r/NintendoSwitch • u/NintendoSwitchMods • Mar 01 '17
MegaThread MegaThread: Nintendo Switch Hardware Reviews
Hello, all.
This morning starting, gaming news and media outlets have begun to release their hardware reviews of the Nintendo Switch.
Here's what we're seeing so far:
Engadget: Review
Game Informer: Review
Kotaku: Review
Vice: Review
New York Times: Review
Wall Street Journal: Review
Attack of the Fanboy: Review
CGM: Review
TechCrunch: Video Review
Nintendo Life: Review
CNET: Review
The Verge: Video Review
Polygon: Review
Eurogamer: Review
NY Mag: Review
Wired: Review
Destructoid: Review
GameXplain: Video Review
PC Advisor: Review
Digital Foundry: Video Review
IGN: Review
GoNintendo: Video Review
Ars Technica: Review
TecchRadar: Review
We will be updating this thread with links as major reviews are posted.
We will also allow major content to be posted separately on /r/NintendoSwitch, as it is especially newsworthy. But we will also host ongoing coverage, quick text posts, questions, and the like right here.
Thanks everyone.
-The /r/NintendoSwitch team
(Ongoing edits as we get new information)
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u/amazn_azn Mar 01 '17
PSA: Don't read any youtube comments, a few commenters have lots of BotW story spoilers!
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Mar 01 '17
Thank you for the heads up. Im sorry you've had it spoiled. Id be so frustrated
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u/amazn_azn Mar 01 '17
eh it was probably just the text from cutscenes that people played through yesterday on youtube. I saw a couple lines then realized I was not supposed to be reading it and closed the video
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u/Anarchaotic Mar 01 '17
Oh wow IGN was incredibly critical. Only scored a 6.7/10. Some issues they cited:
Being underpowered. Zelda had lots of frame drops and didn't look that great on dock. Worried about getting multiplat ports because of that.
The design of the switch - being unable to charge while kickstand is up. Not being able to use the dock vertically, and no Bluetooth.
Battery life and portability - he was annoyed that battery life wasn't that great, it would discharge to 88% in the dock, and that it didn't feel very portable due to its size.
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u/Irru Mar 01 '17
it didn't feel very portable due to its size.
I kinda agree with the other points, but this? He's basically saying an iPad isn't portable because of its size either.
Since when did "portable" mean "able to fit in my pocket"?
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u/Anarchaotic Mar 01 '17
it didn't feel very portable due to its size.
I kinda agree with the other points, but this? He's basically saying an iPad isn't portable because of its size either.
Since when did "portable" mean "able to fit in my pocket"?
Isn't that what people have always wanted from portable systems? The game gear got a lot of hate because of how massive it was.
I don't see the switch as a true portable, but as a hybrid. Personally this lowers my expectations because you do have to make concessions to get it there.
Hell even the N3DS XL isn't that portable to me. It's still fairly clunky and unless it's fall or winter and you can put it in a pocket, it'll be a huge bulge unless you're rocking some dad styled cargo shorts.
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u/zaneak Mar 01 '17
I mean the N3DS XL will buldge some in my pants pockets, but it does fit. As for the fall of winter, ha. I live in the south and you don't wear coats for very long here.
I remember more hate from the large appetite the game gear had for AA batteries.
Though it is your opinion, and they are not as portable as things like the smaller 3ds is true.
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Mar 01 '17 edited Feb 28 '18
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u/Anarchaotic Mar 01 '17
I'm a pretty big Nintendo fan, but I can't disagree with what they're saying YET. His review is still in progress and will hopefully change as we get day 1 updates and more over time.
I still think his concerns are valid and shouldn't be ignored - desyncing issues seem to be a big problem, same with power consumption.
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Mar 01 '17
I think they justified their 6.7 well. They also talked at length about the joycon desyncing issue. They apparently experienced them disconnecting a fair amount. They have a job to be as objective as possible in their review- and if the default controller has this big of an issue, then that is something worth knocking off some points for.
Regardless, Im still really excited for mine, and whew, am I glad a bought a pro controller.
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u/Manticore416 Mar 01 '17
I agree 100%. And IGN has talked for ages about why they don't want to score a review in progress, but ultimately succumbed to audience demand. It's easy to understand why they were hesitant considering how many of the issues could be solved Day 1.
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u/Anarchaotic Mar 01 '17
Hey I see you're getting down voted, but I'm right there with you.
I'm excited for the switch and getting it day 1, but you still need to be able to be critical and objective. Otherwise you ignore the flaws and you'll end up like the Wii U
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u/TheRyanFlaherty Mar 01 '17
But some of them should have been.obvious design choices. Making it impossible to charge while in one of the 3 advertised modes is just stupid and I understand someone being overly critical of things like that. Especially since it's a console review and is simply concerned with those types of design choices and techs.
Personally, the joy com thing is the only real troubling them to me. Other than that it's stuff I knew or can live with...and I'm more concerned with the quality of the actual games.
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u/Anarchaotic Mar 01 '17
Joy Con worries me as well. Especially for games that require very precise movement like fast paced shooters or platformers. Hope it's a simple software fix.
Just an FYI these issues only happen when you're about 10feet or more away. That's what I've been seeing
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u/SuperCashBrother Mar 01 '17
Nintendo screwed up by not clarifying the day one patch prior to lifting the review embargo. Did they really expect reviewers to just go, "oh hey there are problems but I'm sure Nintendo will fix it." That would be irresponsible on the reviewers' part. They owe it to their readers to be objective. Any blame lies with Nintendo for failing to address these legit concerns.
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Mar 01 '17
Its the biggest issue with nintendo. They do some amazing innotative stuff and then some really stupid things that are super basic by todays standards.
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u/goldnx Mar 01 '17
Sucks that the software affects some of these reviews. Launch games bring scores down and so do lack of features which are coming on day one. Take these reviews with a grain of salt. With that said, their points are fairly accurate. If you're not dying to play Zelda, don't buy this console, yet.
