Kinda surprised at their score. The IGN Nintendo voice chat is my go-to podcast cause of Jose and Peer, and I thoroughly enjoyed the podcasts when Matt,Mark&Craig were the Nintendo team there.
Thus far, the only concerning things I've read in reviews is the drop in FPS in Zelda in console mode and the 'de-sync' joy-con issue. Hopefully all that gets ironed out in the day one patch.
Eurogamer's review mentioned that it's on par with the Shield TV, and they managed to get GCN games via emulation to run on the shield in 1080p at 30fps. Giggedy!!
Actually I'm not too surprised by the hardware score itself, we all know that it is overall a compromised console hardware wise. There simply isn't any point denying that. It's what myself and others have been saying since the unveiling of the Switch and even running up to it ...
(Outside of that, the kickstand seems to be a common point hardware wise that all reviewers are pointing out is not great build quality wise).
But reality check time, we all know that this is a machine of compromise whether it be underpowered in dock mode as a home console, with what seems half-baked solution to online gameplay (any new console hardware device that is from outset reliant on third party hardware to deliver a solution to something like online voice chat and multiplayer lobby creation has a major flaw) or in its Tablet mode with the short battery life, no street pass and small fiddly button layout on the joy-cons (not to mention it's current Bluetooth desync issue) ...
Factor in the high price for hardware and accessories and the tiny 32gb internal storage and yes, it is when considered entirely on it's hardware merit alone a 6.7 / 10 (indeed that might be generous).
And yes, it does look like from a hardware power POV, the switch is being maxed out day 1 with Zelda at 900p, so we shouldn't expect too much future evolution of game fidelity as the device is already pushing it's limits. It explains why footage analysis shows Mario Odyssey is running maxed at 720p with no anti-aliasing and same for Splatoon 2. Wii U port MK8 is running 1080p but no anti-aliasing either ...
But the reason any of us who are actually picking this up for remains consistent and that's to play those first party Nintendo titles at the end of the day. We're not buying them for it being the best tablet device or powerful home console, because it's neither of those things from a hardware standing. But what it is, is the only platform we are going to see the future batch of first party games developed on. Because of that many of us are willing to see past or overlook the hardware shortcomings.
If Mario Odyssey and Zelda, Metroid, animal crossing, captain toad, pikmin and such were also launching on Xbox 1 and PS4 Pro, then indeed the hardware would then become a very contentious factor and we would likely buy those games on other hardware if they provided improved graphics, frame rates and a more robust online service. But we can't....
We have to compromise our hardware expectations in order to play those titles (nintendo gives us no other choice) and we do so in the hope that those first party games will provide us with a fantastic game.
If it turns out that future game quality veers closer to Wii U's Star Fox than Zelda BOTW quality, then we will have a problem with the hardware and software ....
Until then the hardware, is secondary to the software. And that's where and why I have been hesitant the most, simply by the lack of first party announcements ....
Hopefully E3 as I've said before brings more game announcements.
If it turns out I've bought a Switch for a mere handful of games, well I've wasted far worse money wise on gaming. (Considering how much I must have spent on Skylanders figures alone each for each new game in the franchise would likely pay for 3 switches alone) ....
