Since its launch early this year, the Nintendo Switch has been faring particularly well when it comes to sales and popularity. It certainly became an instant viable competitor to other popular gaming platforms, such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, unlike those other gaming platforms, the Switch does not support video-streaming services – until now.
It was already stated by the company that the Switch is first and foremost a gaming platform, and the addition of a video-streaming service is not a number one priority. "We built the Nintendo Switch to be a world-class gaming device, meaning we want you first and foremost to play games on the system and have an incredibly fun experience," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime in a statement last March.
"We're talking to a range of companies about other services, companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon--things that will come in time. In our view, these are not differentiators," he added.
However, in a recent press release detailing the upcoming games to arrive in its Eshop, it is stated that Hulu has now arrived on Switch. For fans, the launch of a proper video-streaming application for the popular gaming platform is a huge deal, although Nintendo did not make a big fuss out of the whole prospect.
Hulu is now available for download on the Nintendo Eshop, and users can choose from different packages depending on the kind of content they want to have. Both live TV and on-demand programming are available on the Switch, and users can pay $8 for on-demand content, or get the whole package and pay for a subscription service of $40 per month.
It is not yet known whether the inclusion of a video-streaming service for Switch is a permanent venture by the company, or if they are open on including other more popular video streaming services, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Its quiet launch is entirely suspicious for some, but at the same time celebrated by some of the platform's die-hard fans.
Even in its first eight months on the market as a purely gaming console, the Switch has performed admirably. Now, with the inclusion of a proper video streaming service, many predict that the platform may outperform its competitors in the coming months.
