Yeeep it ruined my call to action too! But it's still better than nothing.

The reply is back! I had to edit it to remove all references to custom DNS servers, which unfortunately includes the petition. Before and after.

For subreddits, technically r/switchbru has existed for a while, but it isn't that active. I just made r/browsedns as well, if anyone wants to use them.

I came across this reddit post on r/NintendoSwitch about why the Switch should have a web browser, and although the author's tone is a bit aggressive, the replies are even more so! A lot of people adamantly listing a lot of false reasons that the Switch shouldn't have a standalone browser app.

My responses to these reasons are as follows:

You are correct. This is an older thread, but I'm going to respond to some common stuff people have said here. Before I get into it, I want to lead with this change.org petition, which already has almost 14,000 signatures from other people who also want a standalone browser app on the Switch.

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"It's a lot of development work that they won't maintain"

Actually, the development work is already done. The Switch already internally includes a webkit-based browser, and it is updated frequently. It can be accessed and used to browse other sites using custom DNS settings or through the social media applets. One such DNS server is 45.55.142.122 (Switchbru DNS).

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"Browsers are a security problem, exploits could be released"

While it's true that browsers can be an attack vector, as previously mentioned, the Switch already includes a browser. It also uses the browser internally for the eShop, Hotel login, Social Media sharing, News apps, and in some games. If an exploit were discovered in the browser, it would not matter whether it were a standalone app or not, it already exists. Additionally, Nintendo is able to disable the browser remotely (the "Supernag"), and would do so if an exploit were discovered (This is something they did on the 3DS as well).

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"Children could visit inappropriate sites"

This is all the more reason that Nintendo should implement parental controls and release an official browser app to protect it with. If parental controls are not deemed a solution to this problem, then Nintendo has no business selling Hentai games on the eShop. The parental controls could even go one step further and allow only access to educational or homework sites as well.

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"Just use your phone or smart TV"

This is the argument that I find the most upsetting. Not everyone has access to their phone at all times. Phones can die, be forgotten, or not be affordable in some countries. That last point goes doubly for Smart TVs. Restricting this kind of stuff, when it already exists and works on the console, is inconvenient for a small minority of people. I find it especially ironic that some people considered your post a "first world problem"– Internet access in other parts of the world is not always so easy, but even just being able to get to Wikipedia or Google can provide crucial or time-sensitive educational information.

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"There is no financial incentive for them to do so"

The web itself is actually filled with financial incentives. Even if it's not going to be the reason you buy your console, there could be a whole world of online games and Switch-specific websites that users could visit. Nintendo could work directly with web developers and expose Switch specific APIs (They did this on the Wii, Wii U, DS, and 3DS... actually the Switch's hidden browser already has some undocumented APIs!), and work together with advertisers to make additional money for both web developers and themselves.

It should also be noted that Xbox and Steam Deck provide web browsers on their consoles. PS3 and PS4 did, but PS5 no longer has one that's easily accessible. Sony chose to follow in Nintendo's footsteps in this regard. I believe this allows Nintendo/Sony to exercise more control over their platforms via the eShop/PS Store, and make more people need to buy games through then instead of using seeking comparable website alternatives.

For example, it may be hard to justify purchasing an old retro game if there's a free online or open-source clone found on the first few pages of Google.

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"The Switch is too weak for a web browser"

This is plainly false, although I can see why it's said. It has roughly the specs of a 5 year old tablet, and it behaves like one online. If you browse using the DNS, you can see first hand that it handles a majority of modern websites quite well. Some more complicated websites can produce a (dismissable!) memory error, but these limitations could be addressed and further optimized relatively easily by Nintendo in an standalone browser.

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"The Switch is a gaming console first and foremost"

I won't deny this fact. It does also, however, also provides YouTube, social media services, emulators (via NSO) and gaming news. I believe Nintendo's reasoning is more about making sure that legally speaking, the Switch remains seen as separate from a phone or PC, which allows them to have tighter control over their platform.

I don't doubt that varying degrees of some of the above reasons are false either. I am still hopeful that one day in the future, we will see a Switch browser. But we're going to need a lot more people that care about it, instead of how many of the replies here are treating the issue.

At the start of the post I linked a petition, if you made it to the bottom of the post, here's an update to the petition that was made in April 2022, which contains similar content to my post here. I think that 1. informing more people and 2. letting Nintendo know that there are a sizable chunk of interested users increases the chances of an official one being released.

