Like every Nintendo enthusiast, I’ve had a long time to reflect on what I want from the Switch 2. It’s been a long eight years to get to Wednesday’s grand unveiling, so I’ve built up a wish list of features I’m hoping the console has at this point. Some of those are obvious ones that I’ve been clamoring for ever since the original Switch launched in 2017. Naturally I hope to see a more powerful system capable of outputting video in 4K. Don’t we all?
But as April 2 approaches and I once again turn over my hopes in my head, there’s one feature I find myself wishing for more than anything: streaming apps. You know, those apps like Netflix that are — against all odds and logic — largely still not available on the Nintendo Switch? Yeah, those.
I’ve lived with the Nintendo Switch so long that I’d admittedly forgotten that the concept of streaming apps on a Nintendo device was even a possibility. Sure, you can access apps like Hulu and Crunchyroll on Switch, but the idea of Disney+ or Max coming to the system has long felt like a distant pipe dream. The thought of the Switch 2 being a chance to resolve that hadn’t even come to mind until last week. Now that it has, it might be the single system feature I hope to see most on Wednesday.
The Switch’s lack of streaming apps has long felt like a glaring omission from what’s otherwise a near-perfect video game system. On a basic level, apps have become fundamental to just about every piece of tech that requires a screen to use. Your phone has them. Your tablet has them. Your TV has them. Your PS5 and Xbox Series X have them. The Nintendo Switch was already a weird exception to the rule in 2017, so a new device missing them in 2025 would feel downright defiant at this point.
What’s doubly strange is that the Switch feels like the ideal device for apps like Netflix. The system’s portability makes it a perfect travel companion, and that’s exactly when you might need a good way to access movies and TV easily. I’d much rather load up Peacock on my Switch screen when I’m away from home than watching it on my smaller phone display. And considering that the Switch 2 appears to have a notably larger display than its predecessor, that’s even more reason to make it a more flexible media center. There isn’t much that I feel could improve the Switch 2 beyond tech upgrades, but this is one small feature that could go a long way towards making the Switch feel like a perfect version of itself.
Look, I won’t be heartbroken if Nintendo doesn’t announce that the Netflix app is on Switch 2. It won’t stop me from buying it and I’m sure I’d only grumble about it for a few months before forgetting entirely, just as I did with the Switch. But this is one of those small features that will tell us a lot about Nintendo’s willingness to modernize this generation, something it’s always had a slippery relationship with. Nintendo is known for zigging when everyone else zags, which is how it has innovated with its consoles time and time again. It’s also what has made it an incredibly frustrating hardware manufacturer, as it can stick to its guns on features like outdated online services or cumbersome voice chat integration. If Nintendo remains headstrong on apps, it might be a sign that the Switch 2 generation won’t come with an attitude adjustment.
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I do expect this to be one small way in which Nintendo catches up with the times for the Switch 2. It no longer has the advantage of being the only thing like it on the market, as it did in 2017. With competitors like the Steam Deck out in the wild, the Switch 2 will need to deliver what’s expected of a modern handheld — Netflix and all. If Nintendo can pull those small, but easy to miss, feats off, the Switch 2 has the potential to be one of the best video game consoles of all time on day one. Don’t leave us hanging for another eight years.
