A Perfect Ornament for Nintendo Switch Gamers

Nintendo has a history of producing truly iconic console designs. While there is no doubt that PlayStation and Xbox consoles are successful and offer a high level of performance, they don't tend to exhibit the out-of-the-box thinking for which Nintendo is known. Take a look at the N64's controller if you have any doubts. The Nintendo Switch continued that legacy of innovation and is still selling very well, despite being on the market for almost five years now. To celebrate that, Scott Bezek designed this fantastic Nintendo Switch Christmas tree ornament.

Makers love creating ornaments for their Christmas trees and custom PCBs are a popular choice. But PCB design is a very specific skill and that is especially true when you want to utilize the silkscreen and copper for artistic purposes. Bezek lacked the talent for such an endeavor, but he does possess basic PCB design skills and the ability to create 3D models. He used those skills to create a miniature replica of the Nintendo Switch, complete with a functional LCD screen that shows videos of gameplay.

Bezek modeled the ornament's enclosure in Autodesk Fusion 360 CAD software. It is a simplified representation of the real console, but it is instantly recognizable. Inside of the enclosure is a custom PCB containing Lilygo ESP32 module with built-in 1.14" LCD. The PCB also has an SD card reader and small buttons that fit underneath the joysticks. There was no room for a USB port, so Bezek added pads to connect a programmer with pogo pins. Bezek programmed the ESP32 to loop various gameplay GIFs, but it also checks the current date and time. When Christmas day arrives, it will switch to special Christmas-themed GIFs.