I think it's a conscious change of direction from Nintendo. When they designed the Wii they wanted it to be the central family hub. So it had stuff like the message board and News and Weather channels. With the Wii U they tried to continue that and hoped it would be even more well received as it had the tablet-like gamepad.
But now the world has changed. Everyone has smartphones and tablets and they want the Switch to be a place purely for games and unique 'Nintendo' experiences (like LABO). They are deliberately separating it from the (extremely competitive) tablet/smartphone/smart-TV marketplace. They want it to carve out its own niche.
I'll never understand why people complain about this crud.
It's a game console. It plays games.
I hate this idea that every device needs to do everything. My fridge can't just be a fridge anymore - it has to have a smart screen on it. My thermostat can't just be a thermostat - it has to secretly monitor me for the government (lol).
You would think that devices doing everything would serve to cut down on the number of devices we have in our lives, but it seems to be doing the opposite.
Gah.
The Switch is fine. I can download a game or insert a cartridge and play it. Success.
This. I don't need every single device in existence to have every single function. If I want to use a browser I have two things that were designed with internet browsing in mind.
Give us things that improve the gaming experience (sorting games, messaging friends,...) but a gaming device really doesn't need non-gaming functions that other widespread devices have been doing better for years.
I’m OK with the features the Switch has right now; actually, not having features such as a dedicated browser and the entire suite of streaming services make it feel like a more dedicated gaming console. It’s not trying to compete with the other console’s multimedia capabilities.
I’m at a loss as to why we still don’t have themes or folders, though.
I have a laptop, and iPad, and a phone. I don’t need a web browser on the switch.
Folders might be nice, but I don’t have enough games for it to be an issue at the moment.
On the subject of themes, it’s apparently to keep the menu quick and simple. I do wish they offered more colors though, like a turquoise theme for my lite.
@DannyBoi
No browser on any console or handheld gaming device has been better than the cellphone in your pocket. Nintendo must have figured why waste our time? As far as the transferring of save files to an SD card good question not sure any of us will understand that one. For online games I would see them always restricting this to not allow item duplication and other hacks. Now that I brought that up that's probably the reason for no SD saves, hacking. Personally the only point you brought up that brings me great distress is messaging, without it its hard to make friends with randoms you play with online. However I have joined Nintendo Discord groups and made friends that way.
The real question is why don't we have folders? I have 201 games I need a good way to organize
Hmm what I really would want to have is like a notepad app that can be switched to without closing the game, to jot down notes for games like Zelda with a stylus as a reference. Also a messaging and voice chat feature is dearly needed. I don't mind not having a browser though. Youtube is nice and while I wouldn't personally use it, I'd say finally bring Netflix and thelikes too. Themes would be nice and they could make them available for that bonus point thing - to do SOMETHING with it.
#supportindies
Top 5 Indies I'd recommend you try: #1 Lovecraft's Untold Stories, #2 Moonlighter, #3 Hotline Miami, #4 Inside, #5 Into the Breach.
Netflix is kinda going out in relevance. Nowadays you’d need to have a full suite of video-on-demand subscription apps and that would be kinda too many already...
I think just YouTube is ok. At least you can also buy/rent movies and watch them there.
It Might be a easy question sense there dealing with the Mario rpg issue and the mistakes they made there trying to redeem there self for there failers I can't blame them.
And regarding Netflix, the problem is with Netflix. Nintendo want the app on Switch, but Netflix aren't putting it on there for some reason. It is long overdue.
The Wii had an internet browser app that lets you view photos and videos, and the ability back up MOST save data on an sd card. The 3DS had an internet browser and backing up save data on digital games. Even the Wii U had an internet browser
All of these things were attack vectors for piracy
Anyways, as others have said, I don't understand why people always create threads begging for Netflix or browsers anyways. Don't you have other, better devices to browse the internet and watch movies on? Obviously I wouldn't be opposed to Netflix or even a browser if it did come out but.... why are you so desperate for it? Is it just some item on a list you want to check off or is there some actual need for it?
The reason we are so desperate for these features on Switch is because it is actually holding back the console from what it can do. I don't know what agenda Nintendo has by holding back all these features, but it doesn't benefit them at all. I will break down why not having these features is a problem: Not being able to message your mates on the console is a problem as the NSO app is a pain to use and you are constantly having to flip between looking at the tv screen and looking at your phone screen. Every other console allows messaging on the console. There is no internet browser on the Switch. Now this could potentially be used for piracy as it was on wii and wii u, and I can understand its absence, but if you are playing a game(like mario oddysey or breath of the wild) and you are stuck, you then have to either use your laptop or tablet to find a guide. With a browser on the console, you would not have to keep using your tablet or laptop for a guide and just suspend the game for a few minutes while you find the solution on the Switch's browser. Gonna carry this on in another post. Way too long.
Not being able to backup save data on an SD card. Again, there are risks for potential piracy with this one and I can understand its absence. Where it becomes a problem however is that the only way to back up game saves are on the cloud requiring an NSO subscription. Now at £20 I'm not gonna argue its cheap(especially compared to PS Plus or Xbox live gold). But for those who do not want to subscribe to NSO have no way of backing up their game saves and thus the ability to back up save files is locked behind a paywall and it does not matter how cheap it as it is still locked behind a paywall. Netflix not being on the Switch. Well, this is somewhat of a strange one as we don't know what is going on with the app on Switch, but having everything on one device is highly convenient as it means that you do not have to constantly switch between devices.
Forums
Topic: Why are Nintendo holding back basic features of the Nintendo Switch?
Posts 21 to 40 of 48
This topic has been archived, no further posts can be added.