Nintendo has made the next step into making the Switch an all-around entertainment device, adding prominent video streaming application, Hulu. The move shows the console's potential beyond gaming, and may just be the beginning of the device's foray into multimedia.
Nintendo added the new Hulu app to its eStore for the Switch. Downloading the new app is free, but for Switch users to be able to access content, they have to have an active Hulu subscription.
Hulu offers two types of subscription, live TV and on-demand programming. The on-demand content can be accessed for an $8 monthly fee. To add live TV programming, users can pay $40 per month to access all of Hulu's content.
Hulu's content includes popular channels like FOX, NBCSN, CBS, ESPN, ABC, NBC, FX, FS1, TNT, and History Channel. With it, subscribers can watch national news and local channels in select cities, as well as professional and college leagues, with access to regional sports networks in a number of areas.
While video streaming apps have been a common inclusion in other gaming consoles, the Nintendo Switch has been a gaming-only device since its release earlier this year. Competing consoles like Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One come with a number of streaming apps like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Because of their access to multimedia, gaming consoles are now becoming the center of entertainment in many homes.
Hulu, with its array of shows, including award-winning dystopian drama "The Handmaid's Tale," will surely make the Nintendo Switch more than just a gaming console. However, the streaming service still pales in comparison with other streaming titans like Netflix and YouTube. It has not yet been revealed if these will also be arriving to the Switch in the future.
By and large, the Switch has been an outstanding console, with its excellent game roster continuously increasing thanks to the growing support of third party developers. However, the introduction of multimedia streaming services to the console may just take it to a whole new level.
