Nintendo's Switch is better than ever, but it's still missing 7 huge features that the competition has had for years

With a huge new Super Mario game on the verge of launching, there's never been a better time to own a Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario Odyssey

Between "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" back in March, and the upcoming "Super Mario Odyssey," 2017 is a pretty incredible year for Nintendo's newest system.

At the same time, for a console that launched in 2017, there are some glaring holes in what the Switch offers. No Netflix? No online voice chat or cloud saves? Some stuff that's become standardized in gaming, whether you're playing on a PlayStation 4 or an iPhone, simply doesn't exist on Nintendo's console.

Here are the biggest missing features on Nintendo's otherwise excellent little console.

1. A unified profile that tracks your game library and saved data.

The main point of the Switch is its ability to bring your games anywhere. You can literally pick up the console and bring it with you, or plop it into the Nintendo Switch Dock and play on your TV (seen above).

That's why it's especially baffling that the same concept isn't applied to your Nintendo Switch profile data. Yes, you can sign in with your Nintendo Account on another Switch and it'll allow you to download your purchased games. Unfortunately, all the saved data on your profile for anything you've played is locked — physically — to your Switch.

There's a new method for transferring that data in the latest Switch firmware update, but it's limited in use. You have connect both of the Switch consoles to the same WiFi network, for instance. On the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you can simply upload your game saved data to their respective cloud services and re-download them whenever you want. It's a great fail-safe back-up if, say, your console breaks.

It's a little thing, no doubt, but one that makes a huge difference.

2. The ability to easily chat with friends online.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 — consoles that have been outright replaced by subsequent generations in the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively — had system-level voice chat functionality.

What that means in English is that you could group up with friends, online, and chat in a private room while playing whatever game together. Maybe you weren't even playing games together! Think of it like group Skype on game consoles.

The same goes for general voice chat: If you're so inclined, you can put on a chat headset and speak with random strangers in online games on the Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

Not so with the Switch: The only solution is the convoluted madness you see above, which involves plugging the Switch and your phone into a dongle. This also doesn't work on a system level — you can't jump from game-to-game with friends while chatting. It's the kind of thing that's now expected as standard on all other gaming platforms, and it's bizarrely missing from the Nintendo Switch.

3. Video recording on the system level.

Nintendo just added video recording to the Switch in a recent update ("Version 4.0"). You can record gameplay by holding down the capture button. But there are some huge caveats:

-The maximum recording is the last 30 seconds of gameplay.

-You can't record video at any time.

-You can only record video of supported games, and the list of games thus far is short ("Breath of the Wild," "Splatoon 2," "Arms," and "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe." The upcoming "Super Mario Odyssey will also allow it.)

On both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, you can record gameplay of any game — and your maximum length is far longer. The PS4 automatically records the last 15 minutes of gameplay at any given time, for instance. The built-in editing software on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is also far more substantial; on the Switch, you can edit length, but nothing else.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider