Nintendo Switch

In June 2018, two hackers found a way to run the Switch system's developer software Devmenu on non-developer Switch units, allowing hackers to directly load games onto SD cards or create custom avatars for their user profile, including pornographic and NSFW pictures, which violate Nintendo's terms of service. A Nintendo spokesperson responded to Kotaku's article on the topic, saying that "Modified Nintendo Switch systems have been banned".[194]

Shortly after the release of Nintendo Switch Online in September 2018, hackers and modders were able to figure out how to run unauthorized ROMs on the Nintendo Switch NES emulator. A Switch hacker who goes by the name DevRin, was the first to discover the hack and posted his findings on YouTube, which prompted a modder who goes by the name KapuccinoHeck to investigate the matter with two others and their findings were later posted on KapuccinoHeck's Twitter account.[195][196]

Online services

Nintendo Switch user profiles can be linked to a Nintendo Account, which enables access to online features and the ability to download and purchase software from Nintendo eShop. A Nintendo Account can be created with an account from a third-party social networking service or an existing Nintendo Network ID from a 3DS or Wii U. Nintendo does not plan to offer first-party social networking services on Switch, such as Miiverse or StreetPass, the latter owing to Nintendo's promotion of Switch as primarily being a home console. Instead, profiles can be linked to existing social networks such as Facebook and Twitter for social and sharing features.[197][198][199]

Players can register friends through Friend Codes as with previous Nintendo systems, searching for friends in the local network, through past multiplayer interactions, or through Nintendo Account profiles registered as friends on Nintendo mobile apps such as Miitomo and Super Mario Run.[200] Nintendo said in March 2017 that they have plans to provide other methods for registering friends, including through third-party social media and via Nintendo Network IDs.[201] Support for registering friends on the Switch via Facebook and Twitter was added on March 13, 2018 as part of the 5.0.0 system update.[202] The Switch has no native support for Nintendo Network IDs, but users can link their Nintendo Network ID credentials to a Nintendo Account profile, which enables the ability to add friends that they had already registered on their 3DS or Wii U, and share an eShop balance between all three platforms.[203]

In line with Microsoft and Sony consoles, a subscription is required to access online multiplayer on most games.[204][205] The Nintendo Switch Online subscription includes access to online play, voice chat, access to an ongoing library of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) games, cloud storage for save data on most games, as well as other special offers and promotions.[206][207][208][209][210] Free-to-play games such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Warframe are exempt from the subscription requirement for online play.[211][212][213][214]

The Nintendo Switch Online mobile app allows access to voice chat for Switch Online subscribers, as well as access to game-specific microsites. Unlike its competitors, voice chat is not supported via the console itself, requiring use of the app on a smartphone instead.[23][215] A separate app provides access to parental controls for the console.[204][216]

Media support

The Switch did not launch with many multimedia-oriented features, such as a web browser or support for video streaming services.[217] Fils-Aimé said that because the Switch is geared as a gaming console that is far different from what their competitors offer, they had focused on achieving that goal first and foremost, and did not see media support as a differentiator from their competitors.[218]

Niconico, a popular Japanese video service, launched for the Switch in Japan on July 13, 2017, and was the Switch's first third-party media app in any market.[219] Hulu was the first video streaming application released for the Switch in the United States on November 9, 2017.[220] A YouTube application was released on November 8, 2018.[221] Fils-Aimé said in June 2018 that conversations to bring Netflix to the Switch are "on-going".[222]

Korg Gadget, a music production app, was released for the Nintendo Switch on April 26, 2018.[223] InkyPen, a comics and manga subscription app, launched exclusively on the Switch worldwide on December 17, 2018.[224] Izneo, another comics and manga subscription service, was released for the Switch on February 28, 2019.[225] FUZE4, a text-based programming language app, was released in August 2019.[226]

Distribution

Games for the Nintendo Switch can be obtained through either retail channels or digitally through the Nintendo eShop. Games distributed at retail are stored on proprietary cartridges, similar in design to the game cards used for Nintendo 3DS games, albeit smaller and thinner.[227] Because of their small size, Nintendo coats each cartridge with denatonium benzoate, a non-toxic bitterant used to discourage children from ingesting them.[228] Nintendo offered a suggested retail price for Switch games at the console's launch of $60, equivalent to the price for new games on either the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.[229] Nintendo otherwise allows publishers to set the price for a game, only requiring the list price be the same for physical and digital releases, if a physical release is made. This has caused some games also available on other consoles to be priced higher on the Switch due to the costs of manufacturing the game card for the Switch version.[230] Online media outlets colloquially refer to this price hike as the "Switch tax".[231][232] The "Switch tax" also applies to many games that had been previously released on other platforms ported later to the Switch, where the Switch game price reflects the original price of the game when it was first released rather than its current price. It is estimated that the Switch Tax is an average of 10% over other formats.[233]

Game cards at the time of the Switch's release had a 32GB capacity; Nintendo had planned to introduce 64GB game cards by the second half of 2018, but had to push this back until 2019.[234] Some physical games may still require content to be installed to internal storage, with some games using a significant portion of the internal memory if a microSD card is not available.[235] Other physical games which have a large amount of content may require a microSD card to be present in the Switch, such as NBA 2K18; such games are clearly marked on the cover to show these requirements.[236]

The Switch supports the ability for cloud gaming to run games that require more hardware capabilities than the Switch allows, running these games over a network with the game computations performed on server hardware. These games may be tied to specific regions due to purchasing options. Early examples of such games on the Switch include Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Phantasy Star Online 2 and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey.[237]

Unlike previous Nintendo home consoles, the Switch is region-free, allowing players to use cartridges or downloaded content from any part of the world, though Nintendo recommends using the appropriate regional eShop for digital purposes for obtaining the best post-purchase support if needed.[103][152] Nintendo opted to go region-free to reduce the amount of workload and cost to both themselves and developers in having to manage two or more regional certification processes and different ROM cartridge production pathways for those regions.[238] Further, eShop purchases, while still tied to the Nintendo Account, are not tied to the specific Switch console, as was the case for previous Nintendo hardware. Once the user re-registers their account to a Switch, they have access to download all previous purchases; however, a user can only have their account registered on one console at a time, and downloaded software tied to an account cannot be used if that account is not registered to the device.[203] With the console's 6.0 system update, alongside the launch of the Online service in September 2018, a user can play games that they have purchased from the eShop on a second Switch console, though requiring continuous online connection and other restrictions.[239]

The Switch does not use optical discs, and does not have native backward compatibility with software from any previous Nintendo console.[240] The Switch is also not backwards compatible with other digital titles from previous consoles.[152]

Emulated versions of games from previous Nintendo systems are being offered through eShop and the Nintendo Switch Online service, although the blanket Virtual Console brand used for these releases on Wii, Wii U, and 3DS has been dropped.[241][242] In February 2017, Kimishima said that the Switch is powerful enough to emulate titles from previous Nintendo consoles.[23]