For months, Nintendo has been stoking people's expectations for their upcoming paid online service for the Nintendo Switch. Since the launch of the hybrid console, the company has kept the service free due to delays until it can officially launch the service that will lock owners into a paid model much like their competitors Sony and Microsoft. Now it seems Nintendo has put the final polish on the service and will launch it in September with some much-needed features and benefits.
Updated details
As previously detailed, the Nintendo Switch online service will feature three pricing options.
However, new details have revealed that there is a fourth pricing option for family use. The Family Membership will retail at $34.99 for 12 months and will allow up to eight member accounts per Switch console. The full list of pricing options are as follows:
- One-month Membership: $3.99 / £3.49 / €3.99
- Three-month Membership: $7.99 / £6.99 / €7.99
- Twelve-month Membership: $19.99 / £17.99 / €19.99
- Twelve-month Family Membership: $34.99 / £31.49 / €34.99
Free classic games
It was also previously mentioned that one of the benefits that Switch owners would have when conceiting to the pricing models was full access to free NES games, but only a few were mentioned. As of reporting this, Nintendo has revealed 12 NES games.
The full list includes classics such as "Balloon Fight," "Dr. Mario," "Super Mario Bros. 3," "Donkey Kong," "Ice Climber," "The Legend of Zelda," "Mario Bros.," "Soccer," "Super Mario Bros." and "Tennis."
Nintendo plans to announce an additional ten games for the service, and some of these titles including those already listed will have online capabilities including co-op, competitive multiplayer and spectating.
However, all games will have voice chat support, though it is relegated to the controversial voice chat app that can only be installed on a mobile device as opposed to the console.
Cloud saves are coming
By far the most surprising yet assuring feature coming to the online service in September is the ability to back up save data to a cloud server.
Cloud saves aren't anything new in the gaming industry, but they are to a company like Nintendo. In the past, the inability to back up saves and even full games were common for Nintendo consoles, forcing owners to have to replace already purchased games alongside their consoles due to loss.
Fortunately, Nintendo is done playing catch up and will allow owners to back up most of their games on the cloud in case of loss. However, this benefit is only available to those who buy into the paid online service when it launches in September.
