The Switch is already a versatile device, but can you watch Netflix or Prime Video on Nintendo Switch? (Or any other streaming services, for that matter.)
The Nintendo Switch is, but for a heavy degree of customisation, an Android tablet. Yes, it has those brilliant controllers and Nintendo’s customised operating system onboard, but on the inside, it’s a Tegra-based tablet just like the Nvidia Shield.
But with that custom operating system comes a big pro and a little con. The pro is obviously that you can play games developed for, and by Nintendo. Between Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey and all those other great first-party games, it’s a great justification for the Switch costing two to three times more than your average tablet.
The little con is that you don’t get access to a wider app ecosystem outside of Nintendo’s approval process. Most of the time, that’s not an issue. There’s a lot of junk on the Google Play store that you wouldn’t even want. But every now and then, you run into something really useful that you wish you could install, and Nintendo – in their wisdom – hasn’t made it available yet.
Case in point: Netflix. The ubiquitous video streaming service was available on the Nintendo Wii and is still available on the Wii U (while the eShop is still available for the retiring platform, but the clock is ticking). It’s slightly beneficial having Netflix on static, home-based consoles, but where Netflix would really shine? On a portable console like the Nintendo Switch.
Can you watch Netflix on Nintendo Switch?
No. Not at the moment, anyway. At the time of last update (Feb 2022) you can’t watch Netflix on Nintendo Switch.
You can rest assured that Netflix will be working to get a Netflix app onto Nintendo Switch. It’s a match made in heaven, and giving people more ways to watch – and more reasons to justify higher subscription tiers with more devices – is the streaming giant’s bread and butter.
And given Netflix’s support for the Wii and Wii U, and the fact that the Wii version has since been discontinued? We’d be very surprised if Netflix doesn’t have an app in the works, and it’s Nintendo’s certification process that’s holding it up.
Can you watch Amazon Prime Video on Nintendo Switch?
No. At the time of last update (Feb 2022) you can’t watch Amazon Prime Video on Nintendo Switch.
Ditto, everything we said above about Netflix for Amazon Prime Video. With an Amazon Instant Video – the former name for Amazon Prime Video – app available for the Wii U, you have to think it’s only a matter of time before Amazon follows up with a Nintendo Switch version.
What about other streaming services on Nintendo Switch?
Here’s the status of every other streaming service we know of on Nintendo Switch. Let us know in the comments below if we’ve missed anything.
- Hulu – yes, app available
- YouTube – yes, app available
- Pokemon TV – yes, app available
- Twitch – yes, app available
- Funimation – yes, app available
- Crunchyroll – yes, app available
- Disney Plus – no
- Sky/Now TV – no
- HBO – no
- PlayStation Vue – absolutely not!
- BBC iPlayer – no
- ITV Player – no
- All 4 – no
Updated February 17, 2022 (added Crunchyroll).
Hopefully, the Nintendo Switch will get Netflix – and Amazon Prime Video, and a bunch of other streaming services – soon.
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