15 Things Only Experts Knew The Nintendo Switch Could Do (And 10 Features It’s Still Missing)
The Nintendo Switch is actually capable of doing a multitude of interesting things. Too bad it’s also missing some really necessary features!
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The Nintendo Switch is a great little system. It was a huge bounce back for Nintendo, which previously had a bit of a stumble (by bit of a stumble I mean one of those things where you trip and then try to stay on your feet and the fall takes even longer and then it’s even more embarrassing when it happens) with the Wii U.
Through the Switch, Nintendo managed to prove that they still have what it takes to make an amazing system. While the software has been consistently great on the system, the hardware itself has been a bit of a mixed bag. There are some great things that the Switch manages to pull off, and at the same time, there are some glaring omissions and some choices that hold the hybrid console back. The Switch has a lot going on that might not be apparent to casual fans, while also leaving out some things that everyone would love to have on the console.
And that’s what we’ll be taking a look at with this list, 15 things the Switch can do only experts know about, and 10 features the system is still missing. Let’s get into it!
25 Cool: Record Video
In a patch for the Switch, Nintendo added a bit more functionality to the capture button, allowing for (on supported titles) the last 30 seconds of gameplay to be recorded and saved on the Switch, where it could then be shared on social media. This is a cool aspect of the Switch that allows for great moments to be captured, but it also makes you wonder if this could be expanded upon to have as much functionality as the Sony and Microsoft consoles’ share features.
24 Missing: Themes
The Switch actually has themes! Well… Kinda. Black or white. However, this is such a missed opportunity! The 3DS had a huge amount of different theme options, and is still getting new ones to this day!
The fact that the Switch has been on the market for almost two years and hasn’t even received a new basic color theme is tragic.
I’d happily pay a few dollars to get a Zelda or Mario theme. It’s just a bit of a misplay on Nintendo’s part. They could be making money and making fans happy at the same time, but are just choosing not to do so. Actually, that really does sound like a Nintendo thing to do.
23 Cool: Web Browsing
Did you know that the Switch has a capable web browser built into it? If you do a bit of finagling while linking your Facebook account to the Switch, you can actually browse Facebook, and by extension, any site right from your Switch. While a web browser isn’t really essential to your console being a success, especially in the age of smartphones, it’s interesting that a web browser is fully built into the system and not utilized one bit. While I don’t need a web browser on my Switch at all… I mean, I wouldn’t really say no to one.
22 Missing: Streaming Capability
One major boon the other current-gen consoles have over the Switch is the ability to stream gameplay right out of the box. It’s simple and easy to do and doesn’t require any outside tech or knowledge. The Switch, on the other hand, can only record a few seconds of gameplay at most. While this may be due to the higher power of the other consoles, let’s hope that this feature gets added to the Switch at some point in the future.
21 Cool: Cloud Saves
The Switch has cloud saves!
Yeah, I mean they are nowhere near as good as the competitor’s offerings, but shh.
If you subscribe to Nintendo Online, you can backup supported titles’ saves to the cloud. The keywords there are supported titles. Games Like Splatoon 2 and Pokemon Let’s Go!, two games you would really want this feature on, don’t actually support this feature for whatever reason. So, while it isn’t perfect, the option is there sometimes, you know, for the right titles.
20 Cool: Hulu And YouTube Streaming
While the Switch is certainly lacking in the apps department, it does house two key streaming services, Hulu and YouTube! These are two of the largest streaming services out there, and having them on the Switch platform increases the usability of the console, and is a huge plus for consumers. Hopefully, the popularity of these two apps will lead to more services joining in the future, namely, music streaming services such as Spotify, to play music in the background of games!
19 Missing: Netflix
Ok, this one isn’t as big of an issue as some of the others on this list, but it’s just kind of strange that the Switch doesn’t have Netflix on it. Sure, we all have phones, and sure, this is a gaming console first and foremost, but there’s no reason that Netflix shouldn’t be on the Switch at this point in its life. It would do nothing but benefit consumers and both the companies, literally everyone involved. Hopefully, we will see this issue be fixed in the near future.
18 Cool: Archive Software
While the Switch only has 32 gigabytes of internal storage, that isn’t a problem for the most part, regarding first-party titles that is. Nintendo magic allows games as big as Breath of the Wild to astoundingly be only 13 gigabytes (third-party titles are another story). When you do run out of storage, Nintendo gives you the option to archive games you aren’t currently playing, while keeping all your progress and freeing up space. This is a handy little feature, and after having my Switch for almost two full years, archiving has helped me not have any storage problems with my console at all.
17 Missing: A True Virtual Console
We had a great virtual console with the Wii, 3DS and Wii U. The Switch does not have a great virtual console. If you subscribe to the online service, you get a few NES games, but no SNES, 64, or GameCube games.
The Switch is fully capable of running these games, and they would surely help to fill in some of their dry spells of no 1st-party releases.
