Topic: Why I think Youtube and Netflix could be locked behind the online service

This is why I believe Youtube and Netflix could be locked behind the online service. For a start, There has not been much mention of Youtube or Netflix since last month when Nintendo said that "conversations were ongoing to bring Youtube and Netflix to the Switch". Nintendo also recently said that they were looking for more things to add to the online service to makeit worthwhile. Put them together and it could mean that Youtube and Netflix will be locked behind the online service.

I think it's nice that YouTube and Netflix aren't offered on the Switch. That makes the Switch feel more like a dedicated console. Besides, I have several other devices that are better suited for streaming services.

@DannyBoi that's a bit of a reach imo. Hulu isn't at the moment obviously and changing course and requiring it after the online launches would be a really bad move. Also the X1 and PS4 don't require Gold/Plus for these apps so that would be another PR blow. Of course we will have to just wait a couple months and see but I don't think this will happen.

@Magician The Switch is like a tablet(more like an Ipad). And yes, without apps it does feel likea dedicated console. But the PS4 is a dedicated console as is the Xbox one and they both have Youtube and Netflix apps. And if they do lock it behind the online service, then it makes Nintendo look awkward compared to Sony or Microsoft(both of which do not lock Youtube or Netflix behind their subscriptions).

Nintendo has a history of doing their own thing, especially when compared to their competitors in the market. I suppose it's part of their...charm. As Jeremy Parish from USgamer likes to say, "Nintendo excels at 'just enough'". So I don't believe they're holding YouTube and/or Netflix hostage as you suggest. I think Nintendo is being really slow, and is in no hurry to add those services to the Switch.

I assume their perspective is that they could take it...or leave it.

And I wouldn't care if they left it.

@Magician yeah I've never understood the fascination and outrage that's always associated with the Switch not having these apps. I mean if you can complain about it on a forum than you already have at least one device that can already play these probably even better than the switch will. Is it really that big of a deal?

@redd214 Yes it is a big deal. And to be honest, Nintendohave been slow with getting things sorted on the Switch in general.

@DannyBoi not really imo. It's really only a big deal if you make it one. Like I said you already have at least one device that can do YouTube and Netflix, why not just use that instead of focusing on devices that don't. It's like complaining you can't pop popcorn in your oven when you have a microwave that does it just fine. Why not just use that.

I doubt it and also I don't see why it's a big deal. It's just a bullet point for people on forums like this....

I'm really not sure why they're not already on Switch, as they realistically should be, but I don't think they're holding them back for the online subscription either.

Our smart TV (LG) has trouble streaming a steady HD picture, it's hit or miss getting the app to even work on our PS3 these days (though it didn't used to be this way), and while it works fine on my tablet, it doesn't support HD streaming, so having it available on Switch would be nice.

Maybe optimizing the app to support both portable & docked resolution settings is more trouble than either Netflix or YouTube are willing to deal with?

@RR529 if you just want YouTube and Netflix on your TV, I recommend buying a Chromecast. Cheap and and it hangs behind the TV so it isn't visible. And there are loads of other apps besides YouTube and Netflix on it, apps that never comes to consoles.

There should be no technical reason they are not available on switch.

I don't think it will be locked behind the paid online, rather I don't think it'll come to Switch at all.

@Grumblevolcano I sense there is a disagreement of sorts between Nintendo and Youtube/Netflix.

Sounds stupid enough to be something Nintendo would do.

@19Robb92 Yeah. And I mean it could be that Nintendo are concerned over the Switch being hacked through the apps.

Why would Youtube and Netflix be locked behind a paywall when Hulu is not? The whole thing is a non-issue to me, anyway. Just in the living room, I have 5 devices that can use Netflix; TV, Roku, 3DS, Wii U, my cell phone. Combine that with the other rooms, and I already own 12 devices that can use Netflix and Youtube. I don't need or want more non-gaming things on my gaming device.

It's really not a big deal. You've probably got a PS4/XONE, phone/tablet, laptop or PC which can run it and so the Switch not having it isn't a big deal at all.

@subpopz in right there with you. There's 4 of us and we have 13 that do already. Just something else to get the pitchforks out about honestly

Hulu alone debunks that already. Nintendo is just slow at it. The 3DS (and I believe Wii U, but I might be misremembering) took forever to get an Internet browser, the eShop, Netflix, and the like (although the Wii U started with the browser and eShop Day 1).

And yeah, I do have multiple other devices that do this stuff - a beefy PC and a good phone for my multimedia things. So why can't the Switch join that too? It would be convenient to just stick to one device at a time instead of fumbling around with multiple at a time. I don't see why people want to flat-out say "no" to YouTube and Netflix. Priorities on other UI stuff? Sure, but a complete lock against apps like YouTube/Netflix seems like a bit of unnecessary chest-beating.

@Magician I really don't understand that mindset at all. Why does having streaming apps somehow makes it not feel like a console...? If you personally don't need or want them, you'd be under no obligation to use them. But others like myself really want them. If I got YouTube, Netflix, Twitch and Crunchyroll on Switch, my PC would see a like a 90% drop in use, as I would prefer to do everything on my Switch.

@DannyBoi I hope they aren't locked behind the service. I could see Nintendo holding them back as a means to attract more attention when the service launches, but I think putting them behind a paywall would make a lot of people really angry. Though I personally wouldn't mind. I say this because, unless I am mistaken because I have used an Xbox in a long time, both PS4 and Xbox One do not have their streaming locked behind their paid online service.