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Nintendo rarely follows in the footsteps of industry trends. However, this can also cut in the other direction, most recently demonstrated by its new music streaming smartphone app, Nintendo Music.
What is Nintendo Music?
For the longest time, Nintendo fans have had to scour YouTube for uploads of the company’s soundtracks. Often, these videos get pulled down due to copyright strikes. This is frustrating as the notoriously litigious company didn’t offer any alternatives.
Nintendo Music is the company finally attempting to address this disparity. This app for iPhone and Android allows Nintendo Switch Online members (the Nintendo Switch’s subscription service for online play) to access a curated selection of famous soundtracks from its catalog. This is wrapped within an app that looks and functions much like Spotify and Apple Music, including a plethora of themed playlists and a few unique features like looping songs and hiding tracks that constitute spoilers.
The franchises you know, like Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, and other Nintendo juggernauts, are all represented, even if only by a handful of their entries. There are deep cuts, too, like the music from the Wii Channels, Nintendogs, and Tomodachi Life, all of which are ideal fits for chiller, cozier playlists. That said, the selection is pretty limited, given the boatloads of iconic soundtracks Nintendo is keeping locked away in its vault. It’s already been announced that more soundtracks are on the way, but when that will happen and at what pace is yet to be determined.
Ultimately, it’s a solid app that functions well and is well set up to host a goldmine of video game music if Nintendo sees fit to bestow it, which is itself the problem.
Why Nintendo Music Misses a Huge Opportunity
In recent years, many video game soundtracks—including those from Japanese developers who in the past have exclusively released soundtracks physically in Japan—have found their way onto major streaming services. It’s a trend that gives these games extra exposure while also servicing as many fans as possible, making the practice a win for everyone. So, it’s unfortunate but not surprising that Nintendo has done what they’re wont to do by swerving in a different direction.
The existence of Nintendo Music means that there’s a very low likelihood of any Nintendo tunes finding their way onto Apple Music, Spotify, and similar services in the foreseeable future. My speculation as to why they’d take this route largely stems from Nintendo’s tendency to be protective of its IP. It’s possible they didn’t want to share streaming profits with another company or perceived the commodifying nature of those platforms would devalue the music, much in the same vein as how Nintendo games rarely receive deep discounts or price cuts.
Regardless of the why, what matters is the impact of this music not being where most people are. Nintendo is failing to reach the full potential audience, including kids who may play Nintendo games but don’t have an online subscription or aging gamers who would be nostalgic for the classic tunes and could be coaxed to pick up a controller to relive their gaming glory days. It could also include people who know nothing about Nintendo but stumble upon tracks that pique their interest in the games themselves. Nearly everyone uses music streaming services, so there’s really endless potential that even Nintendo should want a piece of.
Meanwhile, Nintendo Music exists as a gated community for people who have an unrelated subscription service on a different device. These are dedicated fans who will value the music, but the reach ends there. No sharing or word of mouth makes other curious parties gravitate toward the app. Nintendo could’ve at least offered a subscription for the service à la carte, but it failed to do even that.
The music selection is also pretty limited, with the majority of represented games being from the Switch. Much like the Nintendo Alarmo, Nintendo is hardly utilizing the full power of its expansive roster to service its most ardent fans. They’ve announced a handful of titles that are set to have their soundtracks come to the service, but these will likely be drip-fed in much the same way Nintendo does with their emulation apps on the Switch. Even the hardcore fans crazy enough to buy a $100 alarm clock rooted in Nintendo’s history (that’s me) dislike this practice.
What I’m trying to say is that the fans who have bought into Nintendo’s ecosystem probably won’t find enough to hold their attention here. At the same time, everyone else who would be interested—even potential new customers—is gatekept. Even if Nintendo isn’t willing to publish its music on established streaming services, this app could’ve been a unique marketing tool. However, that doesn’t quite work when the only people who can access it already own the majority of the auditory treats on display.
The App is Pretty Good, Though
I’ve been pretty critical of how Nintendo Music’s distribution has been handled thus far, but I do want to praise the app itself as I do think it has merit.
Nintendo has created a platform that’s easy to peruse, slick to control, and curates music in novel ways that make listening to familiar tracks feel refreshing. The personal highlight of the app for me is the entire collection of K.K. Slider songs, including both the instrumental versions you can play from your Animal Crossing: New Horizons boombox and the renditions he performs live in the town square. The seemingly endless playlists, looping, and spoiler features also make a good case for why this app should stand as its own entity, missed opportunities aside.
Also, while the selection of 25 games is scant and glaringly omits more titles than I could begin to count, the soundtracks are thorough, with some boasting well over a hundred tracks. While not every soundtrack is complete (Splatoon 3 is missing the music from its expansion pack, for example), fans are going to find a lot of what they like, assuming what they like has made the cut.
Nintendo Music is a great perk for Nintendo Switch Online members and one that will hopefully only get better if Nintendo can regularly infuse it with new tunes. My only hope is that Nintendo can find ways to also get this music to broader audiences, as unlikely as that may be at this juncture. Streamable Nintendo music has so much potential and the way it’s been handled misses that mark where it matters most.
