Turn your Nintendo Switch into a Virtual Pinball Machine!

RetroRalph·video·7m 0s·analyzed·Jun 8, 2021

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Sharpen tabletop pinball cabinet review: Switch/PC support, 22" display, customizable audio.

Summary

RetroRalph reviews the Sharpen tabletop virtual pinball cabinet with Nintendo Switch and PC support, featuring a 22-inch 1080p monitor, Space Jam JX encoder for hardware control compatibility, and upgraded audio components including a Dayton Audio transducer and Lapai amplifier for enhanced bass response.

Key Claims

The Sharpen Switch/PC version uses a Space Jam JX encoder designed to support both Nintendo Switch and PC through hardware-level control mapping
high confidence · Speaker demonstrates encoder board with button diagram and explains hardware solution approach
The cabinet displays Pinball FX3 games at 1080p on a 22-inch monitor powered directly by Nintendo Switch
high confidence · Speaker states 'you're running it off the Switch itself. You're just really using the 22-inch monitor as the display' and confirms '1080p' resolution
Sharpen has moved beyond the Ultra model and is now offering a larger full-size cabinet unit (possibly called 'the King')
medium confidence · Speaker states 'Sharpen has moved on and they even have a bigger unit now. I can't remember what they're calling it, maybe the King'
The Sharpen Switch version provides graphically superior display compared to the Sharpen Ultra (Android-based) due to native Switch/PC rendering
high confidence · Speaker explains 'from a graphical fidelity standpoint...it's going to be a big bump up from the Sharpen Ultra, which uses like graphically reduced versions'
Current lead times for Sharpen units are two to three weeks
high confidence · Speaker states 'It looks like he has some lead times of two to three weeks right now'

Notable Quotes

“So it's really a hardware solution versus a software solution. So as long as you follow the diagram, you really can't mess this up.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 1:58 — Describes the core design advantage of the Space Jam JX encoder approach for Switch compatibility
“And then at that point, you're ready to go. Okay, so if you look inside the system, you'll see I also included a Dayton Audio transducer.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 2:12 — Introduces custom audio upgrade modifications beyond stock components
“So there is a big difference. Now if you interested in what I looked at the Sharpen Switch PC version you can see it here on the website I have a link in the description.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 5:08 — References availability information and comparison to previous Sharpen Ultra review
“There are tons of ways to play these pinball machines right now. There's Arcade1Up, there's AtGames, there's Toy Shock, there's well-played toys. There's DIY kits.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 5:55 — Maps competitive landscape of virtual pinball solutions available to consumers
“I really like that it's powered by the Switch. I like that you can bring your own PC, too, as well. It gives you options for doing different things”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 6:23 — Final positive assessment emphasizing flexibility and platform options

Entities

SharpencompanyJon (RetroRalph)personPinball FX3gameNintendo SwitchproductSpace Jam JX encoderproductDayton Audio transducerproductLapai LP-838productArcade1UpcompanyAtGamescompanyToy Shockcompany

Signals

$
market_signal: Virtual pinball market showing sustained consumer demand across multiple form factors (compact tabletop via Sharpen, full arcade cabinets via Arcade1Up/AtGames, DIY kits)
medium · Reviewer surveys competitive landscape: 'There are tons of ways to play these pinball machines right now. There's Arcade1Up, there's AtGames, there's Toy Shock, there's well-played toys. There's DIY kits.'
?
product_strategy: Sharpen implementing Space Jam JX encoder board for unified hardware control mapping across Nintendo Switch and PC platforms
high · Speaker demonstrates encoder board with button diagram: 'It is basically designed to support both the Nintendo Switch and a PC and they give you this button setup for Nintendo Switch where it shows you exactly where to plug the physical connections'
?
product_strategy: Sharpen expanding product tier offerings beyond existing Ultra and Switch/PC models to include full-size cabinet (codename possibly 'the King')
medium · Speaker states: 'Sharpen has moved on and they even have a bigger unit now. I can't remember what they're calling it, maybe the King' and references Wicked Gamer and Collector video on larger model
?
technology_signal: Sharpen transitioning product line from Android-based Ultra model to platform-agnostic Switch/PC hardware architecture with native graphics rendering
high · Reviewer compares graphical fidelity improvements between Ultra (Android, reduced graphics) and Switch/PC version (native rendering quality); announces full-size cabinet in development

Topics

Virtual pinball cabinet hardware design and compatibilityprimaryNintendo Switch pinball gaming ecosystemprimaryCustom audio modifications for pinball cabinetssecondarySpace-efficient home pinball solutionssecondaryCompetitive landscape of virtual pinball platformssecondaryDIY pinball cabinet buildingmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Reviewer is enthusiastic about the Sharpen platform, praises the hardware solution design, appreciates flexibility of Switch/PC options, and emphasizes space-saving benefits. Minor caveat about audio customization complexity, but overall endorsement is strong.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.021