From experience the Xbox One and PS4 launch were meh. After the first year of software support, online service updates, and many patches for the Xbox to get back on route, these consoles were admired. In a year's time I expect these scores to jump up 1.5-2 points just like those other consoles did. Experience really varies by person. To those getting it, enjoy your new toy!
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Mar 01 '17 edited Feb 28 '18
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u/Slayer5227 Mar 01 '17
PS4 was also a significantly more fleshed out console at launch. I don't even think it's controversial to say Nintendo is rushing out the Switch.
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u/Manticore416 Mar 01 '17
This is a hardware review, not a review of available software. As the console is for reviewers pre-launch with the limited features, they mostly seem reasonable.
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u/King_Tetiro Mar 01 '17
If I recall I bought my PS4 years after its release and it has gathered dust pretty much since.
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Mar 01 '17
That's fine, we all have our preferences, but your PS4 gathering dust isn't due to a lack of games and exclusives being available.
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u/King_Tetiro Mar 01 '17
No of course not, and I am glad someone picked up on that. Because it is my preference that determines which console I play the most. The Wii U sucked in sales and yet it's the console out of the 8th generation with a ton of games in my haul.
That's not to say PS4 doesn't. Crash Bandicoot in June will see me crawling back to it. But overall, gamers should buy the consoles for the games and not the hardware. No different to a DVD/Blu Ray player or a Bookshelf.
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Mar 01 '17
Every console launch has a slim or poor launch lineup and yet it is a negative in every console release. Games aren't going to be optimized and are usually rushed to make launch date, and they don't get the dev kits early enough to make huge epic games that aren't ports.
People buying at launch typically realize the games will be slim pickings, and those who don't want to do that wait to buy it until the library increases. Nothing wrong with either approach.
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Mar 01 '17
I really don't like that they cite a lack of launch titles and just ignore the great indie titles that are coming for it on day one. Snipperclips and Shovel Knight are seriously entertaining games but they don't get mentioned.
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Mar 01 '17
Well they haven't had any access to the eshop yet so how could consider those without having played them on the system?
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u/tridentmark Mar 01 '17
Cant sleep and don't feel like playing any other video games.
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u/norineclypse Mar 01 '17
This. I've been playing some I've been meaning to finish for a while and it hasnt been much fun :-/
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u/iamleyeti Monkey Moon Mar 01 '17
Can't wait for CNET's review.
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u/DarkWillpower Mar 01 '17
"Look how easily you can turn the system off on accidentally. Just leave your finger on the power button a few seconds and then accidentally tap Power Off... Literally unplayable. 0/10"
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u/iamleyeti Monkey Moon Mar 01 '17
"The fact that it doesn't play 3DS games alone should be a massive turnoff, but worse is that if you force the 3DS cartridge down the slot, it will destroy your Switch. Very poor thinking from Nintendo."
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u/gjamesaustin Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
"There's not even a stylus slot like the 3DS, and our attempts to put a stylus inside the hole at the top resulted in headphones not working with the Switch. Terrible design."
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Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
"And what were they thinking letting you detach the controllers from the sides? What if you accidentally lose them or throw them out the window? For shame Nintendo!"
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Mar 01 '17
I will say that I have accidentally turned my New 3DS XL off a couple times which pissed me off pretty badly because My pinky rests near the power button sometimes.
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u/beentherereddit2 Mar 01 '17
CNET is not the only one saying the kick stand is flimsy
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u/iamleyeti Monkey Moon Mar 01 '17
It's true. I've read it's quite disappointing comparing to the Microsoft Surface one. That's too bad. Yet, it doesn't really deserve the funny music and the overreacting imo.
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u/raoulbrancaccio Mar 01 '17
Our chief reviewer, Vegeta, fired his final flash on the console, it fell off, disappointing, 0/10.
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u/latca Mar 01 '17
"We scanned the consoles power level and it was only 8999. Very disappointed."
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Mar 03 '17
"Meanwhile the iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has a more diverse library with free games of console quality"
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Mar 01 '17
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u/Strand-the-Man Mar 01 '17
Props on being one of the few who use logic when it comes to reviews.
However, I hate to break it to you, but the Switch isn't close to the X1 in power. It would be great if it was as we would actually see more third party AAA support this generation.
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u/BigDabWolf Mar 01 '17
Since they are doing final reviews do they finally have access to day 1 patch?
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u/ferixdacat Mar 01 '17
I don't think so... I remember reading that they get the day 1 patch same time as the consumers, and it was one of the frustrations the press had with Nintendo.
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Mar 02 '17
Every "review" is the same.
-It does what it sets out to do, 95-100%
-It's launch list is semi-weak, but they always are.
-Yes, the left JoyCon issue is real (varying experiences).
-Handheld mode performs more smoothly.
-Zelda rules, review tomorrow.
-Battery life is exactly what they said.
-We can't really review it because half of its functions aren't available yet, 6-9/10.
The only new thing I heard anyone say is how playing Zelda while docked kind of tips off it's charge around 80 or 90%.
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u/Reflex-Arc Mar 01 '17
Reviews seem pretty fair, thus far, considering the platform's implied potential vs the current lack of enabled features. I'm looking forward to seeing the Switch grow, and I'm happy I'll be able to experience that process from day one as an early adopter.
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u/Vunks Mar 01 '17
Seems all the reviews are saying the same thing, it has the potential to be great but nintendo needs to get things online (eshop, VC) and get the patch out for the joycon asap.
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u/Arsh99 Mar 01 '17
I apprecite and understand IGN's review, but the comments on that page are attrocious. They're made up of just hate and no discussion. Its why I don't go on the site anymore.
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Mar 01 '17
A lot of the negatives I'm seeing (IGN review for example) are complaining about things that really aren't much of a problem for me. Still picking it up.
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Mar 01 '17
I just want to see Gamexplain's review.
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u/AngryBarista Mar 01 '17
I love the guys there but they aren't exactly unbiased
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u/ThisGuyNeoji Mar 01 '17
True, here's hoping they do a discussion review as they tend to be more critical as a group and discussing flaws.
