Nintendo Unveils Nintendo Music: A Streaming App for Switch Online Members on Android and iOS

Nintendo recently surprised its dedicated fanbase with an announcement that’s both intriguing and unexpected: Nintendo Music, a new streaming application available for both Android and iOS. This move follows the debut of the quirky Nintendo Alarmo, a themed alarm clock app that, like Nintendo Music, made its appearance this month, while the gaming giant remains tight-lipped about any details or confirmation regarding the anticipated Switch 2, despite ongoing speculation and leaks about its specs and release dates.

As soon as you launch Nintendo Music, its design might remind you of Spotify or similar streaming services. It includes all the essential features you’d expect, such as playlists curated by Nintendo themselves. But it also offers some unique twists—there’s a neat spoiler filter to hide tracks from certain games and a function allowing tracks to extend up to an hour instead of merely looping.

Now, if you’re already convinced you want this app, you’re likely ready to download it on your device. With any active Nintendo Switch Online membership—even a free trial—you can dive right into using Nintendo Music and take full advantage of all its features anytime you want.

However, there are a couple of big questions hanging around this launch.

First, why did Nintendo choose to create a separate music app rather than just upload their soundtracks directly to existing platforms like Spotify, as other companies do? While having official Nintendo soundtracks is fantastic, it feels a bit inconvenient and potentially costly to have to use a separate app and subscription, especially when listeners often enjoy integrating their music into one library and social platform.

Moreover, fans have vigilantly shared Nintendo soundtracks across platforms like YouTube for over two decades. Nintendo’s initiative feels tardy, and maddeningly, they’ve omitted composer and artist credits from tracks in this app, only listing the game titles. This is a noticeable contrast to the typical fan uploads, which generously provide such details.

In light of Nintendo Music’s release, their previous copyright actions against fan-uploaded content seem more explainable. Yet, in launching their own service, they missed the opportunity to include comprehensive credit details, something they could accomplish more easily than anyone.

Lastly, the current roster of soundtracks is surprisingly sparse. Though technically spanning various Nintendo consoles, there are only 23 soundtracks available at launch. This results in many iconic soundtracks being omitted altogether, despite some being hinted at in the announcement trailer—for instance, the Super Mario 64 soundtrack, which is glaringly absent.

Given Nintendo’s rich history and extensive collection of beloved game soundtracks, this launch falls short in scope considering how long it took them to enter the arena with their own app. It’s not unreasonable for fans to hope for a more extensive collection right from the start.

It all leads us to wonder: when will we see the soundtrack for The Legend of the Seven Stars make an appearance?