It has been confirmed that Netflix will not be available on Nintendo Switch at launch, and that media streaming services in general will be rather limited. A user on NeoGAF contacted Netflix and was told that “at this time, it [Nintendo Switch] does not support Netflix.”
Nintendo’s Kit Ellis has also told a reporter from Business Insider that Netflix will be absent, and the reporter adding the console is “a dedicated gaming machine to the point where it won’t have many multimedia functions at launch.”
Whilst you can get Netflix and other services on many other devices, including the Wii U, streaming services seem to be a no-brianer on devices connected to a television.
Tony Cawley
Nothing wrong with a games console focusing only on gaming in my opinion. They don’t need to be able to do everything as long as they’re good at their primary function.
Avenger
Agreed, the Switch wouldn’t be centre piece of my home entertainment, or anyone else’s for that matter. They can focus on gaming and nothing more, I’d be content with that. B
MrYd
The small handful of people that seem to think this isn’t going to be basically a WiiU2 will presumably be saying “but you can watch Netflix on 4903 other devices, it’s not a problem!”
Everyone else will probably be of the opinion that Netflix (other streaming services are available) is pretty much basic functionality for anything that connects to a TV these days. And it’s going to be totally missing. Along with more than a couple of games that might be remotely interesting.
TSBonyman
Sounds like it won’t have a media player for your local files either, seems a notable omittance for a mobile device in this day and age but perhaps they’ll add some media features later down the line.
The Lone Steven
Oh come on! If they want to compete with other tablets, get Netflix on it! Granted, it isn’t really the main focus of the Switch but having that option would be a nice and usually is the normal option for most things to have nowadays.
sparkyscrum
But is it really completing with tablets in the same way? Yes it can be used in a tablet like mode but it’s very different device.
The Lone Steven
Yes. Not intentionally but it being a tablet has thrown it into that market and taking on mobile gaming is going to involve competing with tablets. It does have the advantage of being able to hook it up to a TV but it will probably be a year or two before that becomes common for tablets.
They really should have thrown Netflix in along with the other standard ones. Sure, people may ignore them but it is handy to have and it adds(kinda) more to the portablity aspect. I say kinda because of the nature of the internet. I wonder how that will be addressed. Will Nintendo work with O2, BT, Vodafone etc… to get the internet part sorted out or will it just be all offline only stuff?
ron_mcphatty
Not sure it needs it really, since most people probably have a telly or other box can can access a good variety of streaming services, and if you’re after something to watch One Upon A Time on the loo with a cheap tablet or phone is a more sensible choice than a console. Let’s focus on the games eh?