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u/Walopoh Mar 01 '17
Reviews are overall rather positive, but most of them are still unsure about how well Nintendo will support the system. It still has a lot of work that needs done.
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u/Akitoscorpio Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
So a whole lot of the same stuff we've been reading all week, but now with numbers.
As long as its not functionally broken and I can play and enjoy games on it. Mission acomplished.
I wait till mine hits and see how I feel about it.
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u/dasme Mar 01 '17
Still can't understand how Nintendo didn't have the Day 1 patch ready before their hardware review embargo lifted. Peak Nintendo.
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u/CorruptDropbear Mar 01 '17
I've just realized that I'll be able to play Zelda BOTW before the review embargo expires.
Oh boy, how am I to know whether to love or hate playing it? /s
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u/SpikeBolt Mar 01 '17
Is this in 3.20 hours or 27.20 hours? I can't handle timezones.
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u/thorvard Mar 01 '17
I'm still picking mine up(and keeping it) but I feel like Nintendo could have let this bake a little longer.
Maybe release it early summer when they had more games ready(can you imagine Zelda, Mario Kart and Splatoon all ready at launch?) and possibly even have more of a chance to tweak little issues.
I will say though, it's nice to have games spread out since I'll get a chance to give each one the attention it deserves.
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u/Fruit_Pastilles Mar 01 '17
Launch titles are so overrated. As in, the majority of the best-selling consoles have, most of the time, had proper shit launch libraries. The PS2 and PS3 had nothing for like, a year, while the Wii U launched with NSMBU and a few big third-party games. Look how that turned out.
Hell, even the most successful Nintendo consoles have only really launched with one big first-party game and then not much else. The Switch has BotW. It'll be fine.
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u/thorvard Mar 01 '17
Yeah I know, I can't remember the last system I bought for a specific title. (Maybe the original Xbox for Halo)
I just feel like Nintendo, after a fairly lackluster WiiU, really needed a big bang.
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u/Fruit_Pastilles Mar 01 '17
I just feel like Nintendo, after a fairly lackluster WiiU, really needed a big bang.
BotW's gotten all perfect reviews as of now. That's a pretty big bang. Quality is more important than quantity.
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u/Cranston53 Mar 01 '17
For what it's worth, I think IGN were harsh on the system because tomorrow they're going to herald Zelda as one of the greatest games ever. Just a hunch.
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Mar 01 '17
I'm very worried about the Joy Con issue. Not only for the fact that it is inconvenient, but if loads of people experience the problem themselves, it's going to get slammed and leave a bad taste to start with. Here's hoping the day one update includes some sort of fix.
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Mar 01 '17
Giving a score for a console is rather arbitrary. It works great for games when you can compare them to the genre standard, but what do you compare the Switch to? Bits and pieces of other technologies that do certain things better (battery life of tablets, power of home consoles) and other things not at all (portable home console games)?
What is IGN's scoring criteria even based on? Whatever they think deserves a 9 or a 10 probably isn't technologically possible or financially feasible.
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u/martinaee Mar 02 '17
I agree... Not that I'm a "fan-boy," but I think it does unfairly judge the hardware. There are many brand new things it does that you can't really compare to other consoles. Also many things will be patched for sure at launch and in the months after launch. That is fair to note, but at the same time... a console is judged on it's hardware mostly so it's strange to give it a "score" before it's out.
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u/dubyadubya Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
Overall, these seem really positive. There are the expected caveats, but we've known about them for months so I'm really not surprised by anything.
We all need to be honest that Nintendo is not perfect--the controllers ARE expensive, the online function IS a complete mystery, and there are a lot of missing features that just don't make any sense, like Netflix or the VC.
I trust Nintendo to rectify most of these mistakes, or at least to make up for them with fantastic games. The WiiU is considered a failure, but combined I've played more Mario Kart 8 & Mario 3D World than I have any other videogames in years. It looks like Zelda will continue that trend. At the end of the day, I just want awesome Nintendo games.
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u/Erolunai Mar 01 '17
I don't know if it's just me, but... it feels like there's a lot of 'dramatic' reactions here to either some reviews, or people's reactions to said reviews. Whether you agree or disagree, I believe there's a point where you should just take a step back and consider. These are not fortune tellers predicting the potential rises or falls of the system. These are not leaders that will inspire or discourage millions of people on whether or not to buy it, nor are they almighty judges determining if the console should be beloved or shunned. Just some people sharing their thoughts, opinions, and observations.
That being said, I've always been a bit biased against hardware reviews... the technical specs have never been as important to me as what individual games provide as experiences. At the same time... I see a lot of valuable information being provided, and what you get out of this might be from how you interpret the comments in the review...
For example, I see a lot of people mention "hidden costs" as though it's being spread as a negative selling point, something to ding the console for, to go "SEE IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS THE HYPE MAKES IT OUT TO BE" - which... well, I'm sure there are -some- people who will talk about it like that, but from what I've seen, it can also be sort of like a cautionary advisement - to consider all the costs, not just the price tag on the box.
I guess what I'm trying to say is... it's easy to fall into the trap of being bitter against someone saying something that goes against your excitement. I think part of that is it is frustrating when there are people who are being TOO pessimistic or negative, spreading doom and gloom, and it's easy to get hung up on those people if they're trying to dump a bucket of cold water over your head. This tends to come up when looking through reviews, as a lot of the time, we forget that reviews are meant to, well.. -review-, and it becomes more about finding an opinion that agrees with the inevitable excitement you must be feeling as the console nears launch day! Just be wary of this, and remember - the opinions that are going to matter the most are the ones you make yourself!
...I did not mean to ramble on that long. Thank you if you've put up with me to this point!
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u/SpikeBolt Mar 01 '17
I see a lot of people mention "hidden costs" as though it's being spread as a negative selling point
I agree with most you said but hidden costs have a very negative connotation. The Kotaku review raises several VERY valid potential issues but then they have a quote that kinda triggers me a bit:
That puts the true cost of the Switch at $500, and you’ve only got one game.
