The Nintendo Switch doesn’t have many apps outside of its growing catalogue of Nintendo Switch games – but one of the few on the console is getting a big manga content drop.
The comics e-reader InkyPen has been available on the Switch since 2018, offering an all-you-can-read comics experience for just $7.99 / €7.99 / £5.99 per month.
Now, a new partnership with comics publisher Kodansha has added a whole host of manga to read as well, including big-hitters such as Attack On Titan, The Ghost In The Shell, Battle Angel Alita, and Fairy Tail.
While we reported at launch that InkyPen had plans “to open up to manga in the near future”, it’s only now that intention is coming to fruition. There are still a few notable gaps on the InkyPen service – no Marvel or DC comics, for one – but given how little non-gaming content available on the Switch’s home screen, we’ll take what we can get.
- Check out the best Nintendo Switch games
- Or these Nintendo Switch Lite prices and deals
- Forget the Nintendo Switch – the world's smallest gaming laptop is a specs beast
Absent apps
While the big content drop for InkyPen is a boon for Switch owners – especially those who are into manga – it does draw attention yet again to the paucity of supported apps for the Nintendo Switch.
US gamers get access to Hulu, but aside from YouTube, there’s no real TV streaming service equivalent – let’s say, Netflix, or Disney Plus – elsewhere. The additional (and more global) InkyPen and Izeno comics apps feel like secondary choices rather than top-tier applications, too.
While it’s not a bad thing that Nintendo is putting its gaming experience first, and resisting a move towards a more diluted, general-use tablet, we’d still appreciate a boutique selection of relevant apps to round out the experience on the Switch – and ensure gamers aren’t switching away to their phone or tablet whenever they want a break from gaming.
Continuing on a manga theme, adding the Crunchyroll anime streaming service would definitely be a good start.
- Here are the best anime series you can watch
