Nintendo Today App is Blocking Screenshots and Video Capture for its Trailers

In its efforts to push its news app Nintendo Today, the company has seemingly implemented a block for users that might try to record trailers and videos exclusively available through the smartphone app. As caught by Reddit user Cube_play_8, an attempt to capture a screenshot or recording of a video hosted on Nintendo Today simply results in a black screen. This can be seen in a short clip posted in a Reddit thread where the user is attempting to capture a screenshot of a Mario Kart World trailer.

Cube_play_8 also notes that the form of DRM (digital rights management) used by Nintendo for the app appears to be only available on more recent smartphones. The user reports that their Xiaomi 15 Ultra smartphone is not able to capture or record content, whereas their older Poco F5 Pro does seem to be able to record. The short clip posted by the user shows both of these phones in action.

One of the responses in the Reddit thread also notes that BlueSky user Oatmeal Dome has already created a system that is able to grab videos and screenshots directly off Nintendo’s servers without having to go through the Nintendo Today app. These videos and screenshots are then posted on the TodayNews BlueSky account.

Testing this on our own devices, we were unable to record any videos from the Nintendo Today app through the built-in screen recording capabilities available on a Google Pixel 8 running the most recent version of the app, as well as the most recent available version of Android. On attempting to record one of the trailers, while sound and the ESRB rating at the start were retained, the actual gameplay footage was completely blacked out.

Nintendo has been using the smartphone app in order to reveal more details about the the upcomign Switch 2, as well as games that have been announced for it. The app has also been used to showcase some of the new things Nintendo is planning ot sell, including Amiibo and peripherals. For instance, recent details about the Switch 2’s GameChat feature supporting text-to-speech and live captions were revealed through clips from the Nintendo Today app.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be hittiing store shelves on June 5, along with a host of launch titles. The console will also be introducing its own implementation of voice and video chat, dubbed GameChat, which can be accessed by hitting the new C button on one of the Joy-Con 2 controllers. Nintendo recently revealed that using GameChat will require Switch 2 users to verify their account details through a phone number.

However, as we get closer to the launch date for the console, it looks like we might not be getting too many reviews from publications. According to a report from earlier this month, Nintendo hasn’t yet begun to send out review units. Rather, the company is reportedly planning to send them out closer to the console’s launch. One publication notes that this would create quite a few problems for it, since it will also need time to cover Summer Game Fest at around the same time. Check out our coverage for more details.