Nintendo Switch online paid service will launch in 2018 - $20 per year - Includes unlimited access to a library of old NES games

[GoodBytes]

Well today, it is filled with exciting/interesting news! And now we have more news:

 

The free offer for the online access to the Nintendo Switch console has been extended to the end of the year.

Nintendo reveals that the paid online subscription, passes from the start date of "fall 2017" to "2018".

 

In addition, Nintendo said that the service would cost under $30 US, being quoted to say that it will cost around 2,000 yen and 3,000 yen, by Nintendo CEO initially. This is around 17-26$ US at the time of that information. Now, Nintendo says that it will be officially, at least in the US, 19.99$ per year. So, about $3 more than the expected lowest price point. There will be a per month and 3 months option as well. Per month will be $3.99 US, and $7.99 for the 3 months option.

 

Quote

Nintendo has shed more light on the paid online subscription service it’s planning to offer for its Switch console, confirming US pricing, and stating that it will launch in full at some point in 2018.

The company says it will also launch a smartphone app alongside the service’s rollout next year that will let players invite friends, set up gaming sessions, or chat with friends during games on their second screens. We’ll get an early look at that software this summer, when Nintendo will put out a free, limited version of the app.

 

Online play for Switch games will be free until the full service comes online in 2018, at which point players will need to pay for membership in order to access online multiplayer. One month’s subscription will cost $3.99, with three months running to $7.99, and a year’s membership available for $19.99. In addition to multiplayer access, subscription also opens up eShop deals, meaning members will get money off new games bought through Nintendo’s digital download platform.

 

Kotaku reveals that the phone app for online chat and setting up games will be available this summer.

 

The "eShop digital offers" with those who subscribe to the online service is still there, as they initially revealed, but no details on it.

 

 

As for the free game, things have changed.. for.. perhaps the better. Based on Kotaku, it will be a LIBRARY of classic games that are fully accessible to all subscribers to the service. So as long as you pay the online subscription, you have access to a library of games that will be expanding over time of old NES games, and perhaps SNES as well. The company says that they are still considering it.

 

Nintendo says:

Quote

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.  Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will be able to play a wide variety of classic games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight and Dr. Mario. More games will be announced at a later date. At launch the classic game library will include NES games. Super NES games continue to be under consideration, but we have nothing further to announce at this time.

 

 

Source 1: http://kotaku.com/nintendo-details-switch-online-service-will-be-20-yea-1795743981

Source 2: https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/1/15727548/nintendo-switch-online-20-dollars-a-year

 

Voice chat might be clunky for the console where you need the phone app, and the console to chat, and you need this weird headset setup to both chat and get the sound of the game through the headset, but the price is pretty cheap. If they can include the SNES library of games as well with the subscription, then this will be quite interesting. The NES had a variety of classic games worth checking out, while the SNES has a nice large library of classics, where many are must plays.

 

[ARikozuM]

My body is ready, Reggie!

 

Satoru Iwata is smiling up there.

[Blebekblebek]

I've never met anyone who got excited to pay something and only get offered some old stuff that you've already owned and practically you could get elsewhere for free.

 

But hey maybe that just me.

[Sniperfox47]

17 minutes ago, Blebekblebek said:

I've never met anyone who got excited to pay something and only get offered some old stuff that you've already owned and practically you could get elsewhere for free.

 

But hey maybe that just me.

I'm excited with just how cheap it is compared to any of their competitors.

 

If the price of a cheaper online service is a clunky headset adapter that will save me substantial battery life for both my switch and my phone on-the-go, and that I was using with my Wii-U anyways (to get sound from both the TV and Gamepad) then so be it.

 

And honestly at this point the old NES library is just icing on the cake. It's literally 1/3 of the price of their competitors services.

[Master Disaster]

3 hours ago, Sniperfox47 said:

I'm excited with just how cheap it is compared to any of their competitors.

 

If the price of a cheaper online service is a clunky headset adapter that will save me substantial battery life for both my switch and my phone on-the-go, and that I was using with my Wii-U anyways (to get sound from both the TV and Gamepad) then so be it.

 

And honestly at this point the old NES library is just icing on the cake. It's literally 1/3 of the price of their competitors services.

