Nintendo Switch Won't Come With Multimedia Features Like Netflix At Launch

The Nintendo Switch will let users play games on their TVs and will allow them to seamlessly play on the go without skipping a beat. However, it looks like gaming will be the only thing that users will be able to do as it won’t come with much multimedia support when it launches in March.

Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS both come with the Netflix app that allows users to stream TV shows and movies. With the Nintendo Switch, that same functionality won’t initially be available. “The Switch isn’t going to replace your iPad — it’s a dedicated gaming machine to the point where it won’t have many multimedia functions at launch,” according to Business Insider.

The report specifically noted that users won’t be able to watch Netflix on the Nintendo Switch. However, there’s no word yet if the console will come with other video services, like YouTube, at launch. Since Nintendo already has the Netflix app for the Wii U and the 3DS, it’s possible that the company may release it for the Switch at a later date.

It’s also important to point out that when the Wii U launched back in 2012, Netflix was immediately available on day one. For the 3DS, the Netflix app was only made available four months later after it launched, according to Siliconera.

This might disappoint some fans who may have wanted an all-in-one console on day one. Not only would the Switch allow users play on the go, it could have also enable them to stream TV shows and movies on the go — something that’s impossible on Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4.

Looking at it at a different perspective, Nintendo appears to be focusing more on the gaming aspects of the Switch rather than anything else which is reassuring for longtime fans and hardcore gamers.