Nintendo Announces Online Service Price and More for the Switch
Nintendo has announced some brand new details surrounding the online features for the Nintendo Switch, as well as how these will ultimately work. They also revealed the price of the online membership, and let’s just say that it is more than affordable, especially in comparison to the other game systems!
While online play for the Nintendo Switch will remain free until some time during late 2018, we learned the prices for the three different memberships today. Despite all of the speculation in February about it, the price for 1 month is $4 USD, 3 months is $8 USD and 12 months is $20 USD. Yes, you read that right…$20 total for the whole year to use the online aspects of the Switch! When compared to both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, which are $60 USD each, that is a savings of $40 per year.
On top of this price reveal, Nintendo also shared a breakdown between the free and paid memberships. Players will need a membership for online gameplay, voice chat, and online lobby, however they may need to pay for some eShop deals. Those who are not subscribed can still access the eShop, register/manage friends, share screenshots and access the app for parental controls. Nintendo revealed that voice chat will occur through a “dedicated smart device app” that is connected to the Switch and it will allow you to chat to friends online, but to also invite friends to play and set play appointments. A limited version of this app is said to be available sometime this summer.
Nintendo also confirmed that those who subscribe to the online service will be able to download a bunch of classic games for free! These games will include Super Mario Bros. 3, Dr. Mario and Balloon Fight. This “Classic Game Selection” is what Nintendo is calling this aspect of the service, however the name could change before the final version is released. The spokesperson for Nintendo had this to say about the Classic Game Selection, “Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will have ongoing access to a library of classic games with added online play…users can play as many of the games as they want, as often as they like, as long as they have an active subscription.”