Despite early reports that Netflix might eventually bring its arsenal of original content to the Nintendo Switch, the streaming giant over the weekend indicated that no such plans are currently in place. In response to a question which made a point of noting that demand for Netflix among Switch users is high, Netflix bluntly said that “there are currently no plans for Netflix on Nintendo Switch.”
At this point, it remains unclear why Netflix won’t be landing on the Switch, especially given that Nintendo back in January of last year subtly hinted that support for a wide array of video streaming services — from Hulu to Netflix — was an option being considered.
Netflix’s tweet reads:
https://twitter.com/Netflixhelps/status/952608793648680960
As Nintendo explained early on, the Switch didn’t launch with support for streaming apps because the company wanted to remain laser focused on making the Switch a stellar video game platform.
Back in January of 2017, Nintendo relayed the following tidbit about streaming services in an interview with Kotaku.
All of our efforts have gone toward making the Nintendo Switch system an amazing dedicated video game platform, so it will not support any video-streaming services at launch. However, support for video-streaming services is being considered for a future update.
While that may have sounded promising, subsequent comments from Nintendo America’s Reggie Fils-Aime seemed to suggest that Nintendo wasn’t exactly keen on bringing streaming video services to the Switch.
While noting that Nintendo was in talks with companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, Fils-Aime made a point of noting that such services “are not differentiators.”
“What differentiates us is the way you play with the Nintendo Switch and what you can play,” Fils Aime said during a March interview with The Washington Post. “And that will continue to be our focus into the future as we continue driving this platform.”
All that said, it stands to reason that Nintendo’s early chatter about opening up the Switch to streaming video apps was nothing more than hot air.
