Nintendo Switch Parental Controls to Utilise Smartphone App, Shown Off With Awesome Bowser Advert

I'm surprised this is being posted just now. This was revealed like 10 hours ago at least

I enjoyed that!

Thank god i am not a child in this age

Basic, but cute. I liked how they chose Bowser and his son instead of stick figures at least.

"Suspent", @ThomasBW84? I think someone needs some shut-eye....

This doesn't really apply to me, but a coworker will appreciate this news.

I love how bowser had a picture of peach as his wallpaper.

Just imagine, you've been trudging through a big, obnoxious dungeon for over an hour, this boss is tough, your health is almost depleted and your potions are all gone, a few more hits oughtta bring down this beast aaand...Your time is up! Sleep mode activated! 8o Oh no!

@Seacliff

Yeah it was pretty cute.

@Urameshi Maybe not a top priority for most of the crowd here. There was a fire hose of info dumped on the official site last night and leaving this until later makes a lot of sense to me.

Hope there's a cool companion video like this for the online gaming app. Hmm... who

@Tingle_The_Great

I know. I was cracking up at that. XD

I remember finding our Master System controllers hidden in the bread bin and carrying on playing Wonder Boy in Monster Land. Not gonna be so easy for today's youf.

Cute cartoon, smart tech, and hilarious. I like it!

Ah, yes. The Koopa King, model parent in all of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Well, at least in terms of gaming with Bowser Jr.

Side note here, I like how Bowser could use his tiny smartphone with his claws, the touchscreen over there must be more advanced than the ones we have.

I hope it autosaves the game. Glad I grew up in the era where you could use the excuse that you needed to find a save point for a little bit more time (but not too much, there was a button mom or dad could press when they had enough of you on the TV, and it was called the power button).

Yes I've been waiting for you to share this :3 I love this commercial, it's awesome <3 Bowser is best dad ever :3

Anyone noticed Bowser's smartphone is smaller than the joy-sticks? I think I don't need to mention Peach

Yeah my girlfriend is definitely going to figure out how to use this on me.

@Token_Girl

Lol right?

@Captain_Gonru Maybe the app could connect with the Switch locally, possibly through Bluetooth? Just baseless speculation.

I could see this app being online-only, since it could block any online communication, like voice chat and stuff. That, and also Bowser could essentially trigger sleep mode without being near the Switch, at least judging from the video.

I thought the video itself was cute and well made. And there are probably already parents out their moniotring their kids behavior using apps, so this is something they'll immediately understand. And hopefuly it's free. I do think it also needs to be on the device, cat recall seeing it there before but I didn't look that hard for it. Probably is.

No harm, no foul, +1 for Nintendo. Needs to be free though.

***KIDS DROPS JOY-GRIP...GRABS IPAD***

@Tempestryke welcome to my generation's childhood. I knew a boy whose grandfather would just come in and unceremoniously pull out the console's AC adapter. XD

(Not to mention my bestie's grandma who reportedly broke an 8-bit console by often bashing it against her old TV set when it needed "a signal fix". No, the TV didn't seem any [more] worse for wear after the ordeal).

I'm not too keen on relying too much on smartphone apps for integral parts of the console's features.
Will said apps be available to Windows 10 Mobile? I though so as well. *adds Android phone to the list of overpriced Switch peripherals.

@rjejr According to Nintendo's official website, the app will be free to use, even for the non-subscribers after the trial period, so there's that.

Ooh.. so that's the integration between Switch and smartphone. Wow !
Btw, Bowser is not a bad ass after all. He is a good daddy in this video. Speaking about Princess Peach as his wallpaper, I think this is the reason why Bowser want to get married with Princess Peach in Mario Oddysey.
Love affairs confirmed. XD

Excellent! For anyone with small children is a godsend. I wish I had it back in the Wii days for my kid (now 12). Still, I will get it for the princess.

Of course is gonna be free. I mean, you can only use it with the Switch.

@nhSnork

trust me that was my childhood too. lol

oh no! that poor guy's console! Xo

I like this, because it allows Nintendo to ease up on the "we don't support X feature/game because children, and the internet is nasty" policy.

@nab1 yeah.

That was great. Boring topic but cool and funny video

I wish Bowser was my dad

Though knowing Nintendo the app will probably be Apple exclusive.

"Suspent"? Is this another spelling variation from the British Isles?

Best video of the whole day

Feels so cute and alive. I am not a parent and will not use the advertised app, but I really enjoyed watching that video!

Boy am I glad my parents were never THAT bad. 1 hour per day of gaming sounds ludicrous. That's barely any time to get emotionally attached to the game's expansive story and characters. You wouldn't limit your kid reading a book or movie...

It's funny, cause right after the presentation, I went to the eShop on Wii U and saw this-- And just because it had Bowser and Bowser Jr., I just HAD to watch it lol

It was kind of touching to see Bowser as a caring father. I don't think I will ever look at him the same way in Mario games.

