The news comes via the support page for the Netflix Wii U app, which now offers a statement from Nintendo:
“As of December 31, 2020, the Netflix app is no longer available for new users to download from Nintendo eShop on the Wii U console or Nintendo 3DS family. During that time, existing users will be able to download it again. Service for existing users will continue until June 30, 2021. Many thanks to everyone who has enjoyed Netflix on these platforms over the years. “It’s understandable that Nintendo wants to close these apps on older consoles, but it seems a lot that the Nintendo Switch, despite its popularity, has not yet received its own Netflix app. Back in 2017, then COO of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime said that Nintendo Switch programs for Netflix, Hulu and Amazon would ‘arrive on time’.
Switch does not have a large range of streaming services, but a few – Hulu is already available on the console in the US, and the Anime streaming service Funimation recently came to Switch last month, but there is still no sign of Netflix. We hope the disabling of older services can bring some life to Netflix on Switch.
It’s going to be an interesting year for Switch, with rumors of a Pro model popping up no matter how much Nintendo tries to knock them out, and with the hybrid hand-selling new-generation consoles in the US, even during their launch month .
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.