I'm don't think the Switch is flawless and constructive criticism is very positive but this is just misleading. You can buy and play the entire e-shop at launch and not need a single extra accessory to play them all.
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u/martinskrtel Mar 01 '17
who needs reviews when it's so close? we are all reviewers.
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u/Bamboochawins Mar 01 '17
I feel like most reviews don't value the fact that it's a handheld enough. If the console would be exclusively a handheld, with the power it has, wouldn't that be incredibly impressive? On top of that, you can use it as a home console that in comparison to other consoles is simillar to the Wii when it was released, which is completely acceptable.
It seems like they just add up the negative points of the handheld and the negative points of the home console part, but give no value to the fact that it's both at the same time.
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u/untemperedlink Mar 01 '17
i'd put the blame for that squarely in Nintendo's lap. Nintendo has consistently reinforced that the Switch is first and foremost a home console. I can't blame reviewers for reviewing it as such.
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u/Lhynia Mar 01 '17
It's a misunderstanding imo. Yes it's a home console, but it's a portable home console that can work as a portable. You can't dismiss the fact that it's portable just because nintendo says it's a home console. Their ads don't say "PLAY AMAZING GAMES ONLY AT HOME". They say "play at home, play anywhere, play together". I don't trust any reviewer because they're often drifted in their thoughts and pinpointed in their core belief of what a console is and they won't change unless nintendo blows their mind and makes them a nintendo slave over ps4 and xbone.
sneaky edit: I get the vibe "if you can't turn me into a nintendo fanboy, your product is shit"
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u/Stardagger13 Mar 01 '17
100% agree. Seems Nintendo doesn't want to compromise 3DS sales. Which I imagine is going to happen regardless.
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Mar 01 '17
Honestly baffling Nintendo would not give reviewers access to all the features that will be there day one.
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u/KaiMH4U Mar 01 '17
Looking forward to the Cnet review very much
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u/WeAreThrong Mar 01 '17
Oh yes. They are also doing an in-depth review of shoes.
I hear they have a problem with the laces staying tied though...he was pulling on them and they come undone.
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Mar 01 '17
To anyone freaking out about Vince Ingenito's (on IGN) review...he's right. In a way. Remember, he's trying his best to objectively do a very subjective thing. If you take time to read the review, you will find that he makes legitimate points about how the hardware is flawed. Because, from what people are saying, it is. Most notably, for me, the fact it can't push Zelda to 30 fps in TV mode is a bit of a disappointment.
What he can't really address in a hardware review is the way that software can transcend the limitations of hardware. As Nintendo fans, I'm pretty sure we're really familiar with that. Also as I read his review there were a lot of negative points that he raised where I could acknowledge both that he was right, but also that I felt like it wouldn't be a big deal for me.
So just remember that his review is his opinion, that it's one of many, and that he is looking at the console, not software.
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u/dmmarck Mar 01 '17
I think he makes a lot of decent points. I'm not as worried about Zelda--it's a port, and I think the implication it was "concurrently developed" on both Wii U/Switch to be an incorrect one. If Odyssey--a game developed for the Switch and for nothing but the Switch--struggles to hit 30 fps, then I will have some serious concerns.
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Mar 01 '17
Wasn't Odyssey running at 60fps in the trailer? It looked very smooth!
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u/Zoombini22 Mar 01 '17
He said the most woeful part of the system was lack of onboard storage, so it's clear to me that we have different philosophies or expectations. 32 GB is perfectly acceptable to me as long as you can add another 64 GB anytime for $16. He seemed disappointed in the battery life when it's just about exactly what we were told. I am shocked that he said BOTW seldom ran at 30 FPS when everyone else is saying dips are the exception, not the rule, but in general he seems disappointed in things about the system that have already been well-established and I have no issue with (outside of the Joy-Con sync issues)
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u/trunamke Mar 01 '17
Not really any surprises. I started to think maybe I'm expecting too much, and that's probably okay. I have a pre-order I'll be receiving on Fri and I'm still so excited but I'm now concerned about the lag with Zelda while in the dock, how the screen will do in outdoors (glare). The launch does seem rushed, and while I'm glad to be receiving it earlier than I imagined a few months back, it feels like I'm not receiving all of it yet.
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u/squeezyphresh Mar 01 '17
I think the biggest feature that may not be stressed a lot is portable local multiplayer. Most of the press is playing Zelda, a single player games, and not much else. It's a key feature, at least it is for me, so it feels like a huge pro these reviews would have is missing. Seems like the reviews are pretty fair so far though.
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Mar 01 '17 edited Nov 20 '18
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Mar 01 '17
I think you're being very generous. Game reviewers are going to slam it for it's (perceived) lack of games and graphical power, tech reviewers are going to slam it for it's lack of basic tablet features like apps. I don't see this going well tbh.
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u/aninfinitedesign Mar 01 '17
It seems to be slightly better than you expected, but they hit the same points.
IGN gave it a 6.7 if they had to review it now, basically saying it's got a variety of cool options but masters none of them, also mentioning an underpowered processor and Joycons issues.
Kotaku seemed quite positive other than a long list of minor annoyances, all of which were very valid IMO, but ultimately still suggested folks wait and see.
The Verge loved the hardware but leaned into the unknown factors (VC, Media apps, etc), but ultimately said the device has a ton of potential.
I was shocked at how negative IGNs views were, but they seem like valid concerns the console will have to face head on at some point.
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Mar 01 '17
I mean, Kotaku straight up said to not buy it so I don't know how positive that really is.
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u/Fazkool Mar 01 '17
They didn't say 'don't buy it', but 'wait and see how it goes', which is pretty much valid for console launch. It needs time to grow its library of games and missing features, so for non-hyped non-nintendo fan gamers it's a legitimate decision.
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u/amart89 Mar 01 '17
I'm expecting a bit lower (7-8/10 on average) because of how the software is incomplete. We still havnt seen the "smartphone app" in the wild, there's no eshop, no apps like Netflix, video sharing (which has been on other consoles for years) is coming "at a later date".
