Switch Mobile App Will No Longer Support Splatoon 2's Online Lounge Feature

Not surprised at this, I honestly forgot the app exists. It'd be interesting to see their data on daily usage; I'd imagine they're pulling the plug on this feature because people mostly don't bother with it.

There... there was a lounge?

Maybe I knew. I never used the lounge.

I used the app to see people's setups, check the store, and stage schedule.

....and to see which Splatfest teams my friends picked.

I didn't even know that was a function... It makes me wonder if anyone actually used it. I use the voice chat though, that's cool... I guess... In an archaic and arbitrarily difficult kind of way.

I honestly completely forgot that was a function but that's also probably because I never even kept the Switch Online app on my phone past maybe a month or two. Had no use for it even after stuff like Smash integration was added

Having an extremely advanced match making platform outside of the client itself that fixes all of the problems the community keeps bringing up and allows for match types and tournaments everyone is requesting ... which is completely ignored by the vast majority of players, most who don't even know it's a thing, is just part of any competitive online game!

Faceit.com is the most obvious example, but almost every game has one (or more then one), often by the game developer or publisher. But people just want to run the game and play. If you don't have client integration, it's never going to be something people use.

I'd really like them to ditch the app and integrate a console social infrastructure... tell me why xbox 360 is still more robust than any social interaction than any Nintendo platform.

I get wanting to protect the kids but that's why parental controls exist.

NSO just keeps on giving, innit?

I've only ever used the NSO app to check on my Splatoon 2 stats. Only once have I used it for voice chat, just to see how bad it was.

@WoomyNNYes so these features will still be available right? I use these but not the online lounge thing. Also there are items in rotation you can order and claim from Murch. Hope they keep it as well.

Making a near useless app more useless. Nice...

I never used that feature anyway.

they are gonna need to update Splatoon 2 then and remove the Online Lounge option in the lobby

So not only do Nintendo games not support proper online voice chat, they will also strip away the voice chat feature that IS there when the sequel comes around. GG Nintendo, brilliant.

Edit: I should probably not send comments when I read news after having just woken up. Apparently the voice chat will still be available.

That's fine, I don't support their app.

I’d love to see the data for how many people use this app and how many use the features like voice chat and online lounges.

@Yosher I think you've misread the article, Nintendo are saying the voice chat feature will remain functional.

Another example of an obviously bad Nintendo move turning out to be obviously bad.

Being different isn't always innovative, sometimes it's just worse.

@SnobbyLuigi why do you think its bizarrely timed?

@WoomyNNYes exactly THIS. I had no clue there was a lounge. I mostly used the app for shopping and tracking my battles.

@Otoemetry My bad. That's what you get when you read the news when you wake up after only a few hours of sleep.

The fact that they make needlessly complicated to play with friends outside of Splatfests is a crime. Unless you've got 4 friends, then it's a chore to setup. All I want is simple functionality where you can team up then head to the lobby to add others when there's 2-3 players in your team. Hopefully this is sorted for Splatoon 3.

It was a bad idea from the start. These things should be on the system itself and not force people to use two devices at the same time, why Nintendo couldn't realise that is baffling.

hopefully this is nintendos first hint that nobody wants their half-step attempts of an online structure

I find it kinda disappointing of Nintendo to be preemptively discontinuing a feature an entire year early before the next game come out, kinda makes no sense to me to be honest. I feel that Nintendo is being very unfair to the small population of players and SplatNet fans who do actually use that feature.

No one used Online Lounge, I don't think anyone's going to be too upset about this.

Nintendo Online is mainly designed for children, and the idea of a voice chat "longue" probably scared Nintendo a bit.

@Alckemy

I mean, just a guess, but I would say it's because Xbox live is part of an online and infrastructure service that makes up the bulk of Microsoft focus and research. The R&D budget for Azure DevOps Azure cloud, and Azure network solutions (the backbone of Xbox and Windows live) is about two Nintendos a year.

As in every year, Microsoft spends enough money to buy Nintendo based on market capitalization, TWICE, on developing and improving this product.

MS is a $2 trillion software company, Nintendo is a $9 billion game publisher. Why is the software from the the company 200 times larger then Nintendo better? Because obviously?

But don't worry ... I think MS will be running Switch online in partnership with Nintendo by the end of the year.

@HeadPirate While what you said does make sense...

Explain the Wii U's Mii verse? lol

The point I was trying to make was also strictly from a now 2 generation old console compared to a current one (+- 15 years) and not necessarily how big the companies are.

Nintendo can do it. They just won't.

@SnobbyLuigi To be honest I think you're right because before Splatoon 3 was even announced, many people thought if a Splatoon 3 game was real, then it will release on the next console. When I saw that Splatoon 3 console, I thought it was kinda misplaced on the Switch because of how advanced the graphics are compared to Splatoon 2. When Splatoon 3 releases, what do we think is going to happen to Splatoon 2?

Why are they removing a game's feature without even revealing details for how its successor will work them? Besides, I don't think that'd be a good reason to abandon a previous game's feature since many will still want to use it.

Does this mean I won't be able to check my stats anymore on the app?