Connect with us

Nintendo Switch Online – Everything You Need To Know

The online service for Nintendo’s Switch console, aptly named Nintendo Switch Online, has been live for about six months now. Most Switch owners have already familiarized themselves with it, but if you’ve only just picked up a Switch, we’ve got some helpful info for you on Nintendo’s first foray into paid online.

This service allows players to access online multiplayer, similar to how PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live work. It’s not completely similar to the other two, much older services though, and in this article, you’re going to find out why.

1. Online Multiplayer

This is the main reason why you might want to get a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. If you’re a fan of online multiplayer, you should know that you now need to subscribe to Online if you want to be able to play your games, especially if they’re published by Nintendo itself. Even most third-party games, with the exception of Fortnite, need an Online subscription.

2. Smartphone App

Nintendo Switch has a free app for both the iOS and Android that you can use to chat with your friends while playing online multiplayer. This goes for all games except for Fortnite. You’ll need to subscribe to Online first before you can use the free-to-download app.

3. Free Access To Games

Nintendo Switch Online gives subscribers access to various free games in Nintendo’s retro roster. Nintendo started out with 20 NES games, but now the list has expanded even more. The current roster has 35 games in total, including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby’s Adventure. Nintendo has also begun offering special games exclusively for Online subscribers, such as Tetris 99.

4. Cloud Saves

Luckily for players who are worried that they’re going to lose their valuable save files, Nintendo Switch Online offers cloud backups to save files. That is, of course, as long as you continue your Online subscription. If you stop paying for the subscription, you won’t be able to access your saves for about 6 months. After that, the saves will be deleted permanently.

5. Future Expansion

Nintendo is continuously expanding its services to offer a better gaming experience to players. Rumors have been circulating that Nintendo will also be including free access to SNES games to the future updates of Nintendo Switch Online, so that’s something to look out for.

6. Pricing

In terms of pricing, Nintendo’s subscription model comes with two options: individual and family. Individual is remarkably cheap at $20 a year, $4 per month, or $8 for three months. Meanwhile, family costs $35 a year, and each “family” can have a total of eight members. This means that if you have a lot of friends who have a Switch, you could share one subscription with seven of them for less than $5 each year.

Think Switch Online is worth subscribing to? Gotta subscribe and find out!

Connect