It has to be cheaper as it offers nothing to the consumer...

 

Its P2P so using your bandwidth

It has no dedicated voice chat and instead uses your phone

Matchmaking is, again, handled by your phone

Will require an additional device to work which will cost more money

Offers you a library of 30 year old games that by this point you've either played to death or don't want to play at all

 

Your basically paying them $20 a year to run your phone battery down instead of the switches battery.

 

What happens if your phone battery is dead? What happens if you have no headphone port on your phone? What happens if your on PAYG and don't have data included in your pan?

 

And I won't even start on the subject of how bad Switch multiplayer is right now, disconnects, unable to connects, crashes etc.

[Bcat00]

I can't believe i'm saying this, but i'm actually excited about this..... The idea of being able to play the old classics again on a handheld is hitting my fatal point. 

Hope they put N64 games in here too, cuz i would love to have a go at diddy king racing.

[Bleedingyamato]

26 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

It has to be cheaper as it offers nothing to the consumer...

 

Its P2P so using your bandwidth

It has no dedicated voice chat and instead uses your phone

Matchmaking is, again, handled by your phone

Will require an additional device to work which will cost more money

Offers you a library of 30 year old games that by this point you've either played to death or don't want to play at all

 

Your basically paying them $20 a year to run your phone battery down instead of the switches battery.

 

And I won't even start on the subject of how bad Switch multiplayer is right now, disconnects, unable to connects, crashes etc.

Doesn't anything communicating through the Internet use data/bandwidth?

 

Charging for it hopefully will mean Nintendo will have money to put into developing the service so it should improve over time.  

 

So with that in mind, that the Switch is only a few months old at this point, and that the paid service won't be launched until next year it would be wise to withhold your judgement for now.  

[Master Disaster]

Just now, Bleedingyamato said:

Doesn't anything communicating through the Internet use data/bandwidth?

 

Charging for it hopefully will mean Nintendo will have money to put into developing the service so it should improve over time.  

 

So with that in mind, that the Switch is only a few months old at this point, and that the paid service won't be launched until next year it would be wise to withhold your judgement for now.  

They've already confirmed it will use your phone for VOIP & Matchmaking, on one hand essential for when your on the go as if you've not got WiFi access you can't play online at all but on the other hand the stupidest idea ever.

 

Your phones battery dies, you're screwed.

You're phone has no headphone port, you're screwed.

You have a PAYG phone with no included data, you're screwed.

What about when I'm at home and connected to my home WiFi? Why would I want to use my phone to handle this stuff when I'm on a constant connection I already pay for?

[Bleedingyamato]

Just now, Master Disaster said:

They've already confirmed it will use your phone for VOIP & Matchmaking, on one hand essential for when your on the go as if you've not got WiFi access you can't play online at all but on the other hand the stupidest idea ever.

 

Your phones battery dies, you're screwed.

You're phone has no headphone port, you're screwed.

You have a PAYG phone with no included data, you're screwed.

What about when I'm at home and connected to my home WiFi? Why would I want to use my phone to handle this stuff when I'm on a constant connection I already pay for?

I honestly don't see an issue using my phone.  

 

At least for the battery issue I've got my mini army of Anker battery packs so I'm covered there.

 

If you're at home a smart phone can be plugged into AC power and use your wifi for Internet access so no big deal IMO.  

 

If you need a battery pack for your phone or even a Switch Anker is the way to go. I probably sound like I work for them from but I don't.  lol

 

 

Is it perfect I guess not but it's hardly a disaster either.  Too many problems in the world for something as minor as this bug me.

 

 

You need to learn to relax or you'll stress yourself into an early grave.  ?

[Master Disaster]

8 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

I honestly don't see an issue using my phone.  

 

At least for the battery issue I've got my mini army of Anker battery packs so I'm covered there.

 

If you're at home a smart phone can be plugged into AC power and use your wifi for Internet access so no big deal IMO.  

 

If you need a battery pack for your phone or even a Switch Anker is the way to go. I probably sound like I work for them from but I don't.  lol

 

 

Is it perfect I guess not but it's hardly a disaster either.  Too many problems in the world for something as minor as this bug me.

