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Move over Spotify: Nintendo now has its own music app

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Seven Nintendo characters on a red background with music notes flying around.
Nintendo

While most developers and publishers are getting their music onto existing streaming apps, Nintendo went the extra mile and made its own. The company announced Nintendo Music on Wednesday, and it is now free to download on Android and iOS. It’s also free to use as long as you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

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Nintendo has a lot of games under its umbrella, and many of their soundtracks are available to stream on the app. You can look up game soundtracks individually, but Nintendo Music also gives you some playlist options that sort music by character (and, yes, that extends to songs performed by characters, like KK Slider in Animal Crossing: New Horizons), by mood, or by whether it’s a track in a boss battle or menu screen. You can also loop songs or extend certain tracks by up 60 minutes. Nintendo also says that you can sort tracks so that late-game moments won’t get spoiled, and that it’ll recommend you music based on your play history.

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The app still needs some updates, though. First up, the selection isn’t comprehensive yet. Here are the game soundtracks you can stream at the time of this writing, sorted by release year:

  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
  • Metroid (NES)
  • Dr. Mario
  • Kirby’s Dream Land
  • Donkey Kong Country
  • Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
  • Star Fox 64
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade 
  • Metroid Prime
  • Nintendogs
  • Wii Channels
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • Tomodachi Collection
  • Super Mario Odyssey
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
  • Splatoon 3
  • Pikmin 4
Nintendo Music – Announcement Trailer

Second, as some online have noted, there isn’t any composer information on the tracks. I clicked through a few tracks, and the only information available is the track title and the game it’s from (copyright Nintendo, Game Freak, etc). Finally, it’s not available for your PC, Mac, or other device just yet.

Still, the basics are here. You can download tracks for offline listening, make your own playlists, and listen in the background while in other apps. Plus, it is free to use if you have that Switch Online subscription.

While we’ve all been waiting for Nintendo to announce its next-generation Switch successor, the company has been busy releasing new unrelated products. Besides the Music app, it also released Alarmo, a motion-sensor-controlled alarm clock.

Carli Velocci
Carli Velocci
Former Contributor, Games
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
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