• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.
  • Do you have audio editing experience and want to help out with the Famiboards Discussion Club Podcast? If so, we're looking for help and would love to have you on the team! Just let us know in the Podcast Thread if you are interested!

Discussion Will we see more Media apps on the switch 2 or even the switch.

Steve

Steve

Like Like
Pronouns
he/him
I have recently learned that the 3DS had Netflix, which baffles my mind, since i never knew the 3DS had Netflix, until couple of minutes ago
Like did Netflix have a huge chokehold, in which gaming company were paying these streaming services to be on their consoles.

So comes the question, why? Like maybe because Nintendo doesn't want to pay a fee (most likely answer), Doesn't want people to think their device has multi media device, like Xbox or they didn't bothered. Like the Wii was meant to have DVD support, but Nintendo just wasn't bothered to do it because of licensing fee. Also the evidence is there because the OG Wii had a device meant to play DVD.

Switch has youtube and crunchyroll (Where i live) and that's it.

I'm curios if we'll see an increase of Apps for the switch 2 or maybe not, since it's not needed, because the switch 2 will be first and foremost a gaming device


Wii_Menu_DVD_DiskChannel.png
 
0
If it doesn't make sense to have those apps on a 130 million install base system, it definitely doesn't make sense to have them on Switch 2.

I personally don't know the reason for the former, but maybe its what Racoon said.
 
They won’t. There might be some outliers but by and large I think most of these companies don’t see a need to build apps for consoles. This isn’t the late ‘00/early ‘10 era when “smart” TVs and streaming devices were just coming onto the market.

Linkstrikesback said:
That's got nothing to do with it. If companies wanted to put heir multimedia streaming services on switch, Nintendo would happily let them. They're just not going to go begging for them.
Click to expand...
Media companies probably have enough metrics by now to know where they need to invest their development resources. If most of their user base are happy with the app available on their smart tv and phone or tablet there’s little incentive to build yet another app for a new platform that they then need to support.
 
For those who want them I hope so because options rule. For me personally it's no dealbreaker or selling point at all. All the apps I use are on every device I own already, including my refrigerator (joke of course, though my refrigerator does have apps which kinda annoys me since it feels unnecessary but different story yada yada)
 
0
If someone at Netflix, Disney, et al. crunches the numbers and decides it makes sense, then sure, we'll see the likes of Netflix, Disney+, etc. on the system. I don't see Nintendo altering course to actively push for those apps, though.
 
0
shoptroll said:
They won’t. There might be some outliers but by and large I think most of these companies don’t see a need to build apps for consoles. This isn’t the late ‘00/early ‘10 era when “smart” TVs and streaming devices were just coming onto the market.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is the biggest thing, I believe.

Nintendo's main competition for the last decade and some change has been smartphones and tablets. And for better or worse, they can't really compete with that. Nor do I think Nintendo even wants to.
 
Netflix wanted to be on any device possible because it wanted to grow and make sure everyone had something that could run Netflix. But if everybody already has two devices that can run Netflix, making sure they have a third or fourth doesn't help the growth much anymore.
 
JoshuaJSlone said:
Netflix wanted to be on any device possible because it wanted to grow and make sure everyone had something that could run Netflix. But if everybody already has two devices that can run Netflix, making sure they have a third or fourth doesn't help the growth much anymore.
Click to expand...
You would think the hybrid nature would provide a littlebit of value. Parents wants to watch the news? No problem I take Netflix with me to my room.

But then again, they probably can do that on a tablet/laptop/phone etc.
 
I think the age of game consoles being the all-in-one media center has passed what with the rise of smart TVs, smart phones with data, and dirt-cheap streaming sticks, and the Switch with its huge install base not even getting Netflix is evidence of that

I'm not expecting much to change going forward as far as streaming apps on Switch are concerned
 
Last edited:
Honestly I hope so. My personal belief is that because Nintendo was coming from the smoldering wreckage of Wii U, they were doing everything they can to get back to basics: this is a game device. It plays games. You turn it on, you go to your game, you press A and it loads. No nonsense, no waiting, no bullshit.

But with a new console, that does have fancy bells and whistles, I kinda hope some more effort is made for multimedia apps in general just as a point of feature parity for other consoles. There's a certain sense of "Well, why doesn't Switch 2 have [app] when Xbox/PS have it?" that can apply to Twitch (for streaming and not just watching), Discord, Spotify, Netflix, and the other myriad services available. In fact I don't even think it's anything that needs to be exclusive for Switch 2; if any Switch console is docked into the OLED dock, it could theoretically output 4K content as long as a 4K HDMI cable is plugged into a 4K panel when it's just data being fed over the internet to be displayed on a screen. I believe that whether or not it was intentional, the OLED dock was meant to be forward compatible with the new console and I sincerely hope that it is made an option.

Hell, by virtue of portable nature, Switch 2 could download TV shows and movies for offline viewing just because of its portable nature. It's a bigger screen than my phone, and I don't own a tablet or laptop otherwise.
 
Nintendo Switch, to me, has always seemed like the ideal Netflix device. More comfortable to hold than a phone, with literal handles and plenty of "bezel", a tiny "remote" that can sit on the coffee table, a fast interface, a literal media box SOC. Heck, tabletop mode, what a value add!

But then it never happened. Nintendo still doesn't fully support single vertical Joy-Con, nor do media apps have to do so, Netflix never came and Nintendo Video & TVii died before it even released.

They wanted a games machine and made one, pure and simple, they just happened to also create a formfactor perfect for "media consumption" - but Nintendo makes most of their profit from one kind of media, video games. Why put in any effort to court any other?

