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The story
Reports that video apps like Niconico Douga, YouTube, and ABEMA can’t be watched on the Nintendo Switch 2 have become a hot topic on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board. Users have pointed out that services which worked fine on the original Switch and Wii U are unsupported on the successor console, and the thread buzzed with theories ranging from how ads are handled, to differences in payment systems, to security restrictions. At the same time, there’s a persistent camp arguing “do you even need to watch videos on a game console in the first place?” The actual cause remains officially unconfirmed.
What people said
You can watch them on Switch 1, though — wasn't that a game console too?
That's basically turned into the "PS Ojisan" ASCII art at this point (a famous 5ch meme of a grumbling old PlayStation fan)
I want to watch it on the TV though
All three TVs in my house can pull up YouTube with a button on the remote.
Why would you watch YouTube on a game console?
You can obviously watch it on your phone too.
I own both a Switch and a PS5, and I've never once watched YouTube on either.
Am I the weird one here?
Someone with a silver tongue, become a shareholder and file a direct appeal
Probably a standoff between video sites wanting to push paid subscriptions and Nintendo's policy of not allowing in-app purchases.
The content's too trashy anyway — I bet Nintendo doesn't want to be held responsible for it
That's 100% on the content providers, so it's got nothing to do with Switch 2
Seriously though.
At least let us watch YouTube already
They want video-streaming apps on consoles too — a gateway to decline.
Since it only undermines gaming as entertainment, there's no need to support it.
It wasn't a problem on the original Switch, which sold like crazy, so this "time gets stolen" idea sounds like paranoia to begin with.
And honestly, something as minor as Niconico isn't going to "steal" anything from anyone
And cough up the money while you're at it
So are you watching it on Switch every day, then? Show me your My Nintendo (play activity) screen.
If you're not watching it, that just means you don't need it, right?
A lot of ads these days are sketchy enough you can't show them to kids
More like it's a security issue around tracking
Some TVs support YouTube, some don't.
Some people watch videos on game consoles, some don't.
Don't assume your own common sense is everyone else's common sense
I see — 3 TVs, 2 PC monitors, 1 desktop PC, 2 laptops, 2 tablets, 4 smartphones.
Is owning that many YouTube-capable devices some kind of class gap?
I'm just an ordinary guy…
Well, today I learned…
What’s Behind the Discussion
The Niconico Douga and YouTube apps aren’t built-in system features — they’re developed and provided individually by each service. As noted in the thread, the Niconico app for the original Switch has already been announced to end service. The absence of major video apps on Switch 2 is likely less a hardware limitation than a business-side standoff between Nintendo and these companies over how ads and payment systems are handled. It’s worth stressing that the thread’s theories — “ad restrictions,” “security/tracking countermeasures” — are speculation, not information confirmed by any official announcement. The discussion also turns on a broader difference in values over whether a game console even needs video-playback functionality in the first place, so this isn’t simply a technical glitch that can be waved away.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch Hardware/Industry (Geha) board thread “Niconico, YouTube, ABEMA, etc. “Not available on Switch 2” — why?“.
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