Launched a week ago, Nintendo’s Spotify arrived with the promise of delivering decades of memories in one place, but so far it’s proven to be nothing more than a clever marketing tool, as they know how to do it in Japan.
Nearly forty years ago, a composition by Koji Kondo It would change the course of video games. Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan as the flagship game for the first home console Nintendo which not only brought a new experience to homes, but also the appearance of original and iconic songs it would give life to a new medium.
The music of Super Mario Bros. changed depending on the time in the story what the plumber was going through: an animated song for the first levels, a darker one for the underground worlds, a pretty waltz animating the aquatic worlds and once we arrive at the castle, a much more accelerated and tense composition, designed to put everyone’s nerves on edge under severe strain. .
From there, the games of Nintendo They always had the habit of being accompanied by catchy, simple and well-memorized songs. being to this day one of the main attributes that distinguish them in a market where they operate with the disadvantage of always being the least powerful team, but which focuses on artistic direction both visual and sound.
And so on more than a dozen consoles, the company planted emblematic songs of the medium: the atmospheric tunes of Super Metroid the epic of Zelda Ocarina of Time the orchestras of Super Smash Bros. . Meleethe song from the Wii store, the explosion of colors from Mario Kart 8 or the impressive number of melodies of Animal Crossing: New Horizons They represent only a small percentage of what each company’s console has left us. And I’m not talking about laptops.
The problem for the public is that, with the exception of a few compilations released on CD, mainly in the Japanese market, Nintendo had never been dedicated to sharing its soundtracks outside of its games . A trend that other companies are not following. Today, on Spotify, it is possible to find video game songs uploaded either by their authors or by the same companies that own them. Capcom for example, owns the vast majority of songs from his saga Street fighter as part of the Spotify catalog, something businesses love SEGA , Ubisoft and more on various streaming systems.
But except for one occasion when Nintendo decided to sell songs from Pokemon In the iTunes store, the company’s fans have had to resort to users downloading compilations of songs from YouTube, illegal downloads, or simply turning on the game on their console and listening to music. Something that in a way I can understand, but also doesn’t fit with how the public equally enjoys each part of a video game separately. If Nintendo wants music and games to go hand in hand, they’re going to have to fight the need we’ve generated to one day just want to listen to the songs and nothing else.
Finally, last week, that debt was finally settled, although this being Nintendo we’re talking about, it had to be done in its own way. And that’s it On October 31, the company launched an app for Android and iOS called Nintendo Music which, as its name suggests, is an official music player that brings together songs from all eras of the company .
Anyone can download it, but to access it, you need an active Nintendo Switch Online account the payment service that the Switch uses to be able to connect to play online and other benefits, like access to discounts and retro games. The basic annual subscription costs 21,390 pesos per year and for Nintendo Switch users it is almost an obligation to have it to get the most out of the laptop that is already 7 years old.
Is it worth buying Nintendo Switch Online just to listen to Nintendo Music? Of course not but for the rest of the users it means an incentive to be able to continue paying the annuity, although so far nothing more.
How does Nintendo Music work?
Open red icon Nintendo Music It’s about achieving the closest thing to a clone of Spotify or Youtube Music, but only with content from the Japanese company. The service is divided into three tabs: Home, Search and My Music, as well as a settings section.
In To start We can find most of the content in categories curated by Nintendo. For example, you can go directly to “Mario Selection” to find a list of 17 game themes ranging from Super Mario Bros. from the NES to Super Mario Marvelreleased last year for the Switch.
You can focus on the characters, find music from Yoshi for more upbeat things, from KK Slider if you want Animal crossing or Ganon to remember the epic battles of The Legend of Zelda. And so, there are a lot of forms and lists that mix different franchises, this menu being very similar to what Spotify Home can be.
When playing a song, the menu is very simple: you can fast forward, rewind, pause and add custom lists. One of the functions that I like the most and which is available in certain songs -especially the classics- is the possibility of playing in loop that is, the track repeats for a period of 15, 30 or 60 minutes. This feature is very intuitive since video game music is often made to be listened to this way, in an infinite loop until the end of the level, so if you want to play a specific song for a gaming session, Work—something that exists on YouTube with videos that repeat up to 10 hours is something that is appreciated.
But after looking through the menu a bit, you start to realize that Nintendo Music’s initial offering doesn’t match the company’s extensive experience . You quickly start to see how lists of things repeat themselves. Super Mario Odysseyof donkey kong and of Zeldaand not only that, but especially the games released for the Switch. And in the search menu we can find out why.
In To research not only is there the bar that allows us to find songs either by searching for the name, the game or as part of a list, but there is a list with all the games present in the application, classified by platform , by soundtrack arrival date or release year, which, again, is a good way to see how the company’s music has evolved.
But if we take a total count of games, at the time of writing this article, There are only 25 soundtracks available . 25 soundtracks from hundreds and hundreds of games produced by Nintendo over almost 40 years.
Of course, the first selection contains several interesting things: of course, it is Super Mario Bros. like the original game, as well as the soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country 1 And 2 of the SNES. The superb space melodies of Metroid Prime from Gamecube are also present and the 407 songs that make up the complete soundtrack of Animal crossing new horizons. Yes, 407 songs in one game.
But the initial airplay of these songs leaves a lot to be desired. For example, there are 9 Nintendo Switch games — of course, it’s the newest, most popular and the reason this app exists — but only 3 soundtracks from NES, 3 from SNES and 2 from Nintendo 64 For example.
On Gamecube, there is only one, the same as the Gameboy Advance. And the Wii U just didn’t exist (maybe because all of its good games ended up coming out on Switch). This is not something new. For their retro gaming service on Switch, they have also started adding games little by little, but perhaps the composition of these songs shows us that, for now, rather than seeking to preserve the musical heritage of the company, they simply see it as a way to continue promoting only their newest franchises that may feature games in the future.
A significant detail is that the songs have their name, the game they come from, the year and the console where they were published, but the names of the authors of said soundtracks do not appear, so there is no intention to thank names like Koji Kondo , David Sage either Kenji Yamamoto .
For a company so anchored in its traditions, the initial catalog meets the minimum but he does not come to tell us a story, but rather to listen, once again, to what Nintendo deems appropriate. This week for example, the OST of Donkey Kong Country 2 and only that. It’s unclear if music will be added every week, if only one will be added each time, or if even in the future they might eliminate games from the catalog to prevent it from looking messy. Since Nintendo owns the app, it can do this.
Nintendo Music’s debut left several technical issues in the app but above all, we always feel as a sketch of what should really be at the heart of the music that has defined more than one generation . Nintendo has the potential to create a true historical document, but today it’s just a product designed to not make us feel so bad about paying for a subscription while we wait for the Nintendo’s successor to arrive. Switch.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
