Nintendo has announced that there will be a paid for online subscription coming to the Nintendo Switch. This service comes with cloud backups for your Switch and (at the time of writing) 20 NES games with newly added online multiplayer.
The price
While many had hoped that the cloud backup feature would be a free service, Nintendo is sweetening the deal with these NES games. The price of the subscription is also cheaper than its contemporaries coming in at £18 for 12 months, £7 for three months, and £3.49 for one month. Compared to PlayStation Plus which costs £49.99 for 12 months and Xbox Gold which costs £39.99 for 12 months.
This service will become available in September 2018.
There is also a family plan that allows multiple accounts on your Switch to access the online services. Up to eight accounts across multiple systems can be added to your family plan meaning that you can get a decent discount on the subscription price if you have friends to share with. The family plan is £31.49, which is still cheaper than PlayStation Plus and Xbox Gold.
NES games included
The NES games that Nintendo is offering as part of the Nintendo Switch online subscription each have a new online multiplayer mode. These include classic games such as:
- “Donkey Kong”
- “Mario Bros.”
- “Super Mario Bros.”
- “Dr Mario”
- “The Legend of Zelda”
- “Balloon Fight”
- “Super Mario Bros. 3”
- “Ice Climbers”
- “Tennis”
- “Soccer”
Currently, players are stuck with using the Nintendo Switch Online App if they want to use voice chat.
Although, an alternative like Skype or Discord are a popular alternative. Nintendo Switch owners will need this online subscription if they want to play games like “Mario Kart Deluxe 8”, “Splatoon 2”, or the yet to be released “Smash Bros.” game over the internet. If players want to enjoy offline modes or single player, then they don’t need a subscription.
The Nintendo Switch has become the best-selling Nintendo console in years and is forecast to continue selling well. As well as popular multiplayer games like “Mario Kart Deluxe 8”, the Nintendo Switch has seen success with single player games like “Mario Odyssey” and “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”.
Once it launches, if players want to play online then they will need to buy a subscription. However, considering the catalogue of NES titles included and the vastly cheaper price than both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Gold this is a far harder pill to swallow than it could have been.