Hey guys, welcome back. All right, today we're gonna revisit the Sharpen, except this is the Sharpen unit that supports the Switch and the PC. So the last one we reviewed was the Sharpen Ultra. Now, if you're unfamiliar with the Sharpen, you can go back and watch that video, and I'll have a link above where you can go do that, and then you can come back and watch this one. But this one, out of the box, supports the Nintendo Switch or a PC. So really, all you have to do is just wire everything up, and it comes with encoders that support the Nintendo Switch. So as long as you plug those connections into the right ports on the encoder of which they give you the directions to do so, you can enjoy your whole Pinball FX3 catalog from your Nintendo Switch on your Sharpen Ultra on a really nice 22-inch HD monitor, which will display at 1080p. So this is a great solution for someone that doesn't have a lot of space. Now, Sharpen has moved on and they even have a bigger unit now. I can't remember what they're calling it, maybe the King. So they're going to have a full size unit as well. But these are really, really nice for someone looking to save space. So without, you know, talking forever, let's bring the camera in and I'm going to show you a little bit of how this thing performs with the Nintendo Switch, how it all connects, and then I'll give you my final thoughts. All right, if you decide to do the Switch version of the Sharpen, you're going to want to bring your own pro controller just to do basic navigation. Now you can go up and down in the menus with the buttons and left and right and even enter and back but to me it's much easier to just use this. So you're probably wondering what makes this build different than other Sharpen builds. Well it's really this SJ-at-JX encoder. It is basically designed to support both the Nintendo Switch and a PC and they give you this button setup for Nintendo Switch where it shows you exactly where to plug the physical connections into the encoder board This is important because if you do this right everything going to work Your flippers your nudge, your up and down, your left, right, your enter and back will all work. So it's really a hardware solution versus a software solution. So as long as you follow the diagram, you really can't mess this up. And then at that point, all you have to do is just set up the encoder board to act as a controller on your Nintendo Switch, which is super simple to do. And at that point, you're ready to go. Okay, so if you look inside the system, you'll see I also included a Dayton audio transducer. Now, this is a bass shaker, and I mounted it to the side because this bottom panel, it's kind of like this sort of flimsier wood. So I wanted to make sure it wasn't, you know, vibrating the whole cabinet. This seems to work out great, and it will actually make a rumble effect when things are on the play field. So in order to get the audio, though, to the speaker system, I had to use this converter, which takes HDMI in from the switch, and then it passes HDMI out to the TV, but then strips out the audio to these two RCA connections. And then that will allow me to pass low frequencies to the transducer, and I'll also have included a right and left speaker. Now, there are speakers that Sharpen gives you. They're not bad or anything, but I'm kind of anal when it comes to audio, so I wanted to include something just a tad bit better. And then you'll see there's an amp on the back. This isn't all cleaned up yet, but if I would have mounted, I'd mount it to the back here. It's a Lapai LP-838. It's sold under various different names, but I'll have a link in the description to it. And the reason why I use this one is because it has a low-pass super bass filter thing right there on the back, which would be passed to the transducer, and then it has just a normal left and right channel so that this super bass will just pass low frequencies to that transducer so I not getting unnecessary sounds through it And then the great thing about this amp is you can independently adjust the bass which is to the transducer, and then the normal volume, treble, and bass to the right and left speaker. As far as gameplay, it's powered by the Nintendo Switch, so the performance is great because you're running it off the Switch itself. You're just really using the 22-inch HD monitor as the display. And then you're using the encoder board as your controls. So what would be your controls on your Pro Controller are just passed to the encoder board to the buttons provided by Sharpen. So it works awesome. And you have full access to your whole Pinball FX3 library. So as you can imagine, if you're someone that has a Switch, doesn't have a PC, this is a great option for you. You could also do a PC as well. But as far as a simple and easy to use method, this can't get much easier than this. It's basically a plug and play solution. All right, guys, that about wraps up this update video on the Sharpen. Now, keep in mind, we looked at the Sharpen Ultra before. So if you want to refer back to a more full review, you can go back to that. Now, there's a little bit more involved there because you have an Android box. You can download all different things off the Google Play Store. So you have access to a bunch of stuff. Now, in this solution, you're really dependent on bringing sort of your own system, whether that be a PC or the Nintendo Switch. So you're limited to whatever is offered on the Nintendo Switch platform or a PC. But that might be fine. And the other cool thing about that is from a graphical fidelity standpoint, as far as how those graphics are going to look, it's going to be a big bump up from the Sharpen Ultra, which uses like graphically reduced versions of the games that are available on the Android Google Play Store So there is a big difference Now if you interested in what I looked at the Sharpen Switch PC version you can see it here on the website I have a link in the description It looks like he got some lead times of two to three weeks right now So just keep that in mind if it's something you're interested in. And the kit itself just contains more of the cabinet, the buttons, the encoder board, the speakers. Now keep in mind, I actually upgraded the speakers. So I'll have links in the description to what I did. Then there's the 22 inch monitor, the decals, the side rails, the screws, and obviously the instruction manual. But the update I did with the speakers, I'm really anal about sound. I'm never happy with it. It comes with these two small speakers, which are fine. It's all self-contained. My solution makes it a little bit more complex, but it sounds a lot better. So anyways, there are tons of ways to play these pinball machines right now. There's Arcade 1-Up, there's AtGames, there's ToyShock, there's well-played toys. There's DIY kits. But if you're limited on space and you want to get started with a nice, cool little tabletop solution, I think the Sharpen does something really neat. And now they have that full-size cabinet that he's trying to put out. I don't really have a whole lot of information on that. So maybe look at Wicked Gamer and Collector. I know he did a video on that one. So that's it, guys. Let me know what you think about the Sharpen. I really like that it's powered by the Switch. I like that you can bring your own PC, too, as well. It gives you options for doing different things and I also like that if you're space limited it's a pretty cool solution but that's it guys put your comments below give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed the video that's it for now guys we will see you on the next one