Internet Infrastructure for Streaming Does Not Exist in the US Right Now, Says Nintendo Exec

Game streaming is starting to slowly become a thing in the gaming market now. PS Now has been offered to people for a few years, and Microsoft has announced Project xCloud, while Google has Project Stream coming up (these people really aren’t good at coming up with names). Even Nintendo has streaming solutions in place, with games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey being offered to Switch owners in Japan via streaming.

But that is only in Japan—it’s not been done in the west yet. There’s good reason for that, according to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. Speaking to Kotaku in an interview, Fils-Aime noted that for now, the infrastructure necessary to bring viable game streaming to the masses simply does not exist in the US.

“It’s specific to Japan because of the internet infrastructure that exists in that country. Very high-speed wireless capability. The ability to have a great experience in,” Fils-Aime said.

When pointed out to him that other services are offering streaming in the States, Fils-Aime said that the quality of connections offered in the country are simply not up to par. That said, he did say that Nintendo will continue to monitor this area.

“And so from that standpoint we’re looking at that activity as a very interesting test case and certainly is going to drive our thinking and our potential investments here in the Americas.”

Of course, given that the Switch offers you the chance to take your games with you wherever you go natively, streaming isn’t something that it really needs anyway. So there is that.