One problem that many Switch owners have with the Switch is that it doesn’t support any video streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. The ability to support these services has become standard for video game consoles; the Switch’s competitors, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, both have video streaming capabilities and the Switch’s predecessors, the Wii and Wii U, also had these abilities.
This issue was brought up to the President of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, in an interview with The Washington Post. When asked about video streaming services, Fils-Aime responded that Nintendo’s first priority with the Switch is for it to be a great gaming console and to worry about non-video game related activities later. Fils-Aime says, “We built the Nintendo Switch to be a world-class gaming device, meaning we want you first and foremost to play games on the system and have an incredibly fun experience.”
Nintendo appears confident that the uniqueness of the Switch itself and its game selection is enough for the Switch to stay competitive against the PS4 and Xbox One, with Fils-Aime stating that the Switch’s inabilities to stream from Netflix, Hulu, etc. “are not differentiators.” However, Fils-Aime also confirmed that video streaming capabilities would eventually come to the Switch. He says, “We’re talking to a range of companies about other services, companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon — things that will come in time.”
Until that time comes, Fils-Aime has faith that the Switch’s ability to go mobile and its list of exclusive games, which includes the critically acclaimed launch title The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the highly anticipated Super Mario Odyssey, are enough to keep Switch users happy until video streaming services come.