Nintendo Switch Game Cartridges Taste Terrible (for a Very Good Reason)

Ever open up a brand new video game and think to yourself, "Boy, that looks tasty"? Well then the Nintendo Switch might not be for you. According to multiple reports, the surprisingly tiny Nintendo Switch game cartridges will leave a pretty foul taste in your mouth if you attempt to eat them.

This was (weirdly) discovered by a number of video game journalists, including Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb and Alanah Pearce of IGN. The taste, of course, became one of the main talking points of the Switch's release week, with multiple reporters on other sites all trying to see just how bad the games taste (the reaction of Kotaku's Mike Fahey is particularly telling). The Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn described the taste as something similar to insecticide.

The reports made such waves online that Nintendo felt it was necessary to release a statement explaining why its video games don't taste great, "To avoid the possibility of accidental ingestion, keep the game card away from young children. A bittering agent (Denatonium Benzoate) has also been applied to the game card. This bittering agent is non-toxic."

Denatonium benzoate is a notoriously bitter substance, which is commonly added to highly toxic (yet potentially sweet-tasting) products like antifreeze and detergents to help avoid accidental ingestion. Just a touch of the stuff will make any product nearly impossible to swallow if a child or pet gets a hold of it.

So, if you have a child, you can rest assured that they likely won't be eating any Nintendo Switch cartridges anytime soon. It's the adults you'll have to keep an eye on.

[h/t IGN]