Surprise - Nintendo releases music streaming app for smartphones

The whole world is waiting for the Switch 2, but Nintendo doesn't seem to care much. Instead of a successor console, the company released a quirky alarm clock with motion sensor this month. Now comes the next surprise that nobody expected: a Nintendo music streaming app for Android and iOS.

Game soundtracks and clever functions

Other companies publish their game soundtracks on streaming services such as Spotify and the like - Nintendo, on the other hand, is developing its own app for its music library. What initially seems absurd turns out to be an amazingly good app with great additional functions on closer inspection.

"Nintendo Music" is structured like other classic music streaming apps. You can choose between different soundtracks from Nintendo games and play them on the go. The tracks can be sorted by game, by character or by specific moments (victory, defeat, boss battles, etc.). There are also predefined playlists based on moods ("Good night", "Running", "Break Time", etc.).

In addition to current blockbusters such as "Animal Crossing: New Horizons", retro titles such as "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and quirky soundtracks such as the Wii title menu music can also be found in the app. You can find a complete overview at the end of the article.

You can also add the tracks to your own playlists and download them for offline playback. The option to extend tracks is particularly cool. If you want to listen to the relatively short theme music from "Super Mario Galaxy" (1:21 minutes) for longer, you can extend the song to up to 60 minutes. With this function, the theme music is not just looped, but cut together and extended at the appropriate points. Unfortunately, this does not (yet) work for all tracks - I would have loved to have written this news about an hour-long version of the "Hyrule Field Main Theme" from "Ocarina of Time".

The individual tracks are each accompanied by pretty screenshots from the respective games. If you're afraid of being spoilt by the title names and images, you can add individual games to a spoiler list to hide them. Great!

Less great is the fact that the app does not contain any information about the composers of the music tracks. Only the game is named as the artist. What a shame.

Only available with "Nintendo Switch Online"

A nice gimmick is that the app automatically summarises games that you have played on the Switch. This is because you have to log in with your Nintendo account to use "Nintendo Music" and the service accesses your gaming activities.

The account requirement has a catch, however: the app can only be used by subscribers to the "Nintendo Switch Online" service.

Nintendo's online subscription gives you access to multiplayer functions on the Switch, as well as access to an extensive retro catalogue of classic Nintendo games. In the past, the company has already looked at various ways to add value to its subscription service. For example, subscribers also have access to paid expansion packs and exclusive hardware - including retro controllers and Nintendo's curious alarm clock "Alarmo".

The following games are available in the app at launch

For the launch, Nintendo has integrated 22 soundtracks from nine different Nintendo systems into the app. The selection will be continuously expanded.

Nintendo Switch

• "Animal Crossing: New Horizons"
• "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe"
• "Pikmin 4"
• "Pokémon Crimson & Purple"
• "Splatoon 3"
• "Super Mario Odyssey"
• "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild"

Wii

• "Super Mario Galaxy"
• Diverse Wii channels, including: Wii Menu, Mii Plaza, Wii Shop, Photos

Nintendo DS

• "Nintendogs"
• "Tomodachi Collection"

Nintendo Gamecube

• "Metroid Prime"

Game Boy Advance

• "Fire Emblem: The Blazing Brigade"

Nintendo 64

• "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
• "Lylat Wars"

SNES

• "Donkey Kong Country"
• "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island"

Game Boy

• "Kirby's Dream Land"
• "Dr Mario"

NES

• "Metroid"
• "Metroid (Famicom Disk System)"
• "Super Mario Bros."