But wow. Wow. I really WANT more media apps next generation we're looking at, most likely, 4K HDR output, a 1080p HDR screen at nearly 8" diagonal, a better kickstand from the get-go, probably more comfortable controllers! Of course all the same positives apply, the SOC is incredible at video encoding and decoding, the audio system can do surround sound and Bluetooth, the speakers are symmetrical. Nintendo Switch never would have been the perfect top of the line option for any one mode of watching, but it's GOOD ENOUGH, and next generation is gonna be even BETTER.
 
0
Streaming apps for console are just gonna fade away tbh. They made more sense before people had smart tvs/smartphone and tablets that can also connect to their TV.
 
0
Brofield said:
Honestly I hope so. My personal belief is that because Nintendo was coming from the smoldering wreckage of Wii U, they were doing everything they can to get back to basics: this is a game device. It plays games. You turn it on, you go to your game, you press A and it loads. No nonsense, no waiting, no bullshit.

But with a new console, that does have fancy bells and whistles, I kinda hope some more effort is made for multimedia apps in general just as a point of feature parity for other consoles. There's a certain sense of "Well, why doesn't Switch 2 have [app] when Xbox/PS have it?" that can apply to Twitch (for streaming and not just watching), Discord, Spotify, Netflix, and the other myriad services available. In fact I don't even think it's anything that needs to be exclusive for Switch 2; if any Switch console is docked into the OLED dock, it could theoretically output 4K content as long as a 4K HDMI cable is plugged into a 4K panel when it's just data being fed over the internet to be displayed on a screen. I believe that whether or not it was intentional, the OLED dock was meant to be forward compatible with the new console and I sincerely hope that it is made an option.

Hell, by virtue of portable nature, Switch 2 could download TV shows and movies for offline viewing just because of its portable nature. It's a bigger screen than my phone, and I don't own a tablet or laptop otherwise.
Click to expand...
I agree on the whole, but two little bits of bad(ish) news:

Nintendo Switch, excluding OLED Model, doesn't have the circuitry to saturate its DisplayPort - IE, it doesn't have enough wires to do 4K, OLED Model does.

Licencing smicencing and underfunded app developers - YouTube on Nintendo Switch is the Smart TV version, not the mobile version, so no downloads, no YouTube Music. Netflix on Switch would almost certainly fall into the same situation.

And a tiny nit-pick, the name of the dock included with Nintendo Switch - OLED Model is "Nintendo Switch Dock with LAN Port". Much like OLED Model itself, it's been rebranded since reveal, initially they were "Nintendo Switch (OLED Model)" and "Nintendo Switch Dock (With LAN Port)"- the Dock with LAN Port Port is still listed with the brackets in the name on the Nintendo UK store website, but without them on the Nintendo of America support website. All that said, while obviously it doesn't HAVE OLEDs to speak of, it shares a model code with OLED Model and is included with all of them, so I don't think it's silly to call it the "OLED Dock".

That does make me think about another point, the compatibility of the Dock with LAN Port. I know I've beat this drum before but it's... Like, almost hard to ignore how weird it is. It has better ventilation but was supposedly designed around a more efficient revision, it clears all of its USB 3.0 lanes so they can be used for the HDMI port (to support higher resolutions) but OLED Model is 1080p output at most, it can be updated but has never had one to install. It has what appears to be a fast charging mode that OLED Model simply doesn't have the circuitry to use. Heck, Dock with LAN Port even has better clearance, it can fit physically larger devices! Larger devices as of yet unreleased, and a giant rubber foot to stay stable no matter what sized dog you put in that bun.

All these features not used by existing models, and I'm not sure if OLED Model started life as a "Pro" revision and got wound down due to some problem in development, or it's meant to be future and past proof, one dock to rule them all, this gen and next. Personally I think it's a bit of both, and think there's a chance next gen uses the black Dock with LAN Port as its Dock in the box, or perhaps a variation with a new faceplate (which, notably... It has, the flat plastic piece with the logo can be replaced at the factory without redesigning the Dock, like say, a new logo?).

It's a weird device, I like it but I wish it could do everything it was clearly destined to do, perhaps it will next gen!
 
Switch being handheld, makes a lot of sense of for it have media apps, more than the Wii U anyway. Didn't really happen for whatever reason. Kinda lame honestly. Heck the PS5 has some less options than the PS4. Maybe to deter softmodding, IDK. TV apps usually suck too. Oh well.
 
Highly doubt Nintendo is preventing them. There’re already YouTube, Hulu, and Funimation. Netflix probably want special treatment for their app. A shame since I would love netflix and Disney.
 
0
Brofield said:
There's a certain sense of "Well, why doesn't Switch 2 have [app] when Xbox/PS have it?" that can apply to Twitch (for streaming and not just watching)
Click to expand...
Amazon already nuked Twitch on both Roku and Switch which suggests they don’t see a need for it beyond the website and maybe the other consoles (which I don’t have so I don’t know what the state of affairs is there).

There’s a cost to supporting these apps that, like I said above, companies aren’t really seeing the benefits of as much these days. Especially right now when everyone is trying to move to profitability ASAP.

Why do I need to Discord on my Switch when I have a smartphone or tablet sitting next to me and I don’t need to sacrifice any resources on my console to use it?

Why should a company invest resources into clients that aren’t getting significant usage?
 
0
Nintendo is good at games. Why should they waste their time and energy on something that will take away from their customers playing games?

Also, every one has a phone in their pocket that is great at multimedia consumption but not good at video games.

Nintendo is smart to keep their product snappy and focused on what it’s good and what its competition isn’t good at without adding costs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom