Nintendo Switch Online

The app is very well designed, and it could be something fantastic. But as of right now, where any time I start it up it makes my phone think I'm constantly in a call, even while trying to use other apps, as well as not allowing my alarm to ring properly if I had opened it the night before all make for a poor experience. Nintendo, the internet and smart phones have been around for at least a few years, please ensure that your engineers understand what makes apps good. Your games are great, but the smartphone side of your marketing is poor.

Lacks the most basic features expected of online chat, like working with the screen off. Only supports one of *four(thanks to another reviewer for pointing out fast rmx) games with online capability, as in no matchmaking, no chat. Has minor cool features (make splatoon trades within the app) but this is a demo for a "put an intern on it for a day" splatoon companion app, not for an online service you're expected to pay for when it offers less and worse than Nintendo's previous free offerings.

I'm giving this app two stars because the UI is very clean and nice, and there really is a lot of potential here for interesting and convenient features, so I don't feel like the bare minimum is really fair. However, I really can't see the reasoning behind locking features like voice chat behind an app, then making that app so inconvenient to use. As a Switch owner, I enjoy the system very much, and have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. Nintendo, please don't sabotage the system's success and overall-positive reception with this app. And please, please, please, read these reviews, and check the feedback from the app itself.

This app is unnecessary! Everything is app does, the game should be able to do also with easy. Now I can't use the phone, check messages, notifications, and I basicly have to have my phone plugged in all the time because I need to have my screen on to stay in the chat. Do I really need a chat room live on my phone the whole time during a match? If the phone were a second screen with a map or something that would be a cool option. The app doesn't even auto rotate. Vertical only. So even if it did have a map and a phone holster attachment for the controller the app still wouldn't look right.

The app is barebones with no ability to message friends and only slowing voice chat at the moment. And there is absolutely ZERO reason for these features to not be on the Switch itself. If this was a companion app to the Switch and all the features were on the system then this would be a cool alternative. But it's not and it's unexceptable to expect people to pay money for this next year.

It's an ok start but man is it missing a lot of things. First of all, you should be able to leave the app or at least lock your phone and still be able to use this. There is no reason why that's not here. Also while splatnet is very nice, the party function should work better. It's just not nearly as good as Xbox or PlayStation. I would love to be able to start a party without needing to play a game with my friends because maybe I want to do other things in the game or just talk to a friend who's playing another game. The app was never the best idea but it's definitely got some potential. You guys just need to listen to the feedback and fix what isn't here

I was originally someone who defended the idea of an app. It could've provided neat extras and supplemented the Switch nicely. However, the execution as of right now is a mess. The app has to remain open, with the phone display on, in order to keep calls running. The app must be on the forefront at all times during a call to participate, meaning no googling, no checking texts or emails, nothing. Splatnet seems like a neat tool for Splatoon 2, but beyond that, the core functionality is several years behind the competition.

Why do I need to run this app along side my Switch? Really?! Just add voice support and friends on the Switch, making an app to do this is just rediculious. I don't want to run multiple devices to eat up my network just to play a game. Seriously, the switch is such an awesome, well designed system, why ruin it with making it require me to run my smartphone?

If you want an example of a good idea turn into a bad implementation then ask Nintendo. They are the King of having no idea of what the game community want / need nor create something new / different that make sense. They are always on their own, doing what they do, meanwhile the rest is looking for new and useful ideas. That's why they only keep the core Nintendo fan on their side but nothing that actually work for them. They are just trying again and again.

This app needs some serious work. Firstly, the voice chat does not work unless both the app and screen on your phone are open which drains battery life immensely. Second, the audio cannot be mixed from both the voice chat on the phone and the game audio from the Switch without having 2 cables running from 2 different devices in to your ear. There needs to be Bluetooth support on the Switch.

Its a nice looking app, but totally should not be the main way of chat. Why is this app even needed in the first place? The switch im sure is more than capable of doing chat directly, keep this as a second screen but not main way of party chat. You have to start a room in the game, then invite people through the app. Why? They are over complicating things. Everything was going good for the switch, online was supposed to be the final key, and so faf, its not looking good

The voice chat functionality is very limited and very hard to set up. Which is a problem considering this is something that should have been built into the system. The only reason this gets 2 stars from me is because splatnet is a very cool and useful. But it should have been it's own app. You're honestly better off just calling a your friends than using this pretty useless app.

