The hottest gaming console in town right now is far from perfect. Nintendo’s Switch isn’t powerful enough to run some of the games coming to other gaming systems, it can’t browse the web, and it can’t run other apps like video streaming services. Not being able to run Netflix or YouTube on the Switch might just be one of the worst things about the console, but Nintendo just proved this could be fixed in the future if it actually wanted.
Nintendo users in Japan will get a video streaming service soon. Called NicoNico and available only in Japan, the service will launch on July 13th. What’s exciting about it is that it practically proves that, if it wanted to, Nintendo could bring a slew of other streaming apps to the Switch, including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, and any other company out there looking to expand on the Switch.
【今夜】Nintendo Switch niconicoリリース！
Nintendo Switchで動画を見ようhttps://t.co/OuOADTJOu9 pic.twitter.com/aj3GZWOl1m
— ニコニコ公式＠梅雨入り☂️ (@nico_nico_info) July 12, 2017
In other words, the Switch can support video playback of the streaming kind, which is only to be expected from a device that looks an awful lot like a tablet or smartphone.
Since video streaming services are already available on other gaming consoles, it seems only logical for the Switch to support them as well. Sadly, there’s no telling when and if any of these services will come to the Switch. But it’s likely that the more active users the Switch platforms gets, the more attention it’ll receive from Netflix and everyone else in the video streaming business.
