The Nintendo Switch Online rolls out Sept. 18. It’s Nintendo’s first paid online service. There are various pricing options, as well as perks like 20 classic NES games.
For the first time in its history, Nintendo is selling its online features at a premium. Nintendo Switch Online has been in the works since the console’s first year on the market, but Nintendo has only recently begun to shed light on what to expect from the upcoming subscription service.
We’ve compiled everything we know about the service so far, and will continue to update as more info becomes available.
Nintendo Switch Online is Nintendo’s subscription-based online service for Switch games. It works with an accompanying mobile app, where players will be able to access and interact with a number of exclusive features.
The main feature of Nintendo Switch Online is online multiplayer for games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2 and Arms. At launch, Nintendo offered multiplayer connectivity for free, but as of September 2018, Switch owners have to pay to play those games online.
There are two other big selling points for Nintendo Switch Online: the ability to play a library of Nintendo Entertainment System games, which will be updated on a continuing basis and have online capabilities, and cloud storage for save data .
Nintendo says that you will have to check out either its website, the Switch eShop or the game’s packaging to see if a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required. But the majority of Nintendo’s own games will require the service to get into online multiplayer.
Nintendo says that the Switch eShop, registering and managing friends, screenshot sharing to social media, Nintendo Switch Parental Controls, system and software updates, and the regularly updated Nintendo Switch News feed won’t require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
The Switch Online app, which is available for Android and iOS devices, is required for in-game voice chat. It also encourages players to connect and invite each other into multiplayer game sessions. The app also offers “special features” for certain games; currently the only game to use it in that way is Splatoon 2, which offers battle stats and in-game purchases through the app.
Yep. We’ve all wanted cloud storage for our Switch consoles since launch, so it’s a good thing that the service will provide it. But there remains no other free, offline option to back up save data from the system’s internal storage.
It appears that the answer is no, not every game will work with the cloud. Some games, including the upcoming Pokémon: Let’s Go!, appear not to back up their data to the cloud. Nintendo eShop store pages for Let’s Go!, the Splatoon 2 starter pack, Dark Souls Remastered and Dead Cells all note that they don’t “support Save Data Cloud backup.”
In September 2018, Nintendo told Game Informer that the company fears players using their backup saves for unfair reasons. The statement, included below, specifically references Splatoon 2 but should be true for all incompatible games:
The Nintendo Switch Online FAQ implies that once a subscription is inactive, cloud saves are lost
Nintendo did not state whether cloud saves would be restored upon renewal or if there is any sort of grace period involved.
The NES games available to Switch Online subscribers come with unique enhancements over the original releases. Each one will support some sort of online multiplayer, including the ability to play cooperatively or competitively with friends. Some NES games will simply let Switch owners share their screen with someone else, or let them “pass the controller” back and forth. It depends on the game.
Nintendo will offer 20 NES games for subscribers once the service is live. Here’s that list of classics:
Nope. They’re included as part of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
Doesn’t sound like it. Nintendo will only let you play these upgraded games so long as you’re a Switch Online subscriber. But you can download them and play them offline.
There are several tiers. A 12-month subscription costs $19.99. You can also subscribe for one month for $3.99, or for three months for $7.99.
There’s also a family membership program, which allows a Nintendo Account member to join up with as many as seven other folks to access the Switch Online service. The option to create a family group is now available on the Nintendo Account website, and it appears that you can add anyone to your “family” — whether or not you’re related.
That means that all eight people ostensibly can split the $34.99 cost of the 12-month membership, getting a year’s worth of service for less than $5 per person.
”Any Nintendo Accounts associated with the family membership can use the service, whether they are parent accounts or not,” Nintendo told Polygon about the package. That checks out with the initial details the company provided, below.
Nintendo Switch Online will go live on Sept. 18. A weeklong free trial will be available on Nintendo eShop starting the same day.