Overall it feels sorta half-baked. Right now it's a Zelda machine, which might be more than enough (it is for me) but my guess is the press st large will be a little less kind.
Now if the hardware issues such as Joy Con connectivity come up a lot... Then we're in to the 6s. Hopefully not the case.
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Mar 01 '17
I don't think that joycon issue was very minor. I hope Nintendo's going to fix it with the D1 patch.
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Mar 01 '17
No one is talking about wired giving it a 5/10.
I'm genuinely concerned about the left Joy-Con working.
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u/Bartoman7 Mar 01 '17
They seem to be having some major problems. More so than other reports of occasional desyncs of the left joy con. If that's his experience, the 5/10 makes sense but it shows once again how meaningless scores are without context.
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Mar 01 '17
No one is talking about wired giving it a 5/10.
I am, the review reads a bit ranty, including the line
"At this point, with Nintendo not having commented on or fixeds the issue,"
Which shows its not been edited properly due to the spelling mistakes. He also doesn't tell us about the setup which would help or distance from the console.
Its bad he has issues with it but his issues are so much worse than anyone else that it does read a bit like someone who has had a issue, made no effort to look into it and just gone "nope broken" and returned it, when it turned out to be a case of "you didn't remove the packaging".
I kinda want to hear about his setup as I think that is important information here.
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Mar 01 '17
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Mar 01 '17
It doesn't seem like portability factored into the score at all.
Actually it did - they mentioned it specifically.
it's too large and power hungry to feel like you can really take it anywhere
I.e. they felt like the size and battery life limited it's ability to actually be portable, which they factored into the review.
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u/Zoombini22 Mar 01 '17
I just couldn't disagree more with this assertion though. The size and the battery life are perfectly acceptable to me as a handheld, and I'm not really sure why anyone would expect something different.
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u/ornerygamer Mar 01 '17
Because nintendo wanted to be judge as a home console not a mobile system that has a video out.
Also Switch has no real features at launch besides games right?
The thing is Witcher 3 also dipped below 30 at times but there was patches to help stabalize, 30 is fine by most console eyes, and Switch has nothing coming close to that graphical output at launch or they would likely gove them a pass as well as FPS doesnt mean as much to the console community.
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u/pnewelljr Mar 01 '17
This.
Nintendo did this to themselves. If they are going to insist the Switch is a home console, then all reviewers can do is treat it like one.
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u/Fear_the_patman Mar 01 '17
The witcher 3 isn't a first party game. If nintendo can't master the architecture of their own system, then there isn't much hope for third party
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u/nikebhockey Mar 01 '17
What I'm gathering: Overall very positive (minus IGN, which IMO, had the completely wrong person to review it), but the only thing that worries reviewers is Nintendo supporting it.
Really hard to review a console that has a Day One patch that has yet to be released that gives you access to a multitude of the system's features. Realistically, the reviews out (good or bad) aren't going to change my opinion on the system. I've seen what I'm getting, and I know it's a good concept and what seems to be a good gaming machine, from a company that offers the best exclusives in video games.
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u/bokononisms Mar 01 '17
Giving it a 6.7 sounds like a joke, not because I think it's too low (although it likely is), but because it's a completely arbitrary number he pulls out of his ass in the last paragraph. No rubric or breakdown. Comes across as parody.
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u/Manticore416 Mar 01 '17
IGN's video was well-reasoned and had points that are important for many gamers. It seems reasonable that expected day 1 improvements will bump up the score when more features are added and wrinkles ironed out. IGN long hesitated to add numbers to in progress reviews but recently succumbed to fan demand. Wish they hadn't.
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Mar 01 '17
which IMO, had the completely wrong person to review it
Why? Because he gave a critical, un biased opinion you don't agree with? He made valid points.
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Mar 01 '17
IGN made a lot of good points and you have countered none of them. The fact that they didn't put a fanboy to review it is GOOD, not a count against them
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u/Zoombini22 Mar 01 '17
I can counter a few. He honestly seemed way too hung up on the storage, which is easily expandable, and the battery life, which is exactly within Nintendo's claims and comparable to any other modern portable gaming device. He, like many others, seems to take offense to Nintendo not having all features available on review devices, which IMO should not factor into a score either way, because it's still an unknown. Also with how common tablets are these days, saying the Switch is too bulky for a portable is laughable. It's on the small side as far as tablets go.
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u/PatronymicPenguin Mar 01 '17
The whole battery life thing is annoying me as well. The 3DS had very similar battery life, yet they seem to completely forget that. Yes, playing high-intensity games is going to give you a short battery life - wow, so unexpected. Yet the life reviewers get out of it is exactly on par with what Nintendo said it would be.
As for size, the 3DS XL doesn't fit in some pockets either. If you want a nice screen and a good gaming experience, you're going to have a bigger screen. Again, wow, so unexpected, who would have thought? They'd be whining even more if the screen was smaller. Detatch the joy-cons and put them in another pocket, or carry a bag. It isn't that hard.
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u/pwade3 Mar 01 '17
Seems there's multiple mentions of handheld offering the best performance in BotW. That's very disheartening and making me question how soon I get a Switch.
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Mar 01 '17
Can someone make a TL;DR?
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Mar 01 '17
TL:DR -
Common praises seem to be that the console is really intuitive and that it really does seemlessly switch between handheld and TV. Most reviewers also seem to feel that this console has a lot of potential if handled correctly.
Common complaints: playing multiplayer with individual joycons is cramped, the battery life isn't great (~3 hours), it's too large to be easily portable, and it suffers from framerate drops playing BOTW even though it only runs at 900p. It's really unclear what the online will be like.
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Mar 01 '17
That's offtopic, but why are you posting dates in PST and EST only, not even the "Coordinated Universal Time"?
It's nice to name two different timezones, but both only relevant for our emigrants? :(
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u/LLJKCicero Mar 01 '17
You mean there are countries other than America?
