The Nintendo Switch is truly a breath of fresh air from the Japanese gaming giant. Nintendo has once again managed to reimagine the console gaming experience in a way that is not just different for the sake of being different — which was the company’s mistake with the Wii U — it’s different for a reason. The Switch’s convertible design and detachable Joy-Con controllers are actually game-changers (pun intended, sadly). The console was obviously a bit rushed, as evidenced by the lackluster launch lineup of games and the aggravating lack of app support, but the sky is the limit thanks to Nintendo’s creative new design.
Early reviews were very enthusiastic, and early adopters have been overwhelmingly happy with the Switch so far as well. There are still a number of complaints that gamers have with the new system though, and now a top Nintendo executive has addressed them directly in a new interview.
Earlier on Wednesday, we pulled a very important tidbit out of The Washington Post’s interview with Nintendo America’s chief operating officer, Reggie Fils-Aime. In it, Fils-Aime confirmed that the company is working to bring support for popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon video to the Nintendo Switch.
The Switch is a gaming device first and foremost, of course, but video game consoles are used for much more than just playing video games these days. Nintendo knows that, but the company was clearly in a hurry to release the new console at a time when there is nothing new on the horizon from any of its top rivals in terms of hardware.
Elsewhere in The Washington Post’s interview, Fils-Aime addressed some common gripes that people have after spending some time with the Switch following its release this past Friday. First and foremost, the exec was asked about the small and, quite frankly, disappointing launch lineup. Apart from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there really isn’t much happening on the Switch right now.
“When you think about a new platform, what will define it as a long-term success are the ongoing range of games and experiences that come to the platform — not what’s available on Day One,” Fils-Aime responded. “For the Nintendo Switch, we were very deliberate in wanting to make sure, from a Nintendo publish standpoint, that we had a steady cadence of great games in addition to strong titles at launch.”
He continued, “My answer is to look at the games that have been announced and are in development, and that should drive your purchase decision.”
Fils-Aime addressed some other common complaints about the Nintendo Switch in the interview, and he also discussed what he believes to be the Switch’s key differentiators when compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles. Check out the full interview on The Washington Post.