Why Nintendo is waiting on this could be due to the popularity of their mini consoles, but the market for those doesn’t intersect with the Switch enough for that to be an issue, and this is overall a big blind spot for the Switch.
16 Cool: Earn My Nintendo Points
Every time you purchase a game, physical or digital, you earn My Nintendo gold points!
These can be used on a variety of useless services, but most importantly, can be used to get discounts on E-Shop purchases.
This is a handy little trick Nintendo allows for that means every single time you buy a game, you’re saving money on your next purchase. That sounds like as good of an excuse to continue purchasing games until you’re in crippling credit card debt as any!
15 Missing: Built-In Messaging
One of the major problems with the Switch is its online capabilities, or rather, lack of them.
They expect us to pay $20 a year to use the online service, but don’t offer standard capabilities such as messaging, as Nintendo thinks it would be better to just use your phone to do that! Seriously!
The Nintendo Switch mobile app is supposed to be your go-to destination for all things communication on the Switch. The fact that this is a feature of a console released in 2017 is ridiculous.
14 Missing: Built-In Voice Chat
It gets worse! Voice chat is only available on the app too, which is even worse.
To play a game like Splatoon 2 and chat with friends at the same time, you’d actually have to buy a headphone splitter. Like, what even?
What makes this even more egregious is that Fortnite comes with native voice chat, meaning that the Switch is fully capable of doing so, but Nintendo isn’t interested in making that happening.
13 Cool: Streaming Games (In Japan)
Did you know that you can play hot new games like Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey on the Switch? Well, in Japan you can. In Japan, new titles like this and Resident Evil 7 are available to play through streaming. This is available in Japan due to the far superior networking capabilities of the country over the likes of the U.S. and other nations. While it might not be the best solution for playing the game, if you only have a Switch, it’s not a bad option by any means!
12 Cool: Creating Miis Still Exists
Miis were a huge part of the Wii and Wii U systems,
I mean, they essentially were 50% of the Wii U’s entire UI.
They do still exist on the Switch, just in a far more limited capacity. They’re buried under the system settings, but from there you can make as many as your heart desires. They’re far less prevalent on the system, mainly limited to software functionality in games like Mario Kart 8 and being your profile icon, but they are still in there!
11 Missing: A Truly Browseable E-Shop
The Switch is a huge hit console, and every developer is getting their games on it. With this many games on the system, it’s an oddity that there are so few methods to search through the E-Shop for titles you want. Unless you’re just looking for a specific genre, there are not many ways to categorize and look at games. While this isn’t a massive deal, the shop just doesn’t compare to Sony and Microsoft’s offerings and can make it difficult to find games you might be interested in.
10 Cool: Use Joy-Con Slots For Something Else
This is something that we haven’t seen Nintendo utilize, but would be so cool to see. The Joy-Con slots on the Switch could be totally used for anything else Nintendo decided to try.
This company loves peripherals, we know that.
This is a given opportunity to make a slew of different peripherals to try out. Knowing Nintendo, they could cook up tons of different things to try out with this piece of technology that fans of Nintendo would absolutely love.
9 Cool: Crossplay With Other Consoles
The Big N is playing ball with PC, Xbox, and PS4, as crossplay is becoming more and more of a standard in the industry.Games like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Rocket League allow Nintendo gamers to jump into matches with players on other consoles! This allows for bigger matchmaking pools and for friends on different consoles to play together!
Remember when Sega was doing all the things that Nintendon’t?
Now we can jump off of a flying bus to annihilate 100 people… together. Look how far we’ve come.
8 Missing: Customizable Joy-Cons
Grey, red, pink, green, blue, brown and yellow. Oh, and Smash logo. That is every available option of Joy-Con design. I think that is a tragedy.
Since I’m a greedy monster, if I were in charge of Nintendo, I’d be launching a new design every week!
Pokéball themed, GameCube themed, Zelda themed, the possibilities are endless. It would allow users to customize their Switch even more, and Nintendo would be rolling in money considering how expensive Joy-Cons actually are. Come on Nintendo. Give me that WAHHHHH controller.
7 Cool: Turn On Your TV
Ok, this is like, totally not as necessary as some of the other functionality the Switch has by any means, but it certainly is handy. The Switch can match the state of your TV, so if you turn your TV on or off, the Switch will follow. Like I said, this isn’t groundbreaking or a super necessary part of the Switch, but hey, it’s a pretty handy little feature nonetheless! Thanks, Nintendo!
6 Cool: Joy-Cons Pair With Other Devices
Do you want to use your Joy-Cons as a controller for your phone rather than the Switch?
Neither do I, but you can!
Since the Joy-Cons connect to the Switch through Bluetooth, it’s actually possible to use them on just about any Bluetooth enabled device. Whether this be a phone, PC, Mac, or something else, the option is there. This would allow for Joy-Cons to be used with applications such as emulators as well! Finally, my dreams of playing Poptropica with a Nintendo controller are answered.