Topic: It would be pretty nice if Switch got a music player.

I was thinking - with the talk of future new Switch peripherals possibly meaning an official Switch wireless headset (or even just support for 3rd party headsets) a Switch music player would be nice. This is by no means a "must have" but since the Switch does already use MicroSD cards, it wouldn't be hard to just dump a folder full of music onto the Switch. The 3DS had one and I know via streetpass that it saw at least moderate use for a while. Especially among kids. Yeah I know everyone has a smartphone these days, but think about it, Nintendo could integrate the ability into some games to play your own music. I think Sony supported a feature like that for some time. Adding support for this would also open the door to games like Audiosurf 1 and 2. Rhythm games that let you use your own music. (I would LOVE Audiosurf on the go!)

It's probably extremely unlikely, but I think it would be a really nice feature to have. I am no programmer but from what I do know about it, it's not that hard of a thing by modern standards. Not particularly demanding on the machine either. 25 year old laptops can play MP3s in the background while doing other things.

I was also thinking that a Switch specific player could have a "low power/screen off" mode too.

Am I the only one who would be interested in this kind of feature?

I’ve thought it would be cool too. I liked copying music to Xbox to play over games. I see no reason not to have one.

something in lines of spotify, yes!
something in lines of Nintendo 3DS Music, not sure, but still pretty cool!

You could always just use your phone or something to play music.

@Meowpheel You could use that argument for pretty much all apps people want on Switch. Internet? Smartphone. YouTube? Smartphone. Music Player? Smartphone. Doesn‘t mean I wouldn‘t agree with you, though. I have zero need for any non-gaming applications on pretty much any console.

I'd use it.

@GoldenGamer88 exactly that. The Switch is primarily a hybrid gaming device and positioned as such. I wouldn't mind not having a single media app on the device personally.

I'd like it but my priority is a photo viewer. I really need that. A music player is not something I really need but it would be a nice plus. I hope Nintendo will do something about multimedia apps soon. OFFLINE, NON-STREAMING based multimedia apps. I don't care about Netflix and similar things

Sometimes I just turn Rocket League on for music, that game seem to have a pretty good mix. However, I really dislike having to turn on another device when I want to do something common and simple, like play music. I rarely use my phone anymore and I never use my phone on my TV or connect it to the external speakers. So having a way to play music or other simple things would be great. I mean, I still keep my PS3 around for DVD/BR.
But Hulu is getting a lot more viewing than it ever did in the past, that is for sure.

I think the Switch would be useless as a portable media player.

1. Bad sound quality: they have audible background hiss and power output through the amp is pretty low.
2. No USB-DAC support: So you cannot use an external DAC/amp for quality headphones.
3. Weak battery: They would drain quickly for only playing music. Not worth it.

Almost every smartphone does a better job than the NSW.

@Meowpheel you could always use your phone to play games on too.

@DTMOF84 yup. There's some good games there too.

Glad to see someone appreciates mobile.

When I like a console I get very passionate about it. I don't mind if the output quality is not the best, I like to have all my things on it because I'm passionate about that console. I kept my most meaningful and favourite photos on my Wii Photo channel even if it was not capable of HD quality.
If I had a mp3 player on Switch I'd probably put only my favourite openings and endings of JoJo anime on it and nothing else to save space for games on the SD but it would be fun and pleasant to have all my favourite things on my favourite console. It is not about sound quality. I even used a lot the 3DS image viewer!!!

1. What are you talking about, most people won't care and also I have some snake oil you might like
2. Technically it has a USB Type C port so it is just as capable as any other device in that regard
3. It has a 4300mah battery which is bigger than pretty much all smartphones. When people try to argue that the Switch has a small battery they're usually quoting the number of hours it lasts playing BotW or Skyrim. Playing music barely consumes any power at all, especially if you don't have the screen on.

So those three points are nonsense but in your defence these points are not:
4. The Switch won't fit in your pocket unlike a smartphone
5. The Switch won't push music to bluetooth speakers and Sonos and is unlikely to link to last.fm ect
6. On my smartphone I can put in a 30-60GB microSD card and just fill it with music but on the Switch I want that storage for games. So even if I could and the size wasn't an issue I'd still put my music on my phone.

But on the other side of the argument? I have started to see people bring out the Switch on public transport. If you've got your headphones on playing Skyrim and likely missing your stop being able to listen to your own mp3s rather than the game? That'd be kinda cool I'd imagine.

1. People WILL compare the sound quality to their smartphone and if the smaller device in their pocket (that also has Spotify, Apple Music, Qobuz, etc. on it), then why even bother? BTW, you can try to sell me snake oil, I'm author on various headphone review sites.
2. It has a USB-C connection, that your talented eyes did find. But Nintendo restricted the access to external devices and unless they grant access to the necessary protocols, the device will NOT support external DACs.
3. The CPU does not drain the battery as much as you think. The display does. But when you turn off the display, the whole device goes into sleep. In order to continue playing music, Nintendo would have to change that and that they won't do.

I'd use it. I would Love if I could play my music during gaming on the Switch. How awesome would that be?

The main reason I would like to see it, that most of you see to have missed, is the ability to play music in-game or to have rhythm games that support your own music library. Of course something like a smartphone works better for general use.

Though @Meowpheel I couldn't disagree more. Smartphone games are bottom of the barrel junk. Or massively inferior ports.

@Heavyarms55 it would be another nice plus, expecially in certain games like racing games for example, but I'd like to have a mp3 player even if it did not have this feature. It would be cool anyway imho. Multimedia apps just give something more to the appealof a gaming console imho, something that makes a game console much more special and personal for its user. It is something very intriguing for me.

@Switchcraft
Yes, and as you stated they could get around those new points you have just crafted if they really wanted to be serious about having a music player. But they won't because the Switch would be a horrible portable music player for other reasons. Specifically the other three reasons I pointed to which you have now claimed as your own. No music app support, too bulky and no space for your own collection

And BTW, you said weak battery not "they don't let the Switch go into standby mode". And they do support USB headsets via the dock so there's no reason why an external DAC couldn't be made even now. So I stand by my comment that your points were nonsense. Also, yes I do know that it's the screen which consumes most of the power. It's why I made a point of mentioning it.

@skywake Whatever you say, boss. I don’t think my points were useless because they are from my perspective. I see there is no point in arguing so let’s just agree that it’s a stupid idea and it is hard to imagine many people using the Switch with its current hardware as a music player instead of their phone. Either way, have a nice day.