Online play has been a huge part of gaming for years now, and although Nintendo does so many things superlatively, they’ve never thrived when it comes to gaming online. Now, though, the company has announced the appropriately named Nintendo Switch Online service, and it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
For $19.99 a year (or $7.99 for three months, $3.99 for a single month, or a $34.99 family plan that covers eight Nintendo accounts), subscribers will gain access to several features. Most obviously, it features online play, so players will be able to compete with users from around the world in games like Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Mario Tennis Aces, and Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido. It includes save data cloud backup, so you don’t have to worry as much if you happen to break or lose your console. And then there’s the Nintendo Switch Online App, which promises to “enhance the online experience for compatible games through voice chat and other features,” according to press materials.
#NintendoSwitch Online launches this September with Save Data Cloud backup and 20 classic NES games, with more to come, that have newly added online play!
View pricing and info here: https://t.co/ZPh215YNeT pic.twitter.com/CrDx3Iaaaf
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 8, 2018
Another interesting feature is Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online, which allows subscribers to play NES games on their Switch online. The initial lineup of 20 games will include Donkey Kong, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Soccer, Super Mario Bros., Tennis, and ten others that will be announced later.
You’re right to wonder what NES – Nintendo Switch Online means for Virtual Console, and it looks like the Switch definitely isn’t getting it, at least not in the foreseeable future. A Nintendo spokesperson told Kotaku while there “are currently no plans” to use “the Virtual Console banner,” this new service has the advantage of incorporating new features that Virtual Console couldn’t provide:
“There are currently no plans to bring classic games together under the Virtual Console banner as has been done on other Nintendo systems. […] There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch, such as through Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo eShop or as packaged collections. [NES] – Nintendo Switch Online will provide a fun new way to experience classic NES games that will be different from the Virtual Console service, thanks to enhancements such as added online play, voice chat via the Nintendo Switch Online app and the various play modes of Nintendo Switch.”
What do you think of these new announcements? What other games should be included in NES – Nintendo Switch Online at launch? Sound off down in the comments!
Featured Image: Nintendo
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