I am happy they aren't taking measures that angry gamers, and are doing something more traditional this time in terms of game controls at least.

I think the main hate towards "gimmicks" that Nintendo has been pushing for since the Wii is they've usually been so drastically different from traditional gaming and that they've tried so hard to force them and push them as THE next step in gaming, the Wii with it's motion controls was especially severe in this case, I loved the motion controls, but the majority of the opinions I here are unfavorable. The Wii U, while not quite as unfavorable, is still frowned upon with the GamePad and trying to push for interactive gameplay between the TV Screen and the GamePad screen (which they dropped after a while),
With the Switch, the only real gimmick it has is that you can take it with you like a handheld, otherwise, it can be played and treated as a regular console, or handheld depending on how you use it. It's what they originally wanted the Wii U to be and what the Wii U should have been, but they had to cut corners to what the Wii U eventually ended up being because the technology to make it back then was more expensive to make, and instead of a $300-350 system in 2011, we're looking at a $500ish system in 2011.
The general reception for the Switch so far has been more positive than the Wii U, partly because while it still has a gimmick, it's not as forced and is more traditional or traditionally friendly, if that makes sense.

I don't understand. I'm quite certain numerous groups of trendy young adults all over the world are going to huddle around tiny screens playing multi-player with tiny controllers.

Well atleast it wouldn't be a permanent issue without fixes so not as bad if Nintendo screws up with the battery.

maybe it's a joke for you but now I can play with my co workers, students with their classmates, etc etc. "ohh you suck at 2k17" "Oh yea bruh? I'll bring my switch" 

"Hey Onion you have a switch right?" "yeah" "bring that shit to the get-together to play some smash and cod""

I'll use the pro controller of course.

The gimmick not being used doesn't mean it's bad, if that's what you're getting at. I say it's a positive that the gimmick is entirely optional.

For those who are willing to give it a chance regardless of it's battery life, sure. But lets think of it this way. Nintendo is launching a product after the wiiU which wasn't very successful and got a lot of bad rep that targets two different markets that is filled with competition. The console market which is filled with ps4/x1 which this console will not be as powerful as (if the rumors are true) and a tablet market dominated by ipads and Android tablets.

So this has to essentially convince people why they need a tablet in order to play games when their own tablet does the exact same thing and more and also has a bigger battery life while this tablet is coming from the wiiU and doesn't. What I am trying to say is, Nintendo needs to hit as many major checkboxes as possible and when a device is portable, battery life is a major checkbox. So what do you think will happen when the reviews say the battery life is worse than the wiiU gamepad? That will stickout like a shit stain on a gold trophy.

Nintendo has a lot to prove after the wiiU and if they want to sell close to the wiiU + 3ds sales numbers (assuming they don't have something else in the works apart from a smaller NX), they need to get all aspects of this thing right.

I see people huddled over their smart phones all the time. That and current consoles and large screen televisions are not terribly portable.

I guarantee you that a huge market for external battery packs will emerge if this thing is successful that will more than double the battery life while on the go. I can see charger cases being popular. Poor battery life will no doubt be a huge issue, but it definitely won't be a momentum-killing issue. There will be workarounds that will become popular as a result.

Yes... If this thing is successful... Its coming from the wiiU to compete with two markets (console/tablet) both of which are highly competitive...

It needs to be successful first and in order to do that, it needs to hit all those checkboxes to have the best chance. Battery life is a big checkbox if the device is portable.