No Internet Browser Will Be Available When the Nintendo Switch Launches
Last month we told you that the Nintendo Switch was going to be a dedicated game platform. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means the focus is more on the gaming, rather than entertainment features. It was confirmed last month that media apps such as Netflix would not be available at launch, and now it has been confirmed that while the Switch has virtual reality capability, it will not be available at launch, and neither will an Internet Browser!
For anyone who has preordered the Nintendo Switch in the hopes of being able to take Netflix, or Youtube on the go, you are out of luck. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima has stated that Nintendo is less focused on the extra features of the console, trying to make the Nintendo Switch a powerful platform for gaming. When asked during an interview conducted by TIME if Miiverse, Mii Maker or Wii U Chat will make an appearance on the Nintendo Switch, Tatsumi Kimishima said: “[I]n terms of the Internet browser, since all of our efforts have gone toward making Switch an amazing dedicated video game platform, it will not support it, at least at launch.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Nintendo Switch will never get these entertainment features in the future! Maybe this will also include virtual reality, as President Kimishima also mentioned that the Nintendo Switch has VR capability, but that Nintendo is keeping their options open and deciding what the “best way to bring virtual reality to our customers as a form of entertainment” is. Hopefully when the Switch launches, Nintendo will announce a whole bunch of multimedia services, including an Internet Browser, Netflix and VR! We’ll all just have to wait and find out together.
Keep it locked for more updates on these services and let us know your thoughts on the lack of these multimedia applications.