{"id":1162902,"date":"2026-02-10T20:33:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=549801"},"modified":"2026-02-10T20:33:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:33:12","slug":"nintendos-new-doomscrolling-alternative-app-has-one-great-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/nintendos-new-doomscrolling-alternative-app-has-one-great-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Nintendo’s new doomscrolling alternative app has one great feature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nintendo now has a way to distance itself from toxic social media platforms it can\u2019t control with a new daily news app called Nintendo Today. While Nintendo Today in its current state is little more than a thinly populated newsfeed, the app\u2019s calendar feature might make the thing worth installing.<\/p>\n

Four months ago, Nintendo released a Spotify-like app<\/a> that only plays Nintendo music. Appropriately named Nintendo Music<\/a>, the app gives the Mario and Zelda maker the means to control how fans listen to its games\u2019 themes and soundtracks, officially, without having to rely on (or share revenue with) a third party.<\/p>\n

Nintendo made a similar move with the Nintendo Switch Online app, a messaging and chat platform that serves as an alternative to messaging platforms like Discord \u2014\u00a0which has been integrated by rivals Sony and Microsoft on their consoles. The NSO app includes game-specific services (like Nooklink for Animal Crossing: New Horizons<\/em>), but the main draw is supposed to be interacting with your online friends and using voice chat during online play. You know, stuff many people would actually prefer to do on Discord.<\/p>\n

Nintendo Today is Nintendo\u2019s latest attempt to carve out its own space, where it can send news directly to its fanbase. Like its famous Nintendo Direct presentations, the app seems like a way to bypass media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), which have become exponentially less pleasant to engage with as time progresses.<\/p>\n

The company has already used Nintendo Today to break news. On Friday morning, less than 24 hours after announcing the app, the company placed a 25-second video at the top of the feed announcing the 2027 release date for the live-action movie based on The Legend of Zelda<\/a>. It has also \u201cleaked\u201d new images of the Switch 2<\/a> itself. The newsfeed also includes a few timely morsels, like a countdown to this week\u2019s Nintendo Direct: Switch 2 showcase<\/a> and a few trailers from the latest Nintendo Direct<\/a>. The feed is otherwise populated with supplementary fluff, like a brief history of the Fire Emblem series, orchestral performances of video game music, and funny \u201cpearls of wisdom\u201d from Animal Crossing\u2019s beloved otter, Pascal.<\/p>\n

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