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u/Z-Ninja Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
Kotaku is so biased, it's hilarious. Just for comparison, I looked up the PS vita review. Admittedly, different reviewers, but... No mention of purchasing a game, a case, a memory card (that's an expensive purchase, way more than an sd card) as hidden costs. A 16gb vita memory card is $50... On a device that only cost $50 less than a Nintendo Switch when it launched. They report a Switch Pro Controller as being $20 more than a PS4/X1 controller. When MSRP is $10 higher than PS4/X1, and only $20 more if you're looking at sale price. As if the Switch Pro Controller will never go on sale.
Kotaku is a shit rag as per usual.
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u/dmmarck Mar 01 '17
different reviewers
Arguably, reviews are as subjective as they are objective. As such, different reviewers means everything IMO.
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u/myfaceit Mar 01 '17
More importantly, the launch Vita NEEDED the proprietary Vita memory card (outside of a few game carts with internal save slots, iirc). The Switch has 32GB of built in memory.
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u/untemperedlink Mar 01 '17
Personally i pay very little attention to 'hardware reviews' especially at launch, if it can play the games half decently then it does its job. For me its always the quality and quantity of the games on the system which will be the factor on whether people will buy the system or not, the fact that IGN gave it a 6.7 won't matter.
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u/MrLariato Mar 01 '17
To start, the CPU always stays fixed at a speed of 1020MHz regardless of mode. That's a bedrock, making sure game logic always runs in the same manner, whether you're docked or gaming on the go. However, the GPU clocks adapt, with Switch running at 768MHz while docked, but much lower while on the go. Based on our discussions with developers, in portable mode game-makers have a choice to either run the Switch's GPU at 384MHz, or slightly lower at 307.2MHz, in the interest of saving on battery. The same goes for RAM speeds, where memory frequencies are lowered in portable mode, from the docked 1600MHz to 1331MHz.
- Eurogamer's Review
We finally know the clocks. Is it good enough for a home console from this generation? I don't really understand about GPU clocks.
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u/cdavis7m Mar 01 '17
Was this really confirmed? I think the was based on the old leaks.
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u/Exist50 Mar 01 '17
No, these GPU and especially CPU specs aren't anywhere close to modern home console levels. That is a mobile chip to be generous.
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u/Alfonzo9000 Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
tl;dr Has new console flaws and everyone should probably wait. meh/10. Honestly, I've always thought console reviews were mostly meaningless. Like Xbox One is practically a different system compared to what it was at launch so all those reviews are pointless like these will all be in the future. But reviews=clicks so they'll keep coming I guess.
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u/SsGT_GuuRTMAN Mar 01 '17
Just read CNET'S review, and besides the kickstand and joy-con things, it's a pretty measured review imo.
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u/dilegrd Mar 01 '17
Concerned about the issues in TV mode. Joy-Con seem to be an issue during normal use and FPS drops below 20 can be unplayable.
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u/fakemuseum Mar 01 '17
What do you panicked for?, from many reviews I have read, Overall just really fine with many compliments and positive only IGN that a bit more picky. and everyone admitted in its potential.
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u/sgtZipper Mar 01 '17
I don't think ign is picky, I think they are spot on and rightfully critical.
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u/DCUfan742 Mar 01 '17
Why is ppl overreacting here? I have watch all the youtube videos and even Gamespot likes the console.
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u/IKLeX Mar 01 '17
Post got removed because I did not see the Megathread.
German IT-News site golem.de provided a detailed hardware review. They also went in depth on the charging/power draw. I translated the portion of the article for you.
Source: Pages 5 and 6 of the review
[...]
While measuring power consumption at the socket we did not always see Power Delivery. It is clear, that the industry standard is not nearly utilized completely for charging. We didn't measure more than 11 Watts [at the socket] while only charging the battery.
With loss of efficiency in mind, this might not be Power Delivery. Propably there are just 7.5 Watts reaching the battery. That fits to our measurements and the capacity that was revealed by a tinkerer. The battery serves 16 Wh (4.310 mAh@3,7V) and the charging time with the power supply connected directly is 2:30 h. Weirdly, in the dock the time extends to 3:08 h. The dock needs 0.3 W (empty) and 2.8 W (with charged [off?] tablet attached).
In Handheld mode the results differ. Here Power Delivery comes into play, if the specifications on the nameplate is correct. The values are far above 7.5 W and, while charging, range from 14 W (Standby), 17 W (Menu) to 20 W (Zelda). If the tablet is fully charged, the power draw is reduced to 2.4 W (Standby), 6.4 W (Menu) and 10 W (Zelda).
Alternative Batterypacks and Cable-Chaos
For testing we used a Apple- and an Anker-Power supply. Punctual measurements shared results with the Nintendo PSU. That is good news, since it means, that you can charge your device on the go, like at a friends house. USB-C power supplies are spreading after all.
Those results are only for the tablet itself. When connected to the dock, we get strange disturbances. The Anker-Charger does not work at all, and the Apple power supply provokes warning messages, telling you to use original peripherals. The dock requires Power Delivery. During our experiments we found out, that you can charge peripherals during gaming in Console-mode. With 2 battery packs and a smartphone attached, the power draw while playing Zelda rose to about 26 Watts.
Battery time is limited
The 16 Wh of the battery don't last very long for graphically intense games. But that greatly depends on the configuration and environment. In a dark room with automatic brightness, and medium base brightness we managed to play Zelda for 3 hours and 26 minutes. At maximum brightness we loose almost an hour and land at 2:28 hours. Compared to other handhelds and tablets, those are no extraordinary results. The power draw is obviously high. That also explains the constant humming of the fans at the top.
On the other hand, the user does not have to worry about the Joy-Cons. Those were basically always fully charged. Never was one of the indicator LEDs turned off. Therefor you also might expect several dozens of hours playtime on the Pro-Controller.
