Nintendo Switch menu hints at media apps to come

The Nintendo Switch won’t have streaming services like Netflix available at launch, but a menu option suggests that the service — and other media applications — will arrive eventually.

We dug through the various system settings on our retail Switch, which we’ve spent considerable time with since receiving it this week. Tucked in the Sleep Mode section is an option to suspend the default auto-sleep options when specifically using the Switch to play media content.

Nintendo via Polygon

The feature, which can be switched on or off, “prevents auto-sleep from activating while media content is playing,” according to the menu. “If this option is disabled, the console will still go to sleep after four hours of media playback.”

This definitely sounds like an option meant for Netflix binges or marathon Spotify sessions, although neither application is compatible with the Switch at launch. It’s also possible that the Switch will eventually have a native music or media player of its own, and that’s what this option could refer to.

Either way, this tiny menu function leaves the door open for the Switch’s non-game media content-playing future. For now, it’s mostly just a game console, though — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Watch: Nintendo Switch unboxing and impressions

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