Nintendo has just updated its Nintendo Switch mobile app with a handful of new features and changes. Updated on Monday, March 7th, the app has received a completely new look that makes the overall interface look a lot cleaner and more efficient. While the UI improvement is a very welcome change to the app, other additions to this new update can only be seen as baffling, as they have recently added features that, quite frankly, should have been included with the app from the very start.
The following updates to the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app can be seen as follows:
- The app's overall design has been updated.
- You can now see which of your friends are online
- You can change your online-status settings
- You can view your friend code.
- Other minor changes have been implemented.
The Nintendo Switch Online mobile app hasn't received any major updates since its initial release in 2017, as the overall functionality of the app was limited, and arguably still is, as the app only supports three major titles (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons) with game-specific functions, and a handful of other titles such as ARMS, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Mario Tennis Aces, solely to make use of the app's very poor voice chat function.
Article Continues BelowNot being able to see when your friends are online, changing your online status, or even being able to see your own friend code on the app before this update really shows the disconnect between the higher-ups at Nintendo for not being very keen on the realm of online gaming. If Nintendo and their current president, Shuntaro Furukawa, wish to make the Nintendo Switch's online more attractive for users, they are going to need to do much more than add basic functions to their app. Hopefully, these little additions will be the start of more frequent and noteworthy updates to their online services.