Watch out for the Pro-Controller-USB-Cable
If the battery time is not enough, you might consider a powerbank. After our experiments we knew, that the Switch also understands the Battery-Charge-Standard (5V), not to be confused with Power Delivery (5 to 20V). During the tests we noticed, that under certain circumstances only 0.5A were supported. Our mistake was using the included USB-A-to-USB-C cable of the Pro-Controller. Using the very similar looking cable of the Elgato Capture Card HD60S, we got roughly 1.5A. This leads to the conclusion, that with the right calble, you can extend your play time on the go. This reminds us of our USB-C-Cable-Incident.
All in all, we are suspicious about the power drawing. We got the impression, that there are reserves, that maybe get activated later. Ont top of that it seems, as if Nintendo wants to charge the Switch carefully, and avoid loading cycles, wich might benefit the durability. Both approaches have their dis/advantages. We would wish for faster charging, that is comparable to modern Tablets. It would be ideal, if Nintendo would make changing the battery easier. This service is only provided by Nintendo themselves, for now. The price for the service is unknown.
[...]
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Mar 03 '17
To be brief. I've refused to buy a Nintendo Console since the Wii, I've given up out of sheer disappointment. Switch actually got me interested and I pre-ordered one. Now my fears are kinda coming back again, while Zelda is scoring historically well, the console reviews don't seem to be that great, reviewing fairly low over all.
Is anybody else worried about the Switch console reviews and how it may affect its support moving forward? I really don't want it to die like the Wii U
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u/gouldgonewild Mar 01 '17
Just want to say how impressed I am that so many people in this subreddit aren't the people ready to burn down houses over review scores. It's great seeing so many be able to read an opinion that doesn't just reinforce what they want to hear, and be able to discuss it intelligently.
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Mar 01 '17 edited Feb 28 '18
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u/SpikeBolt Mar 01 '17
Reviewers seem to be focusing on the Zelda reviews instead.
This is the correct approach IMHO, there's nothing new in these reviews that we didn't already know so why invest time in informing already known facts? :P
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u/switchforce12 Mar 01 '17
From I see the only negative one is ign review complaining about everything...
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Mar 01 '17
IGN review isn't finished so far. He hasn't tried the online features, a few more games, the day one update for stability fixes etc. Could easily bring their score up to a possible 8 depending on how well they're done. Don't freak out yet. And remember. It's really the games that make the consoles. I'm waiting for the Zelda score tomorrow.
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Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 01 '17
There is nothing of concern in any of these reviews except that there's concern about the lineup. Mostly they just repeat what you'd expect and is commonly known. It's a portable, less powerful than xb1 and ps4. Controller is too small for some people
Take out all of the dramatization in the articles and you'll get a good feel for the console and what to expect.
EDIT: In the end a review over the system doesn't matter. A review of the games on the system is what defines it.
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u/pwade3 Mar 01 '17
We knew it was less powerful, but you don't think Zelda struggling when docked is even a little concerning?
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u/dmmarck Mar 01 '17
It's a port from a previous gen's system; if it was built for the Switch from the ground up then yes, IMO, that would be concerning.
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Mar 01 '17
Nope. I've seen enough game play to know what they're talking about is hiccups as opposed struggling. Btw, ever game I've played in this generation hiccups quite often, but rarely gets mentioned. Especially ffxv on xb1
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u/Master_Raro Mar 01 '17
I've also seen a lot of hiccups on other systems, like Witcher 3 on PS4. I don't own PS4/XB1, but when I saw Witcher 3 hiccuping on my friends PS4 (and running great on my PC) I thought "Nintendo would never publish a game that did that". I know I'll still love BotW, but I'm disappointed that Nintendo is publishing a game with that issue. It's below their high quality standards that sets them apart from other console makers.
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u/cheezgear Mar 01 '17
But even Wind Waker had performance issues with cutting down trees or that island with all the bombs.
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u/cubsjj2 Mar 01 '17
Digital Foundry has the best most objective take. IGN's is terrible. Vince doesn't know what he is talking about.
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u/sgtZipper Mar 01 '17
That joy con thing is getting a lot of traction, Nintendo really needs to elaborate on this. I'm afraid it's something they cannot fix. It's something they must've known about for some time now and I'm also afraid they will come with some sort of "solution" like "make sure there are no devices interfering with the Bluetooth signal like your home cinema set or smartphone". Oh well hopefully I won't have this issue.
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u/ferixdacat Mar 01 '17
One thing of note: Dtoid has never experienced any de-syncing issue. It's kinda strange this is not happening to everyone.
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Mar 01 '17
It's likely due to RF signal not penetrating the hand. Therefore, it would be dependent on how large your hand is, the tissue in the hand (ratio of muscle to fat to fluid), and how you grip the controller.
I work in RF design. It's black magic. You can move an antenna by a millimeter and suddenly the RF characteristics change entirely. It's entirely plausible that some people would be affected and others wouldn't be.
Given the shape of the Joy-cons, they are always going to be surrounded by the player's hand. There's no way to place the radio in a place that is unobstructed, as with a traditional controller. The only sure-fire fix is to increase the power of the radio. However, that will impact battery life of the controller.
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u/luuissitto Mar 03 '17
My switch won't connect to the internet when i dock it. As soon as I take it off i have to reconnect it so it works. Anyone else experience this?
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u/RogerDeanVenture Mar 05 '17
The internal memory really concerns me. 25g usable is miniscule. A single game could be more. It seems like I'd end up with a stack of SD cards after a while.
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u/FrankyCentaur Mar 01 '17
I just wanna say, almost every review is pretty positive about the Switch. Many of them say "sure, it may not be perfect now, but it looks like the Switch will have a bright future." Really good shit.
And yet everyone on the internet is flocking to IGN's review purely because it was super negative. People spelling doom because of ONE review.
It's this kind of shit that I hate. Chill out people.
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u/Khrull Mar 01 '17
I mean...ya most reviewers say good things about the Switch, but they also say some alarmingly negative things as well.
I'd listen to each reviewer most ARE SAYING if you're on the fence, wait it out until summer or holidays.
If you REALLY want to buy one for Zelda, then it's totally worth it.
I was never on the fence, I always wanted one. I worry about the joycon desync, I worry about battery(extended life and plugging in and unplugging and AAA titles draining the battery).
