The new
Nintendo Switch Online service has been available since the 18th of September and most people are still a tad upset with Nintendo. The reason behind customers being upset has a lot to do with the
lack of features the service is offering, as well as the execution of some good ideas that should work but don't.
One of the features customers have been most vocal about is the lack of a proper Voice Chat feature. While the Nintendo Switch Online app does include a Voice Chat feature, it requires for players to download the app on their phones in order to chat with their friends.
During a recent interview with Arstechnica, Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aimé, referred to this issue by saying that at Nintendo they prefer to do things differently and not follow in their competitors' footsteps.
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Nintendo's approach is to do things differently. We have a much different suite of experiences than our competitors offer, and we do that in a different way. This creates a sort of yin and yang for our consumers. They’re excited about cloud saves and legacy content but wish we might deliver voice chat a different way, for example", explained Fils-Aimé after completely dodging a different question regarding peer-to-peer online connections for their users isntead of offering dedicated servers.
"What we see is a situation where we know that Nintendo Switch is being played in the open, at a park, on a metro bus. We believe the easiest way for you to connect and have a peer-to-peer experience with voice chat is with your mobile phone. It’s always there, it’s always with you".
While the explanation does make a rather valid point, the fact that the Nintendo Switch also needs to be with the player at all times in order to play the games, why not have the console feature Voice Chat natively? The console can be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi so players should see no problem in using the same console, as well as the same internet connection to voice chat with their friends.
Whatever the case, Fils-Aimé's answer seems to point that they see absolutely nothing wrong offering a lackluster service with lackluster features and a subpar voice chat. There is still hope, though, since they have learnt from their past mistakes in recent years but they better find a way to make their customers happy or all the success they've had since the Nintendo Switch's launch will soon begin to lose all momentum.