Nintendo Switch won't add another web browser you won't use

When it’s released on March 3, the Nintendo Switch won’t have a web browser.

In an interview with Time, Nintendo president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima said, “Since all of our efforts have gone toward making Switch an amazing dedicated video game platform, it will not support it, at least at launch.” 

Considering the Wii U had a browser that Nintendo put quite a lot of effort into seamlessly integrating into the system, it’s perhaps surprising that the Switch won’t launch with one.  

Nintendo hasn’t said that the console will never have one at all, however, so it’s possible at a later point in the Switch’s life cycle we could see one. 

Goodbye web browser

That said, you have to ask whether the Switch really needs a web browser. A browser takes up a lot of system memory so not having one ensures that the console will be working solely on gaming, something that’ll be particularly important when it’s in tablet mode with regards to impact on performance and battery life. 

We tend to turn to our phones to look things up online when we’re gaming as it doesn’t pull as away from the moment and considering the quality of browsers that are available on phones right now it’d be difficult for Nintendo to compete. 

Though the Wii U had a browser that worked well, Satoru Iwata admitted that with the 3DS and the Wii U limited memory constraints made creating it a challenge. 

Iwata stated that as Nintendo was first and foremost about gaming, “There would be no point if console functionality dropped just for a browser that shoehorned in during the middle of a game.”

Considering this was the company’s view previously, it’s highly likely that at the moment Nintendo just hasn’t been able to create a browser that works seamlessly across the console’s handheld and home states, so to include it at launch would be pointless. 

Building a substandard browser does admittedly seem like a waste of time and resources for the company. Particularly when most third party services that could come to the console over time are likely to do so in app form which falls in line with Nintendo’s decision to push its own online multiplayer features to a dedicated mobile app. 

Though we won’t see these features at the console’s launch there’s still a chance we’ll see them added in the future when Nintendo has managed to find a way to achieve consistent performance across its console’s home and hybrid states. 

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February 08, 2017 at 05:30PM
Emma Boyle