Nintendo has a lot of applications

Nintendo has released it New store app on Android and iOS, giving users the ability to purchase hardware, accessories, and games for the Switch and Switch 2. When I unlock my phone and scroll down to the N’s, I get a whole neat row dedicated entirely to Nintendo. These are four applications: Switch application, Music application, Nintendo Today news appAnd now the store. (The number increases to five if you are a parent using Switch parental control app.) This is too much.

Nintendo has always been the only one of the Big Three publishers to do its own thing, and that has worked both for and against it. The company didn’t chase development trends with the same enthusiasm as Microsoft and Sony. This insulates Nintendo when these trends don’t work, such as heavy spending on live service games that fail. But it also hurts when it comes to performance and user experience. For example, native voice chat on console has been a standard on other platforms for a long time, But it was only introduced on Nintendo’s console with the Switch 2 this year.

As these apps are published, Nintendo is trying to innovate and keep up with results that seem overwhelming and confusing. Do we really need four distinct apps? This doesn’t mean that these apps shouldn’t exist; They serve valuable and necessary purposes. But when I look at all the software I have to manage in my life on Nintendo, it seems like too much.

You need the Switch app for screenshots and social features. You need the store to buy things. While one does not needs The Nintendo Today app has useful features, such as release date reminders, and has been used to share announcements Before they download other official channels. A music app is also not a hard need, but Nintendo doesn’t make its music available on streaming services, and searching YouTube for music can be hit or miss.

It’s also strange that apps break down features. I can see my gaming activity in both the store and the console app. The store also has a stronger news page than what’s offered on Nintendo Today. Can’t we consolidate all of these things into one central location? PlayStation and Xbox do this in their apps, and it’s a seamless experience to go from PS5 screenshots to the PS Store.

I’ll agree that the music app should be kept separate, as it seems a bit difficult to put a music player on top of what should be a single admin app. But even this seems like a very complicated solution to a simple problem. Sure, Nintendo is precious about its IP, but why does that mean that instead of listening to official tracks on Spotify, I have to download an app dedicated to just one company’s library? Since using the music app requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, I wonder if isolating the music in this way is a way to enhance its subscription appeal. I also wonder if it has anything to do with the reservation in paying royalties. In the music app, Nintendo does not credit the composerssomething she would have to do if she offered her music to streaming services.

As the gaming industry continues to mature, companies have realized that they are not only competing with other game makers for people’s time and attention; But with social media too. While other companies are trying strategies like Bring their exclusives to other platformsNintendo seems to be going in a more ambitious direction.

Earlier this week, In a statement posted on Nintendo’s investor relations websitePresident Shuntaro Furukawa wrote: “We hope Nintendo becomes a name that people naturally turn to, part of everyday life and existing for families as they grow.” You can see this strategy in products like warning, My Mario line for kids, Its own animation and Film projectsparks, and Hello Marioanother app designed specifically for kids. There’s a lot that needs to happen, and it’s clear Some strategies seem to work. But if Nintendo isn’t more careful about how (and how much) it deploys these apps, people will start clearing up space — if not in their lives, then at least on their phones.