After several months of user speculation, Nintendo has unveiled the subscription plans available for its Switch console. Subscribers will be able to access a selection of classic NES games, play online with or against other gamers, save game data to the cloud, and receive exclusive deals from Nintendo.
Pricing starts at $3.99 for a single month, $7.99 for three months, or $19.99 for a full year subscription. In the event that multiple people in the same household have Switches, a family membership is available for $34.99 annually. The main account holder can invite up to seven other family members to access Nintendo Switch Online.
At launch, there will be twenty different games available to play online. For now, Nintendo is only telling us ten of the games.
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Donkey Kong™
- Mario Bros.™
- Super Mario Bros.™
- Balloon Fight™
- Ice Climber™
- Dr. Mario™
- The Legend of Zelda™
- Super Mario Bros.™ 3
Screen sharing and virtually passing the controller will be available on many of the classic NES games. When paired with a smartphone app, voice chat will also be supported during gaming sessions. It would be nice to see a better chat service announced later on, otherwise there is no reason not to stick with existing apps such as Discord for voice communication.
Thankfully, Nintendo is not locking subscriptions to specific devices. It is possible to login on a friend's Switch and use your own subscription. A subscription is not required to receive regular system updates or to buy games, but will be required to play online games, utilize cloud backups, and play NES games.