Nintendo recently surprised its fan base by rolling out a new app called Nintendo Music, available on both Android and iOS. This move follows the release of the Nintendo Alarmo, a unique Nintendo-themed alarm clock that also made its debut this month. Many fans were hoping for news about the much-anticipated Switch 2, especially with the various leaks about its hardware specs and supposed release date swirling around for months. Yet, Nintendo has chosen to keep mum on that front for now.
When you first open Nintendo Music, it evokes the familiar user interface you’d find on Spotify or any popular music app. It ticks off most of the standard features while adding some unique twists. For instance, users can apply spoiler filters to songs from specific games, and extend tracks to play for up to an hour without the repetitive looping, which is a small but welcome addition.
Now, let’s get into the heart of it. A lot of you might already find yourselves intrigued by this app and are likely downloading it on your Android or iOS device as we speak. Anyone with an active Nintendo Switch Online membership, even if it’s just a free trial, can dive into Nintendo Music and fully explore what it has to offer.
However, let’s not overlook some important issues here.
Firstly, it’s interesting that Nintendo decided to create an entirely separate app for its music catalog instead of just making these soundtracks available on platforms like Spotify. Music fans often prefer having all their tunes in one place, so having to use a separate service with its own subscription can be a bit of a hassle. It feels like Nintendo is making this experience more exclusive than inclusive.
Moreover, there’s a long-standing history within Nintendo’s community: fans have been tirelessly uploading Nintendo OSTs to YouTube and other online spots for over two decades. Nintendo’s timing feels quite late, and their execution isn’t flawless either—they don’t provide composer or artist details for tracks, just the game titles. This oversight is particularly baffling since fan uploaders often include detailed composer and artist credits alongside the tracks.
Nintendo’s recent actions, including issuing copyright strikes on fan-uploaded OSTs, do make a bit more sense with the introduction of this music application. However, significant aspects of game music preservation seem to have been neglected, even though Nintendo undoubtedly has more comprehensive access to such information than any fan or third party does.
Lastly, the current selection of available soundtracks is quite limited, surprisingly so, given Nintendo’s vast catalog. As of now, there are just 23 soundtracks, leaving many iconic compositions absent. Some soundtracks teased in their promotional trailer, such as Super Mario 64, aren’t even included.
Considering the extensive array of memorable games and soundtracks in Nintendo’s history, coupled with the fact it took Nintendo this long to enter the space and the decision to offer it as a standalone app, one could argue that fans were hoping for a richer library from the get-go.
So, when can fans expect the beloved Legend of the Seven Stars OST to make an appearance on Nintendo Music? That’s the million-dollar question right now.
