I was looking up some footage for Empire of Sin, since the game cannot support recording on Nintendo Switch. What I found, however, is that there is none? Or rather, everyone who covers the Switch version of the game isn't actually showing the Switch version.

I understand wanting clean footage. I have a YouTube channel. You do what you can. However, it seems to me that, at some point, this becomes false advertising, which is a shitty thing to do to your audience.

Look at the above. The top picture is taken from one of the few Switch reviews of Empire of Sin. The bottom picture is a screenshot I've taken with the Switch share function. You can see a very clear difference. In the top pic, the visuals are consistent and sharp. On the bottom, textures are low resolution and blown out, lighting is broken; it looks like a nightmare. They are two fully different experiences, not to mention that Empire of Sin on Switch mostly runs single digit frames per second and none of that footage does so. People should know that! You should show people that! If your game is ugly and unwatchable, for that specific version, you have to let people see that firsthand. Otherwise, what's even the point of specifying? If you're worried that people are going to call out how awful your footage is, tell them the reason. That's the game! You're seeing the game as it is!

It reminded me of when Hyrule Warriors got a 3DS port and the press was raving about it, because everyone who reviewed it had the privilege of owning a New 3DS. Meanwhile, on my launch 3DS, Hyrule Warriors was nigh unplayable; one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. That was shitty. I felt lied to, especially by pundits I trusted. It was disillusioning that no one even bothered to check and the one left holding the bag was me.

I guess what I'm saying is that the choice between faithfulness and convenience is something to consider when doing any sort of coverage. Like, for instance, I use .gifs in my chosts because I know people react to moving pictures more. E.g. my most recent chost didn't use .gifs (on top of being an obscure reference) and got no reaction whatsoever. I will, however, do my best to show a game in a suitable, authentic state where possible. If that means a .gif is a blown out shitshow, it means that game looked that way, before 4K 60fps upscaled emulators made you think it looked different. That's not the game; you're selling a fantasy. And the fantasy doesn't always live up to expectations :)