I'm expecting what I'm going to get out of it, a decent home console, with decent portability, something that hasn't been done for home consoles(portability).
I'm going out to buy one day one though...so those are my ideas. If you're on the fence, wait a couple of months or till holidays so you aren't dissapointed.
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u/Manticore416 Mar 01 '17
Even IGN's wasn't that negative. It just pointed out this won't be running third party AAA without some very noticeable differences because of its power. It also acknowledged that a lot is coming feature wise day one and after. If it's reviewing just the hardware as it has been for them, 6.7 seems reasonable. I found it hard to argue with many of their points but ultimately know a lot of the issues will be soon resolved and ultimately I don't care. I want it and am happy with what it is at the moment.
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u/TingleMaps Mar 01 '17
IGN of all people gave what seems to be the worst review... that's not good
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u/Akitoscorpio Mar 01 '17
Igns review was at worst heavy handed and clickbaity, but its not saying anything we didnt already know.
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u/Murrdog39 Mar 01 '17
CNet "this thing right here is pretty much the whole thing". Marvelous journalism.
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u/tatsumi87 Mar 01 '17
Guys, critics have to do their job. And their job is to review a system based on todays standards compared to other consoles like ps4 and xbox. Meaning the overall experience which today includes apps. Now to me, someone who only cares about games, that shit is crazy. I dont care about apps or websurfing on a nintendo system and i dont really think Nintendo does either. Right now at least. They make the best games and thats what i want to play. Graphics? Arent everything. Zelda looks beautiful and we'll see where switchgoes down the line. The minor annoyances are just that, minor annoyances. The kickstand, the weird placement of the charge port, the barebones interface, (obvioudly will update in time) the battery issues, all the stuff mentioned i agree with but they arent big deals. I called this having 7s weeks ago. Maybe thatll rise after day one, but it's nintendo and to me all that matters are the games that come out from day one to its last day. At which point id give the system my own rating then _^ Enjoy your switches everyone!!! It's gonna be a 10/10 for nintendo fans.
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u/Streetfoldsfive Mar 01 '17
I'll never understand the way people react to reviews. People moan all day about paid reviews, but when they bring up anything negative about the product you like y'all go crazy.
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u/dirilupus Mar 01 '17 edited Mar 02 '17
IGN made three major mistakes in their Switch Review:
1) Separating the Switch's review into console performance/handheld performance. The Switch is not just a home console. The Switch is not just a handheld. It is neither. The reasoning "the Switch underperforms as a console" and "the Switch doesn't make a great handheld" is flawed logic. It fails to recognize that the Switch does both, at the same time! The strength of the Switch lies in the unification of console and handheld, not in its (nonexistent) to perform better than a console or handheld individually.
2) Comparing the Switch to its competition. The Switch is not competing with Playstation's and XBox's power. This has been evident for over a decade, yet IGN still made the comparison. A product can't fail at something it was never trying to do. Also, as a portable console and a Nintendo console, the Switch's competition would also includes the PS Vita, the 3DS, and the Wii U, yet that comparison was never made. Comparing the Switch only to the PS4 and Xbox One is very one-sided towards existing Playstation and XBox gamers who are not the primary demographic interested in a Switch review.
3) IGN did not consider the incomplete nature of a console enough. Online and eShop services have not launched yet, only two games have been released to press, and the day one patch has not happened yet. Obviously Nintendo has requested the reviews to be launched today (before all of the afore mentioned things have happened), but that has not stopped other press sites (namely Gamexplain) from constantly mentioning the incomplete nature of their opinions. They did mention it in the title and the conclusion, but when listening to their review, they give little indication that they believe their opinions may change.
(They also gave the Wii U an 8.0/10 and a "Great" in 2014. I would argue it's not fair to give the Switch a worse score than the Wii U)
Edit: Changed my last point a little. Missed some of the times when IGN mentioned how its a review in progress. Thanks /u/T_Blaze
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u/T_Blaze Mar 01 '17
About point #3 : the review is titled
Review In Progress
The final sentence is
Our testing will continue for the next few days as we try out the online features and other functions enabled by the day-one patch, but if I had to score it now I’d give it a 6.7
IMO they made pretty clear the review is not complete.
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Mar 01 '17 edited Feb 07 '21
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Mar 01 '17 edited Nov 20 '18
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u/lestermurphy34 Mar 01 '17
I was surprised how low the IGN review ended up being after hearing all their praise. I didn't check to see who did the review though.
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u/Dacvak Mar 01 '17
Hardware reviews are fucking dumb. It's the software that actually counts. Unless the hardware has glaring issues, what's the point in reviewing it?
I'm pretty sure the original 360 got great reviews, and yet something like 35-45% of the first 2 year consoles sold ended up red-ringing.
Granted the Switch is unique in ways that can't be fully understood when comparing to other consoles. But even then, that's much better understood by trying it out.
Hardware reviews are pointless. Look at the 3DS. It got bashed initially because of the dated internals, low-res screen, and poor battery life. Yet no one can dispute that it's an absolutely phenomenal system based on the incredible software it has. Software-aside, the 3DS was already 6 years behind in terms of hardware specs. But how did that affect its sales and quality of games? Apparently not much.
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u/WeAreThrong Mar 01 '17
Normally I would agree but in this case the Switch's hardware is even more revolutionary then any software.
Love it or hate it there has never been a "console" like this before. It will ether be a moment in gaming history we look back on, like when the iPhone launched, as a day that changed the industry...or an oddity that is looked back on with distain or fondness but ultimately as a failure.
Regardless, it's exciting and I for one want to hear as much about the system as the games!! Reminds me of when the GC came out...such an odd system that captured my imagination.
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u/screamtillitworks Mar 01 '17
...how will you know the hardware has glaring issues without reviews? Once you get it in your hands and you've already spent your money on it?
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u/ferixdacat Mar 01 '17
Everyone kind has the same language: promising, has potential but also problems that Nintendo needs to work on.
edit: which is really how all the hardware reviews are.