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Nintendo has released the Nintendo Switch Online app for Android and IOS, giving users the ability to voice chat for their online services such as Splatoon 2.

A Nintendo Switch must be registered to your Nintendo account for you to be able to sign into the app, as it uses your Nintendo ID to authenticate with.

Edit: It appears they have marked the service for "Server Maintenance", giving out error code: 2817-0700. It seems we will have to wait a little longer to actually use the app itself.


You can grab them here:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nintendo.znca
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nintendo-switch-online/id1234806557?mt=8

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Neither MS nor Sony give a damn about portable gaming, so it wouldn't happen. Or if it did, either one would charge double for the same service.

The biggest pros to a phone tie-in are access to voice chat without internet, and online multiplayer without internet if you just hotspot your phone. These things would be useless for stationary consoles, but are very useful for traveling with Switch. Of course there are cons to the app, it's just pointless to whine about them like a child rather than wait for changes and updates like all software goes through.

Not true. Microsoft and Sony already have similar apps before Nintendo released this... thing.

PlayStation App
Xbox App

And Microsoft made Windows Phones with Xbox gaming in mind.

The difference is that neither Sony nor Microsoft have made the retarded move of forcing its users to use a phone in order to be able to use voice-chat, or connect the headset to the phone, to the Switch and then it finally works. It's really dated, backwards tech that Nintendo is using and there's really no reason they should.

By TotalBiscuit
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How the hell does shit like this exist in 2017?! Nintendo, that's how.

And no, it's not pointless to complain because if people never complained then companies would never change/improve their products.

 

[rileysrjay]

Not true. Microsoft and Sony already have similar apps before Nintendo released this... thing.

PlayStation App
Xbox App

And Microsoft made Windows Phones with Xbox gaming in mind.

The difference is that neither Sony nor Microsoft have made the retarded move of forcing its users to use a phone in order to be able to use voice-chat, or connect the headset to the phone, to the Switch and then it finally works. It's really dated, backwards tech that Nintendo is using and there's really no reason they should.

By TotalBiscuit
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How the hell does shit like this exist in 2017?! Nintendo, that's how.

And no, it's not pointless to complain because if people never complained then companies would never change/improve their products.

I don't really care about voice chat personally, but I think a lot of the issue with the app are 10 steps backwards. Hopefully Nintendo will listen for once. I think they will personally since the r/nintendoswitch Reddit that Nintendo has pointed out and given some love to more than once is currently a dumpster fire because of this.

 

[Viri]

I just mute everyone, unless I am playing with friends. Not exactly a fan of hearing 10 year olds rage, and call each other "faggots".

It's kinda strange the Switch lacks a mic. The DS has one, and when my friend used it with me, while we were trading Pokemans in 2008, it scared the bajesus out of me, and caught me off guard!

 

[DeslotlCL]

The app is pathetic. Nintendo's online service is pathetic. This is pathetic.

Wake me up when they fix their own shit.

 

[jt_1258]

I give them till the launch of the full service(when we have to pay) to give my judgment. Till then I can only give them a small pass of this being there first time. If they can't get there shit together by then then it truly means this is what they want the app to be.

 

[Xzi]

Not true. Microsoft and Sony already have similar apps

What does it matter if they don't have a portable console? We were talking about portable gaming, remember?

Although despite being off-topic, I will agree that I wouldn't touch that convoluted ball of wires. Unless I can just use a headset either with my phone or Switch, not gonna mess with voice chat. It's a rarity for me to use it on any other system regardless (surround sound is the shit).

 

[Bladexdsl]

And Microsoft made Windows Phones with Xbox gaming in mind.

windows phones wow they are still around?!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Wake me up when they fix their own shit.

you'll never be woken up than

 

[jt_1258]

windows phones wow they are still around?!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


you'll never be woken up than

oh, ya, that sort of flop of a phone XD
there were some adopters of it, hell, I even saw some out in the wild , but tbh, I haven't seen anyone with one in ages and I haven't seen any ads for them either, iirc they dropped it and just have all there apps release on android and ios now

 

[Sathya]

Hah! Now nintendo switch games only mk8?? i still love wii and wiiu games. Mkwii is my favourite racing game..

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Hah! Now nintendo switch games only mk8?? i still love wii and wiiu games. Mkwii is my favourite racing game..

God, I hated MKWii the bots were so unfair and unbalanced. :-/

 

[pcm720]

The app itself looks fine to me. I hope that they'll fix that abomination of a voice chat before 2018 (never used it though, have no friends with the Switch ).

oh, ya, that sort of flop of a phone XD
there were some adopters of it, hell, I even saw some out in the wild , but tbh, I haven't seen anyone with one in ages and I haven't seen any ads for them either, iirc they dropped it and just have all there apps release on android and ios now

I used to love Windows Phone (including WP7 on my HTC 7 Mozart and WP8 and W10M on my Lumia 820), but after WP8.1 it was clear to me that MS will drop it someday.
When they announced that W10M won't be available for Lumia 820 even though it had pretty stable Insider builds, I decided to switch back to Android. Never looked back.

 

[StarTrekVoyager]

I just wonder why they did that. they must be a reason, and someone at Nintendo will give an interview anyways with all this Internet shitstorm.

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

The app itself looks fine to me. I hope that they'll fix that abomination of a voice chat before 2018 (never used it though, have no friends with the Switch ).

If Nintendo added eShop Store, Friends List, Private Messaging, Remote Control, Controller, etc-support to the app it would become so so much better.

 

[InsaneNutter]

Yet 10 years ago on the Nintendo DS you could voice chat with random people over the internet when trading Pokemon, same with the later Pokemon games on the 3DS, it's strange most other games never could.

In some ways Nintendo are making use of a phones intended feature, voice communication. However it seems inconvenient it's not simply supported on the console itself, especially as online play will be a paid feature by the end of the year.

People have been using Skype and other games consoles / devices to communicate when playing DS and Wii games online for the last decade, I guess Nintendo just made this the official way to do it.

 

[jt_1258]

ffs they even released an add on mic officialy for the wii, as seen used with animals crossing, though it is a bummer they ditched the voice chat when they went to the next game being new leaf, wtf

 

[Sathya]

God, I hated MKWii the bots were so unfair and unbalanced. :-/

your opinion is good for you but not for me

 

[pcm720]

If Nintendo added eShop Store, Friends List, Private Messaging, Remote Control, Controller, etc-support to the app it would become so so much better.

I don't think that eShop is a problem, since you can already buy games from web-based eShop, and not only for Switch, but also for 3DS and Wii U.
Let's hope that all this functionality will come eventually.

 

[GerbilSoft]

The biggest pros to a phone tie-in are access to voice chat without internet, and online multiplayer without internet

Huh, now that's interesting. How is Nintendo's phone app providing online voice chat and multiplayer without an Internet connection?

if you just hotspot your phone.

Oh. That's still an Internet connection. What's the advantage of doing that versus just having the Switch connect to the hotspot on the phone in the first place? (I've done this with 3DS before.)

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

I don't think that eShop is a problem, since you can already buy games from web-based eShop, and not only for Switch, but also for 3DS and Wii U.
Let's hope that all this functionality will come eventually.

That's true but a dedicated eShop Store rather than use the browser's store would be more convenient, like PSN and XBL have their dedicated stores whereas the eShop is just.. out there.

 

[pcm720]

That's true but a dedicated eShop Store rather than use the browser's store would be more convenient, like PSN and XBL have their dedicated stores whereas the eShop is just.. out there.

That's what I was talking about. It should be really easy for them to just make some sort of WebView for eShop and optimize the interface for small touchscreens.