The most important thing about the Nintendo Switch Online service has been revealed, and it’s good news for gamers.
Nintendo announced from the very beginning that the Switch would have an online service, but as the company is wont to do, it held back on most of the details until its launch got closer. Now that it’s almost summer, that qualifies as close enough to this fall, when the Nintendo Switch Online service finally arrives.
On Monday, Nintendo revealed arguably the aspect of that service the most people were waiting to hear: how much it will cost. The company described it as “affordable,” and it’s hard to argue that isn’t an apt description as Nintendo Switch Online will set you back just $19.99 a year if paying for 12 months of the service at a time. Month by month plans cost $3.99, while opting for three months of the service in one shot will cost $7.99.
For people with kids, which is probably a sizable percentage of Nintendo Switch owners, a family membership will be priced at $34.99 a year and will allow up to eight Nintendo Account holders to access the service even if they are playing on different systems. Other details announced include the ability to play 20 (at launch) classic NES games with added online functionality, cloud saves for Switch games and additional features for the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app.
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Still, while gamers will undoubtedly debate whether the service is offering enough since people have had to wait for it (and indeed, already are), Nintendo nailed the first part of it, which is pricing it much lower than the online services offered by Sony for the PS4 or Microsoft for the Xbox One. Nintendo simply hasn’t earned the trust of the general public, having lagged behind in online play for years. Add in the fact that many of its games skew younger and charging, say, $60 a year like PS Plus does would have been met with enormous resistance.
There’s still some pressure on Nintendo to deliver a robust online experience for the Switch, but charging less than its competitors also lowers expectations a bit. It remains to be seen if Nintendo Switch Online will soar or crash, but at least you’ll only need to come up with a few bucks to see for yourself later this year.