Nintendo Switch 2 Reviews are missing: Here's why
54It’s official: for the first time in more than 20 years, there will be no pre-release reviews for a new Nintendo console.
According to a company spokesperson, Nintendo decided not to send Switch 2 review units to press ahead of launch because “important features and updates” will only be available via a system update on the day of the console’s official release, on June 5.
It did not say what these updates entail, or explain why the media wasn’t offered the opportunity to review its launch games, like Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Welcome Tour, at in-person events instead, like it did with previous console launches such as Wii. Neither did it explain why critics can’t be trusted to cover products with knowledge that additional functionality will be patched later, as they’re frequently used to.
How and when game creators decide to distribute their review products is, of course, their prerogative, and the media has no right to early samples. Game coverage has also changed drastically over the past decade, with more priority given to post-release coverage of today’s increasingly complex video games.
But a lack of coverage at or before release is bad for you, our readers. When Switch 2 arrives, there will have been no reviews of its software, no analysis of its hardware performance or battery life, or any testing of its key features, such as Game Chat, or how backwards compatible Switch 1 games perform. No hidden gems will be unearthed, and no potential dodgy ports highlighted, before you have a chance of spending your hard-earned money.
And when reviews do arrive, well after launch day, many critics will have been incentivized to rush through their games as quickly as possible, with Google and social media rewarding speed over quality.
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