 

 

You need to learn to relax or you'll stress yourself into an early grave.  ?

OK so you've got your Switch and TV connected to each other and wall power. Then you've got your phone connected to wall power. Then you've got your Switch connected to the audio mixer and your phone connected to the audio mixer and finally the mixer connected to your headset. If you've got not a headphone port you can throw another dongle into the mix so you can split  power and audio as well and no one even knows if the audio mixer will also require power yet.

 

All so you can just talk to someone as you play a game?

[tlink]

1 minute ago, Master Disaster said:

OK so you've got your Switch and TV connected to each other and wall power. Then you've got your phone connected to wall power. Then you've got your Switch connected to the audio mixer and your phone connected to the audio mixer and finally the mixer connected to your headset. If you've got not a headphone port you can throw another dongle into the mix so you can split  power and audio as well and no one even knows if the audio mixer will also require power yet.

 

All so you can just talk to someone as you play a game?

it doesn't need power.. its literally just a splitter with a mic switch. you could also just rip of the plugs and twist the cables together, that would work just as well.. they probably only have some passive components slapped in there as circuitry protection or something.

[Bleedingyamato]

15 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

OK so you've got your Switch and TV connected to each other and wall power. Then you've got your phone connected to wall power. Then you've got your Switch connected to the audio mixer and your phone connected to the audio mixer and finally the mixer connected to your headset. If you've got not a headphone port you can throw another dongle into the mix so you can split  power and audio as well and no one even knows if the audio mixer will also require power yet.

 

All so you can just talk to someone as you play a game?

It likely sounds worse than it will be.  ?

[Sniperfox47]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

It has to be cheaper as it offers nothing to the consumer...

 

Its P2P so using your bandwidth

It has no dedicated voice chat and instead uses your phone

Matchmaking is, again, handled by your phone

Will require an additional device to work which will cost more money

Offers you a library of 30 year old games that by this point you've either played to death or don't want to play at all

 

Your basically paying them $20 a year to run your phone battery down instead of the switches battery.

 

And I won't even start on the subject of how bad Switch multiplayer is right now, disconnects, unable to connects, crashes etc.

The vast majority of their gamers are mobile gamers, not console gamers, and considering that's the whole point of the switch it makes sense. Having the voice chat on the switch itself would only run down your battery further, as it would triple up on data communications for the voice data (wifi on the switch, wifi on the phone hotspot, and LTE on the phone). For mobile gamers having the voice service off the switch itself would be a *terrible* experience.

 

Matchmaking off the phone is only for custom matchmaking services, and again, in an on-the-go setting that makes way more sense.

 

The switch is primarily designed to be a mobile gaming device, not a home console, as should be apparent from a number of the design decisions, the poor docked performance on a number of *first party* games at launch, and the fact that their primary audience still is, and always will be, Japan where portable gaming is absolutely *massive* due to games like Monster Hunter.

[Master Disaster]

25 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The vast majority of their gamers are mobile gamers, not console gamers, and considering that's the whole point of the switch it makes sense. Having the voice chat on the switch itself would only run down your battery further, as it would triple up on data communications for the voice data (wifi on the switch, wifi on the phone hotspot, and LTE on the phone). For mobile gamers having the voice service off the switch itself would be a *terrible* experience.

 

Matchmaking off the phone is only for custom matchmaking services, and again, in an on-the-go setting that makes way more sense.

 

The switch is primarily designed to be a mobile gaming device, not a home console, as should be apparent from a number of the design decisions, the poor docked performance on a number of *first party* games at launch, and the fact that their primary audience still is, and always will be, Japan where portable gaming is absolutely *massive* due to games like Monster Hunter.

So then maybe Nintendo should have figured this stuff out at the design stage instead of alpha launching a "portable" console that needs more wires than a desktop PC just to be able to play and chat online.

 

Modders have already solved this issue in an easier and sleeker way than Nintendo, an externally powered 3.5" jack to Bluetooth adapter that's velcro'd to the back of the console and a Bluetooth headset. Its tiny and barely adds any bulk, fully removable, self powered by its own battery, has ZERO wires (ok a tiny one to connect to the headphone jack) and solves the problem entirely. Then alls the user needs is a phone with a hotspot for WiFi and they're away, no wires, no mess, no fuss.