This app is needless as everything should be system wide on the console itself. Screen must remain active for the app to work. Can't switch to other apps while chatting. Can't pull down notification screen while chatting and can't talk to friends unless you're in a specific game with them. No text messaging either. Nintendo have got a lot right with the switch, it's fantastic but this is just baffling. As a companion app it looks cool though, game integration seems to be good. SplatNet looks excellent.

The UI is good and the splatnet looks good, but the major use of the app is voice chat. DON'T BOTHER. Go download Discord and use that to chat with your friends. As of right now the usability if the app loses to most voice features available almost 10 years ago. Voice Must work in the background to be usable

The SplatNet 2 service is really good and useful, besides the Voice Chat requirment. However, the rest of the app needs work. Not useful enough, honestly. But I still sure it will get better overtime. However, requiring an app for voice chat is not a good decision. It should be done through the game, but given through the app optionally.

If they can fix the issues this could be good on the go. Need to be able to run it in the background. I dont need an email notification or text message shutting down communications while playing. I also dont want my screen to be on. Hopefully Dena and Nintendo can fix this and fast. The switch is amazing. This App as it stands now is garbage. The negatives over shadow any light in this app. Fix this Nintendo now.

There's no reason to use this app for voice chat over Discord or Skype for friends, and it really should be on the console. Even then, this app lacks a lot of basic features for voice chat, like being able to have it run in the background or with your screen off. Other than that, Splatnet 2 is a very nice addition to Splatoon 2 and an interesting way to interact with the game when you're away from the game, allowing you to buy gear and look at the stage selection away from your system. Other than that though, I'd recommend a better alternative if you're looking to chat with friends.

The splatoon companion app is fine. But voice chat should be on the Switch, not on a mobile phone. Its insane that a console in 2017 does not have voice chat built in. The original xbox had voice chat and that was well over a decade ago. The app itself is draining on the phone battery and requires that it stays on the screen, if i go to something else or turn off my screen the connection will cut off. This app is a complete disaster, this shouldn't be the only option for voice chat. Its ridiculous.

The Dreamcast system supported voice chat...but the Switch itself does not. I understand the switch is marketed as both a home and portable console, but adding this many barriers to the use of what is nowadays considered a standard feature feels ridiculous. Poor business decision by Nintendo in my opinion. Love the games, but this really could have been better integrated. Is there no way to make use of the Switch's Bluetooth system instead?

Why go through all of the hassle of plugging a headset into your phone, getting a splitter and plugging it into the switch (which is even more annoying if playing with it docked) and having to navigate a maze of menus ingame just to voice chat? Either integrate it into the Switch OS or just use discord. It's that simple.

Why would you use this app instead of other VOIP apps like Discord or Skype? Those options allow you to chat while your screen is off, or while your using another app. They'd let you chat with your friends even if you're playing on opposite teams. Nintendo totally missed the mark here as this app is missing the most basic features voice chat apps have included for decades.

Terrible. It's not like skype, or discord. You have to drain your battery to use it. And you even have too keep your screen on so you can hear your friends. One time I was using it today and my phone turned off and my friend was telling me a plan and I missed it so. Thanks Nintendo. Worst voice chat app ever.

Pros: Seemingly follows basic Material Design. Cons: Doesn't work in the background AT ALL. Not even a persistent notification. SplatNet 2 should be its own app. Probably doesn't follow Material Design enough. It's a Bootstrap web app (and you can tell!)

To all the people who are commenting that Nintendo going this route is a bad idea: It's not! The switch is a portable console that can be docked into a TV. The reason the app exists for online chat and rooms is because the Switch doesn't have a constant intermet connection when on the go. Your phone does, so when you want to connect online, you always have the app and a mobile hotspot to play online with. It honestly makes a lot of sense with this system. Don't understand why there's so much hate. The app itself has a nice interface that's easy to navigate and inviting friends.is as simple as the press of 2 buttons. Highly recommend if you own a Switch!

Why aren't voice features built into the Switch? There should be no need for an app that is required for any voice chat on a modern system. Since we do have to use an app, why force it to only work with the screen on? Nintendo needs to figure out a solution that works on the system itself.

