First an alarm clock, now this? What is Nintendo up to?
Alongside their newest product, the Nintendo Alarmo, Nintendo has just released their first music app. Yes, you read that right, they published a music app that no one asked for before the Switch 2.
What is Nintendo Music?
Nintendo Music is essentially just what it sounds like: a music app, very similar to Spotify – even in layout – to play all the soundtracks and songs from a collection of Nintendo's game titles.
It's available on iOS and Android, however, you need to be a paid Nintendo Switch Online member to be able to use it at all.
Nintendo Music's features
The app includes all sorts of features that you would expect from a music app: albums, playlists, shuffle, loops, etc.
Two unique features that Nintendo introduced with its app are the option to extend soundtracks to fixed minute marks, so you can enjoy them for longer without that awkward loading pause, and the anti-spoiler option.
With the anti-spoiler option, you can exclude certain games' soundtracks from your view, therefore avoiding being accidentally spoiled by track names or such.
Common critiques on Nintendo Music
The community is rather torn on how they feel about Nintendo Music. Many complain about the subscription system, especially since a free version is seemingly completely out of the picture.
Users have also noted that a few soundtracks are still missing from the catalog, but it seems that they will be added into the app over time.
Underneath Nintendo Music's official announcement video, there are many comments wondering about why Nintendo would go the lengths just to make a new music app with only their own music, instead of simply allowing it to be on Spotify or YouTube Music.
Creators, especially on YouTube and Twitch, are concerned that Nintendo might use the existence of the Nintendo Music app to be even more strict about their Copyright.
Many are already struggling to put Nintendo Music into their videos without being hit by a copyright strike, so the fear is that this might become inevitable.
The anti-spoiler feature seems to be generally liked, but it doesn't seem like it's enough to convince people...
All in all, Nintendo Music looks like it is mostly a fun add-on for paid Nintendo Switch Online members, not for the general public.
What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to comment!