 

[Mooshi]

Or you could ebay the real deal, no subscription required and could game with friends and talk to each other without a convoluted set up..oh my god, what a crazy idea.

[GoodBytes]

To be clear, matchmaking is done on the phone app AND the game. The idea, mentioned by Nintendo, is that you can setup a match anywhere you are for later in the day when all are ready to play. But if you are already on the console, you can setup your match there.

[Sniperfox47]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

So then maybe Nintendo should have figured this stuff out at the design stage instead of alpha launching a "portable" console that needs more wires than a desktop PC just to be able to play and chat online.

 

Modders have already solved this issue in an easier and sleeker way than Nintendo, an externally powered 3.5" jack to Bluetooth adapter that's velcro'd to the back of the console and a Bluetooth headset. Its tiny and barely adds any bulk, fully removable, self powered by its own battery, has ZERO wires (ok a tiny one to connect to the headphone jack) and solves the problem entirely. Then alls the user needs is a phone with a hotspot for WiFi and they're away, no wires, no mess, no fuss.

 

Again, a solution that'll hinder more than help in crowded convention centers and larger tournaments.

 

Bluetooth interference is a huge issue for this system.

[Master Disaster]

1 hour ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Again, a solution that'll hinder more than help in crowded convention centers and larger tournaments.

 

Bluetooth interference is a huge issue for this system.

And again, a problem Nintendo should have worked out before they launched their "portable" console. 

 

Oh, and using such a small percentage of the demographic as a reason to not do something is stupid, more stupid than requiring 3 devices and 3 wires just to do voice chat and matchmaking. Its not like Bluetooth interference isn't an issue for every device in a convention center anyway and outside of Switch specific gaming parties (of which there are none AFAIK) who exactly is taking their switch to a convention center in order to play online with it? Ignoring the Bluetooth issue playing over WiFi will be almost impossible due to congestion.

 

That's like saying vehicles should have no seats because a very small proportion of people use wheelchairs.

 

Here's a crazy idea, offer a Bluetooth solution to people who don't care about congestion and a wired solution for those that do.

[Misanthrope]

8 hours ago, Sniperfox47 said:

I'm excited with just how cheap it is compared to any of their competitors.

 

If the price of a cheaper online service is a clunky headset adapter that will save me substantial battery life for both my switch and my phone on-the-go, and that I was using with my Wii-U anyways (to get sound from both the TV and Gamepad) then so be it.

 

And honestly at this point the old NES library is just icing on the cake. It's literally 1/3 of the price of their competitors services.

You know what was even cheaper? FREE

[JoeCoke]

Sorry, I'm finding it hard to be excited. Paying for online is bad enough, but the idea of paying for Nintendo's clunky and antiquated online is just a no go for me. The Wii and Wii U's online were just plain bad at times (I know first hand, I own these consoles) whether it be lack of features or connection issues or both. At this point, I don't have any reason to believe that it'll be any better on the Switch. And while it's cool that they throw in some NES games, I have these damn games on a billion different consoles, my PC, my HTPC and even my damn phone, it's not all that exciting.

 

And besides, how many games on the Switch will even have online in the first year lineup? Two?

 

I'll just leave this here...

[GoodBytes]

3 minutes ago, 2Buck said:

Sorry, I'm finding it hard to be excited. Paying for online is bad enough, but the idea of paying for Nintendo's clunky and antiquated online is just a no go for me. The Wii and Wii U's online were just plain bad at times (I know first hand, I own these consoles) whether it be lack of features or connection issues or both. At this point, I don't have any reason to believe that it'll be any better on the Switch. And while it's cool that they throw in some NES games, I have these damn games on a billion different consoles, my PC, my HTPC and even my damn phone, it's not all that exciting.

 

And besides, how many games on the Switch will even have online in the first year lineup? Two?

 

I'll just leave this here...

 

All I can say, is that based on people comments, Nintendo online experience in terms of connection issues, and connection quality are much improved, and is on par as the other consoles. Nintendo definitively have expended and upgraded their servers and connections to them. This is from people playing Splatoon 2 Test Fire, Street Fighter 2, and ARMS

[Unhelpful]

That's very reasonable overall. I like it!

