Nintendo says not to lay your Switch dock down, but Sakurai begs to differ

Nintendo has a very long list of things they say not to do with the Switch in order to keep it in tip-top shape. One of those things is laying the Switch dock down, but apparently one of Nintendo’s biggest devs doesn’t feel like following those rules!

In the latest episode of “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games,” Sakurai took some time away from sharing game development secrets in order to show off his game hardware/software collection and how he stores everything. When it comes to modern hardware, Sakurai definitely has a Switch, but he’s got a setup that Nintendo very much wouldn’t approve of.

As you see in the image above, Sakurai has his Switch dock laying down. While Sakurai says that the dock could be stood up if need be, it’s clear face-up so that the Switch can be easier taken out and placed in. It’s pretty surprising to see Sakurai show this Switch setup, as he no doubt knows Nintendo wouldn’t approve!

If you check out Nintendo’s official Switch Q&A on their website, they specifically have a section about laying the dock down. In a question as to whether this can be done, Nintendo states, “The use of the dock on its side is not supported. Please position the dock so that the Nintendo Switch logo is visible from the front.”

Sakurai actually addressed his decision to use his Switch dock in this way all the way back in 2022. Gamers caught a glimpse of how Sakurai had his dock set up in a previous video, to with Sakurai said that he knows that laying it down is “not recommended by the manufacturer, so do so at your own risk.” (h/t @naetoru60)

If relations between Nintendo and Sakurai fall apart sometime in the future, we can look to this moment as the impetus for everything going wrong!