Posting this info here may be like preaching to the choir, but I am looking for some comradery, I guess! Starting to feel like I'm shouting into a void– my comment was unfortunately deleted by a moderator for being against the subreddit rules.

It's upsetting that this topic can't be effectively discussed on r/NintendoSwitch as it does not involve an exploit to the system. My response to the moderation is less important, but can be read here. I hope that this rule changes in the near future, as it helps users understand more about the Switch, web devices, and what should be considered their own digital rights.

Until then, I'm going to keep being preachy and using whatever platforms I do have to try to keep the info on this topic accurate.

@Nico_Robin added some more info in shoutbox, if anyone wants to try this out:

if you already have your twitter linked, you can just click sign up and it'll show a error message, but just click the button and it'll take you to the twitter start page

So, if you press Share (eg. from Album or from a game) after linking Twitter, you can get to the Twitter start page, and access your DMs.

If it's through the share applet, it's very likely due to this: https://browsedns.net/topic/359/browser-applets-and-why-videos-don-t-work?_=1652035094029

Basically, when accessed via DNS the web view has the video playback functionality disabled. When accessed via the share applets, videos can work, however only over trusted domains (eg. Twitter, Google, Facebook).

That's very interesting though! So through Twitter DMs and switching back and forth between the DNS browser, you could have a semi functional method of viewing videos.

Maybe it'd be possible to create a type of bot that uses the Twitter API to DM certain types videos for playback.

Yes, it has been 7 days of downtime, but that still doesn't mean it's gone for good.

The service provider that hosts the Switchbru Dashboard site has disabled the site, and @pwsincd is in talks with them to address it. We don't have all the info but it seems like something security related on their end.

A week of downtime is annoying, and if it keeps continuing, we will pack up the database and restore the Dashboard site to another provider. The DNS itself however, on 45.55.142.122 should still be working, and still allow browsing via Google, in the meantime.

It's true, I haven't actually used any of the more drawing focused features, just as a Photoshop replacement. For tablet drawing I usually use Procreate on an old iPad with a stylus.

Mudkip, probably.

These guys are cool too: Flygon, Shedinja, Breloom, Porygon-Z, Shuckle

This interview was originally published in Famitsu in 2006, and it explains why Smash Bros and Kirby games always have very nice menu design for the user experience:

https://sourcegaming.info/2016/06/07/rethinking-your-menus-sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-138/

These parts are my favorite:

Avoiding “No Response” Inputs
Likewise, it’s important to utilize as many of the buttons as possible, even if it means some commands double up across buttons. Don’t ignore a player’s “order.”

Tapping to Start the Game
I recommend setting up your menus such that, if a player starts pressing a button at the title screen and repeating this several times without selecting another item, they will eventually end up at the main mode of the game.

Also smash bros is a kirby game, canonically speaking.

This topic contains a link to playboxie.com which has a few. You can also try googling around for "HTML5 games". Anything that doesn't require WebGL should work with the Switch's browser, and some even support the controllers.

Minutes to Midnight:

basically the shoutbox, but exists for all time!

thank you for this knowledge.

Any better now? It seems like an issue with all the group badges. We just made a change to limit it to only display the first 5 to address this.

@Q-Mark It's not dead... well, right now it is. There's a temporary issue with the server that the Switchbru dashboard runs on.

You can monitor the outage here: https://status.fortheusers.org under "DNS DashBoard"

It should be back online soon, or in the next few days.

What helped me was, from the Switch menu, holding power down until the screen and console shut off (ignoring the onscreen pop up), waiting a few seconds, then holding volume up, inserting the jig, and pressing power once. After that it should appear as "APX", and nothing visually happens on screen.

If you open device manager, and it says "Nintendo Switch", then it isn't fully powered off. If it says nothing, then it's off, and if it says APX, then it's in RCM correctly.

You might also need to try another USB cable, but using Device Manager helps figure out if your jig is working, if you're fully shut down, cable working, etc.

Yeah, the last update to the petition talked about this site, and supposedly emailed all past signers,

@schoolgeek Videos don't work in this applet, check the original topic for more info. The petition is likely the only real way to get a fully featured browser that's easy to use.

For technical info on this, see here.