Report: No Netflix on Nintendo Switch at Launch

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Report: No Netflix on Nintendo Switch at Launch

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1375/1375462.jpgRumor has it that the Nintendo Switch will be missing many multimedia apps at launch, including Netflix.

If you've been hoping that you could use your Nintendo Switch for both gaming and catching up on your Netflix watching when it launches in March, you may be a bit disappointed. According to a report from Business Insider [http://www.businessinsider.com/nintendo-switch-preview-2017-1], the Nintendo Switch "won't have many multimedia functions at launch."

The article credits that information to Nintendo's Kit Ellis. The piece also says "Don't plan to watch Netflix on the Switch, for instance." Nintendo may plan to add that functionality post-launch, but it sounds like you'll have to use some other device to finish catching up on your favorite shows, at least at launch.

It's worth mentioning that Netflix and other services do not rate a mention anywhere on the official Nintendo Switch site [http://www.nintendo.com/switch/]. There's also the matter of the paid online service that will launch later this year. Could Nintendo require that you subscribe in order to use apps like Netflix? It's certainly possible, as Microsoft has done the same in the past. The 3DS and the Wii U both have their own Netflix apps, but we'll have to wait and see if the Switch joins them in that regard.




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[Borty The Bort]

Nintendon't do what everyone else does, because they are deluded contrarians.

 

[go-10]

do people really care about this?
given how easy it is to get Netflix just about everywhere else who really cares?

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I'm pretty sure anyone who has a Netflix subscription does not need or want the switch for their netfix. I'm also pretty sure that those looking to get a Netflix subscription aren't basing their purchase of a Switch on it. 98% sure. That's still 2% wiggle room for being wrong.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

I get what people are saying about how Netflix is available pretty much everywhere, but seriously? Netflix is pretty much basic, prerequisite functionality at this point. Even though if I was getting a Switch this wouldn't affect my life that much, it still makes me stop and wonder what Nintendo is thinking. If they are going for the casual market wouldn't including media apps like Netflix make it that much more attractive to someone who isn't a "hardcore" gamer? The Switch seems to me like a big Gameboy. It is good that all of this info is coming out now and everyone can make an informed decision upon release.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

And I remember back in the day when the Wii not playing DVDs was a scandal.

It's software. And on the off chance it isn't built into your TV, DVD/Blu Ray player, your satellite/cable box, and you don't own any of the 6-7 other consoles that run it, there's a good chance Netflix will show up eventually.

 

[Leg End]

And I remember back in the day when the Wii not playing DVDs was a scandal.

That's nothing. Remember when Netflix didn't even have a downloadable application for the Wii and PS3 and you needed a disc? Wasn't all that long ago either.

Well, depending how you view 6-7 years. I don't even use the service so this announcement doesn't phase me in the slightest.

 

[Amaror]

Not good news in my opinion. Now I know that netflix is hardly hard to come by in this day and age, but that doesn't mean that it's not bad news that it isn't included in the switch, because it's just one more thing upon the giant pile of things that the switch won't be able to do.
Graphically intense gaming? - Nope
Multiplayer chat and organization with friends? - Nope
Gaming without making sure that your controllers are charged a few hours in advance? - Nope
And now: Basic Multimedia functionality? - Nope
And stuff like netflix is such a basic functionality at this point it doesn't bode well that it isn't included. It's like if Microsoft would be releasing it's new version of Windows with Microsoft Word not being able to run at release. It's not what I use Windows primarily for and I will use other ways to do my document processing on my computer anyway. But the fact that it's missing shows that Microsoft has dropped the ball with that windows release and if they couldn't even include something as basic as this I have to ask the question: What else is missing?

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

For better or for worse, Nintendo's stated goal has been to make a gaming console that can play the games they want to make. They don't seem to be interested in trying to make multimedia devices.

Mind that to me begs the question: is Netflix a big thing in Japan? Because it's exclusion may be down to there being no install base in Japan worth courting. And like Altname said, Netflix is software so adding it later isn't a huge hassle for foreign markets.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

In addition to (virtually) no games at launch, they are also skipping the streaming bandwagon? Why do you hate the value of your stock so much Nintendo?

 

[MHR]

No Nintendo and chill?

 

[Strelok]

No Netflix on a console at launch? What the Hell are you going to do with it for the first four years?

 

[TheMajesticSpaceDuck]

PS 4, PS3, PC, Phone, Tablet, laptop. I don't really need the switch to play Netflix. So that's not the reason I've decided not to get one. It's every other Nintendo move that made me decide not to buy one.

 

[J.McMillen]

PS 4, PS3, PC, Phone, Tablet, laptop. I don't really need the switch to play Netflix. So that's not the reason I've decided not to get one. It's every other Nintendo move that made me decide not to buy one.

Don't forget your Blu-Ray player or even your TV itself. Not to mention plenty of sub $100 streaming devices that have Netflix if you really don't have anything else.

 

[cathou]

hey, remember when in canada netflix had only about the quarter of the availaible titles that they had in the USA, and when even if they have a full french dubbed catalog for france, they decided to not make it available in canada ?

oh silly me, that's still the case today. that's probably why i dont use it.

anyway, maybe it's because nintendo decided to do a gaming console, and not a an attempt to do a multimedia console...

 

[RaikuFA]

I have Hulu, I'm safe.