“We Got Nintendo Spotify Before GTA 6”: Fans React To Nintendo’s New Music Streaming Service

Nintendo‘s announcement of its own music streaming app has taken the company’s fan base by storm as many are puzzled by its very existence. Nintendo has often been accused of being overly protective of its musical library, especially when its games’ soundtracks are often hailed as some of the best in the entire industry. Enthusiasts have campaigned for years to get Nintendo music on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music but the beloved publisher has clearly been working on something else entirely.

The reaction to the Nintendo Music app can best be summarized by notable Fortnite leaker ShiinaBR who wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that fans “got Nintendo Spotify before GTA VI.”

Many other users have expressed similar sentiments, noting their shock that it’s taken so long for Nintendo to finally give fans official access to its music library in the most roundabout way possible; User AlexGuichet wrote that the “omission from [Spotify and Apple Music] is a huge miss.” As excited as many are to use the catalog, the general consensus is that the app is completely unnecessary.

What Is The Nintendo Music App?

It’s Exactly What You Think It Is

The comparisons to Spotify and Apple Music are well founded because, in practice, Nintendo Music is very close to its more mainstream competitors: The differentiating factor is that it only contains music pulled from Nintendo’s video games. Perhaps most puzzling, the app is only accessible to those with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription meaning it may be a benefit of the service but it’s still technically a paid product. Those who do have the app can make custom playlists, browse music through a variety of categories, and download soundtracks to their smart device.

To its credit, Nintendo Music does have a vast collection of music pulled from every era of the publisher’s stored history. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild, Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and even smaller franchises like Nintendogs are featured. Having said that, there are some major gaps: The GameCube’s library is thoroughly underrepresented, and having only two Legend of Zelda soundtracks at launch is a controversial decision.

Nintendo Music Feels Like An Unnecessary App

Especially If It’s Not Available For Everyone

I love Nintendo music; I generally listen to it every day while I’m typing up these very articles. Despite my enthusiasm, the existence of a dedicated music app is utterly baffling especially when its audience is intentionally limited to Switch Online members. In an ideal world, all of these soundtracks would be added to services like Spotify and Apple Music but as long as Nintendo has its way, that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Source: ShiinaBR/X, AlexGuichet/X