@Rhydas Parents limit their children's television viewing all the time (good parents do, anyway). I don't consider it unreasonable at all to set limits.

This is great. I like

How much of a game could you make with the man hours it took to make this video?

A lot of kids are gonna find out they can just disable wifi kek

This is so cool. I wish they had this when I was a kid. Beats my mom yelling at me, lol.

Also I am creeped out that Bowser has a pic of Peach on his phone. So I guess she really is Bowser Jr's mom? lol

@Braok Maybe it'll have a feature where kids can be locked out of playing any games unless they're connected.

@KingofSaiyanZ Yep, all online features aside from the Eshop are behind a paywall. Unfortunate, but so goes business.

I'm sorry - but this is just pure brilliance! Well done Nintendo!

This has got to be the best parental advice video ever made.

Brilliant and funny.

@Tempestryke Live by the rules, stop gaming in time and that won't happen. Kids are to respect adults, you know...

The problem is, according to the video, this is tied to the console and not the person. I have two kids of very different ages where I would want very different "rules". Because of that, I'm not sure how viable this is going to be.

There's all the talk about the price and last night's presentation, but stuff like this is brilliant. I can see this being a big plus for a lot of parents.

Plus, it seems Nintendo is finally lightening up about online features now that they have an easy way for parents to take control. I mean, Splatoon 2 is basically confirmed to have voice chat now.

God bless Nintendo

I like the parental control. It will be easier to keep track of them and limit them. Very smart move.

@Yhdekskymmenen
Do you not understand a joke when you hear one? And kindly do not presume to lecture me, I am 33.

This is the best "parental control" introduction video of all time.

LOL

@Tempestryke

Hahaha lol too funny

Bowser: Father of the Year.

Lol: Ideal for parents who don't want to talk to their kids face to face. Lovely modern world!

@Henmii - I think it's good. I'd use it. As a parent you lose track of how long your child has been on an ipad, etc, so it's good to have a timer feature. Communication is a different issue.

So.... Does this confirm voice chat in Splatoon?

Wonderful video. I hope the restrictions allow autosaves in some fashion. A lot more options that i thought it would have.

@Rhydas Depends on the child. For some kids, that's really all you can allow. I know if I don't set a timer on our iPad or my Kindle when my daughter uses it, she becomes a zombie while watching her favorite YouTube videos and she gets really agitated if you just arbitrarily decide to cut her off. For some, you can be a little more relaxed and give them that extra time.

This app have no use to me, but this video is surprisingly good, thumbs up.

People complain about features like this, but my 15 year old has lost interest in anything but video games. He lies about playing unti 4am on school days then naps and goes to school. He doesn't do his homework, then we have to be those parents who takes it away. His younger brother doesn't have this problem.
It would be nice if the PS3/4 had this feature. I've had to set up st guest internet and limit the hours he has access to wifi already. There is more to life then playing video games. This coming from a 35 year old gamer who is more excited for switch and Loz then he is.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Psst... Super Mario Oddysey explains about Bowser wanna get married with Princess Peach. XD
Triangle love. XD
Poor Mario if he didn't realize. XD

@Giygas_95 Optional DRM?

boi

@Braok Just as a parental control feature. Although I admit it's not the best idea.

I would totally play a slice of life game starring Dad Bowser.

Wow, Bowser. So your tyranny is even within your own home.

So adorable! I can't believe Jr. would be so obedient towards his dad's rules.

As soon as I saw "awesome" and "Bowser" in the same sentence, I thought "Thomas is behind this". And, lo and behold...

I would definitely use this. My wife is unable to stop the kids playing, so an enforced daily limit is a great idea.

Wonder how it works if the console isn't online... The console will almost certainly need to have an online account for this to work?

@Tempestryke I used "you" in a passive manner. Didn't refer to you specifically.

@Yhdekskymmenen respect is earned not given

@Henmii so true! why talk to them and enplane it to them when you can just puse the tv go on to the app and bam switch it off lovely bonding going on thare

Relagating online functions to a phone is EXTREMELY disappointing! The phone app should be a companion to the Switch, not required for basic functions. WTF

@Ryu_Niiyama I know Miyamoto said it wasn't true, but cmon they're just trolling now! Either that or Bowser is a stalker perv.

@PotatoTheGreat

That'd be pretty fun!

@whodatninja

I vote the latter. Also eww.

@whodatninja At this point I am expecting a family picture to surface somewhere. I wouldn't think Nintendo would make Peach a dead beat mom so, maybe Mario really is just a friend...as he was described in Color Splash? The constant kidnapping could be a creepy S&M...oh wait I just creeped myself out. Nevermind. You know Peach is just playing Mario Kart with Bowser half of the time while she waits for Mario anyway.

Edit: Nevermind. Bowser is a creep. Peach looks like she is gonna scream.