Nintendo launches music app for game soundtrack lovers

The new Nintendo Music app, exclusive to Nintendo Switch Online members, brings a treasure trove of music from iconic games like The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Animal Crossing right to your smartphone.

With this app, fans can stream or download soundtracks, create and share playlists, and explore a library filled with music from Nintendo’s game history. This extensive catalogue will continue to expand, promising an even richer selection for future listening. Nintendo Switch Online members can easily access these features by downloading the app on the App Store or Google Play.

The Nintendo Music app offers more than just a playlist—users can personalise their experience with several unique features:

• Spoiler prevention: Hide tracks that might reveal surprises if you haven’t completed certain games.
• Extended play mode: For those wanting to keep the music going, this feature lets you extend tracks for up to an hour or set them to a loop.
• Recommendations: The app suggests music based on your Nintendo Switch play history and discover soundtracks from games you already love.

The app is available to all Nintendo Switch Online members, including those on a free trial, so new users can easily try it out. Plus, members of Nintendo Switch Online’s Family Membership can share the app benefits with up to seven other members.

While the app’s design and unique features are great, disappointingly there’s a lack of visible credit for composers who created these iconic tracks. Nintendo doesn’t list composer names under individual tracks. Not crediting composers in the Nintendo Music app is a significant oversight that impacts both the artists and the fans who celebrate their work. Video game composers are integral to creating the immersive experiences players love. Their music brings characters, settings, and key moments to life, forming an emotional bond that often stays with players for years. By omitting composer credits, Nintendo is downplaying the value these artists bring to its games. This is a practise we’ve unfortunately seen many times before in the industry.

Crediting anyone who worked on a game or a piece of it, like a soundtrack, helps acknowledge the collaborative effort that goes into game creation. Without these credits, Nintendo’s app presents the music as a product of the brand alone, rather than the collective talent of individual artists who have left an indelible mark on the gaming world.

With more tracks on the way, we can only be hopeful that Nintendo may rectify the issue.