted game cartridges from Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, and their Sony counterpart PlayStation Vita. None of the three taste weird nor bitter. She regretted the inclusion of Nintendo Switch's "Just Dance 2017" cartridge in her menu, though.
Julia said that the taste takes effect just milliseconds after putting it in the mouth. She described it as similar to very sour and bad-smelling teeth cleaning agent that dentists used. The foul taste lingers for about 20 seconds thereafter.
So what did Nintendo Switch intentionally coat the game cartridges with? Nintendo sent a statement to Polygon that confirms the presence of chemical Denatonium Benzoate in their game cartridges. This particular chemical is non-toxic nor can cause poisoning. Nintendo fears that the tiny cartridges are prone to accidental ingestion by children, prompting them to make countermeasures.
Make no mistake about it, it is not only Nintendo Switch that employs such strategy of adding aversive agents in their products. Most harmful products do the same to avoid accidental consumption. Most notable are some nail polish manufacturers that puts bitter chemicals in their products to "cure" nail biting.
For gamers who are curious how bitter the Nintendo Switch cartridges are but afraid to try it themselves, it is much like the common chemical Quinine. The only catch is; Denatonium Benzoate is 1,000 times more foul-tasting than Quinine.
