Funimation teases an announcement with Nintendo Switch through a video posted on Twitter.
The shocking announcement caught anime fans off guard since Funimation is owned by Sony. Nintendo and Sony have been rivals in the console wars, so the news does appear odd; however, Sony has collaborated with their other rival, Microsoft Xbox, for their cloud gaming and artificial intelligence needs.
Funimation is one of the most popular anime streaming service available, and now, even more vast due to their purchase of another anime streaming service known as Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll touts having “The world’s largest anime collection,” so there is no doubt why Funimation made their purchase, but what will they do on the Nintendo Switch?
According to Comicbook.com, Joanne Waage, General Manager of Crunchyroll, commented after the news broke saying:
“We are excited to embark on this new journey. Crunchyroll has built a world-class brand with a passionate fan-base of over 3M subscribers, 50M social followers and 90M registered users. These amazing fans have helped to propel anime into a global phenomenon. Combining the strength of the Crunchyroll brand and the expertise of our global team with Funimation is an exciting prospect and a win for the incredible art form of anime.”
CEO of Funimation, Colin Decker, made his own comments:
“The union of Funimation and Crunchyroll is a win for anime fans around the world that will elevate the art and culture of this medium for decades to come. Combining these two great companies will be a win for fans, and enable us to compete at a truly global scale. I am honored to welcome the wonderful Crunchyroll team to a shared mission—to help everyone belong to the extraordinary world of anime.”
Nintendo Switch owners can already have apps like Youtube and Movies Anywhere, enabling them to stream video content from their devices. Does this mean Nintendo Switch users will now be able to stream from the vast collection of Crunchyroll and Funimation? There is a good chance this will ring true.