A lot of problems here: * chat doesn't run in background * chat doesn't run with screen off * ALL invites/groups/etc should be handled on the switch... not the app. I shouldn't need to use an app to play with friends. Reduces portability if I need to set my switch down pull out the phone just to make a group. * should have an option to run sound thru the switch/not have to choose if headphones in phone or headphones in game.

A bunch of unnecessary hot garbage, doesn't even let you turn the screen off while using. This should be part of the console instead of having to use 2 different devices to play one game. This is 2017 get it together nintendo! Every other console maker has this functionality built in. The switch has the resources to run this in the background so its not even a power thing

Overall terrible implementation of voice chat to the Nintendo Switch. This app cannot compare to other apps such as discord or Skype. At least they don't shut down when I pull down my notifications or when my phone goes to sleep from inactivity. It's just baffling Nintendo chose to go down this route.

This app is a farce. How am I supposed to allow a child to do voice chat with a friend if they both need a parent's smartphone? This is beyond ludicrous. If this were designed as a companion app only, then I am sure it would be worth having. However, I fear that this will greatly devalue the Splatoon experience for my boy.

This app is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. You should be able to create lobbies on the console and skip having this pointless app altogether. Voice chat should not be limited to when you are in game and should not be tied directly to a second device. This app lacks many features that are standard for all other consoles such as sending messages.

This is not the way to handle online. Clunky design, and a hassle to use in most cases. You cannot voice chat unless this app is up 100% of the time. It has some interesting features, like showing some multiplayer stats on various games. But overall the app feels very unsatisfying to use with your switch.

Switch owner here - concept is good but its badly executed. You cant stay in a chatroom if you turn the screen off, drag the notification panel down or use another app. Also you cant listen to this and the ingame sound without a silly adapter. Microsoft and Sony have been doing online chat through their consoles for years flawlessly. Just imagine if you had to pay for a monthly fee for this setup. Insane by Nintendo.

This app fails at what it's made for: creating a convenient way to play games with your friends. Voice chat is horribly broken and the invitation system is needlessly complex. Some features like the game stats tracker are actually cool features but they aren't what this is for. I shouldn't have to use two devices for basic functionality on one.

This app seriously needs work. Very bare bones. You can't voice chat if your screen goes to sleep? What the heck? Doesn't cause issues for other communication apps. The fact that this isn't integrated into the Switch OS was a red flag, but this is just downright poor execution.

As a childhood Nintendo fan, it pains me to give Nintendo a bad review. Unfortunately the implementation of voice chat, on an otherwise excellent system, is horrendously complex and infuriating. Not only am I forced to use this app because the Switch does not have native voice chat support (why not?), I can't even lock my phone or switch to a different app while using it. This is a poor poor solution to a problem Nintendo created themselves.

App is limited and unnecessary. Nintendo needs to get up to industry standards when it comes to online. A console integrated voice/party chat and messaging system (without friend codes) should be implemented. I shouldn't have to use my phone for something other consoles (previous Nintendo ones included) have been doing for years. I can't see myself paying for Nintendos online service in the future if this is the best they have to offer.

Good, but could've gone another route. The servers aren't up yet, but based on the GameXplain interview and looking at the pictures, it looks like a great app. The thing is, they could've included an HDMI cable to hook up to the switch and TV that is connected to the headset. It would make things easier to handle, but still.

My issues: - Voice chat cannot be used while in another app or screen is off. -There's no way to hear game audio while using voice chat. - The audio cuts out when receiving any type of notification. Please just put this functionality on the console. It's so antiquated to not be able to have the accessibility Microsoft and Sony figured out 10+ years ago.

Unfortunately this is not how you implement a voice chat in 2017. No one wants an additional device to meddle with. It's perfectly possible to make this all work on the console itself, why go with the less intuitive route for the user? The app itself is well-made, it has a clean and smooth user interface.

What the hell is this? Come on nintendo. Why couldn't you just have voice chat on the switch. This nonsense is messy. The app won't even work when the phone goes to sleep, chat drops when I open another app. This is so useless. I'll ne damned if I'm going to pay for online services in the future if yhis is as good as voice chat gets for nintendo. I'll stick to pc, xbox and playstation for quality online play. Get with the times you lazy no goods.