[michaelocarroll007]

6 hours ago, Bcat00 said:

I can't believe i'm saying this, but i'm actually excited about this..... The idea of being able to play the old classics again on a handheld is hitting my fatal point. 

Hope they put N64 games in here too, cuz i would love to have a go at diddy king racing.

Any 7" tablet and a 8Bitdo Controller will give you all SNES and NES games and a lot of N64 games.... 

[Sauron]

I still think being forced to pay for online services is bullshit, regardless of how low the price is. There is no giustification.

 

I don't care what you get in addition. If I want the extra things I'll pay - give me the damn option.

4 minutes ago, JoeyDM said:

That's very reasonable overall. I like it!

It's not. It seems reasonable compared to how ridiculous its competitors are, but it's still the equivalent of going to the cinema to watch a movie and having to pay extra to sit down - but hey, you also get to see this classic movie that you may or may not care about after the main show!

[Sniperfox47]

1 hour ago, Sauron said:

I still think being forced to pay for online services is bullshit, regardless of how low the price is. There is no giustification.

 

I don't care what you get in addition. If I want the extra things I'll pay - give me the damn option.

It's not. It seems reasonable compared to how ridiculous its competitors are, but it's still the equivalent of going to the cinema to watch a movie and having to pay extra to sit down - but hey, you also get to see this classic movie that you may or may not care about after the main show!

How about the justification that running servers is very very expensive and maintenance on those servers is very very expensive and creating services on top of them like voice chat is very very expensive?

 

We've reached the point where something has to give, either their cut of game prices have to start rising (rising cost of the games that are already more expensive to make on their console), Nintendo has to adopt more abusive dlc practices in first party games, or they have to charge for online services.

 

People bitch about how bad the online services are on Nintendo consoles but at this point they're being compared to paid services. At this point Nintendo doesn't really have a choice if they want to provide a competitive experience.

 

2 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

Oh, and using such a small percentage of the demographic as a reason to not do something is stupid, more stupid than requiring 3 devices and 3 wires just to do voice chat and matchmaking. Its not like Bluetooth interference isn't an issue for every device in a convention center anyway and outside of Switch specific gaming parties (of which there are none AFAIK) who exactly is taking their switch to a convention center in order to play online with it? Ignoring the Bluetooth issue playing over WiFi will be almost impossible due to congestion.

Again you seem to be thinking about this from a western perspective. They may not be a big thing here but for Japan it's a huge thing.

 

Take a look at the idiosyncrasies of the 3DS, PSP, PS3, and even the Wii. There are a lot of things about these that don't make a ton of sense from a European, Australian, or North American perspective but from a Japanese perspective make a ton of sense. Events are big deals over there. 2.4GHz congestion and interference is a big deal over there. Portable local multiplayer is a big deal over there.

 

Bluetooth audio drivers also are *not* easy things to write. Look at the PS4 for a perfect example. The OS is literally just a modified version of FreeBSD and still at launch they still didn't even support their own existing Bluetooth headsets. Slowly support for headsets rolled out first to their accessories, then licenced accessories, and then finally third party accessories, but even still there are some headsets that have issues to this day.

 

Why would Nintendo invest a huge amount of money at launch to making drivers for a feature(bluetooth audio) that would make the user experience in a target use case (local wireless multiplayer, particularly at events) worse?

 

Why would they invest money into developing a feature (voice chat on the console itself) that would hurt performance, hurt battery life, hurt voice latency, hurt voice quality, and just generally result in a worse experience in a mobile (LTE) use-case?

 

There's no reason these features cant be added in down the line, but investing resources into them at launch makes no sense to me as a user who uses my switch portably and around other players a lot, and clearly it doesn't make sense to Nintendo either.

 

Personally, I'd much sooner like to see USB Audio Class support than Bluetooth support. If a dock with a coprocessor comes out, I'd love to see a dock that handles the voice chat portion for docked mode, but until that time I'd rather they keep the CPU resources and wifi resources free by offloading it to my phone.