Do you still pay for Nintendo Switch Online?

NintyGamer.com writes, "Nearly a year after Nintendo Switch Online has launched, the service still lacks some basic features. Cloud saves are not standard on all games and the Wii still remains the best virtual console we've ever had. Is the service worth what Nintendo asks?"

[Neonridr]

as they continue to add more and more to their online gaming collection, it definitely makes it have more value. Imagine once they add Nintendo 64 titles to the mix too. Is the service perfect? Absolutely not, far from it. But hopefully they will continue to expand and build upon it.

[_SilverHawk_]

"Nintendo Switch Online has been out for nearly a year. We’ve seen the launch of NES and SNES games and exclusives like Tetris 99. Cloud saves are also included, but confusingly not for all games.

Despite the benefits, the service remains lackluster when compared to competitors like Xbox and PlayStation. Xbox GamePass offers a subscription service for unlimited access to a growing catalogue of games.

PlayStation Plus and Xbox Games with Gold give ‘free’ games away as long as you stay subscribed. If the Nintendo Switch had launched with the Wii’s Virtual Console catalog it may have been comparable."

Gamers should buy what appeals to them but should be knowledgeable about potential purchases. Nintendo switch online is rubbish and the paltry selection of games offered are old with a lot dating back 40 years ago. All the selections of games offered by Nintendo are worthless imo. The switches online network is laggy and is missing a lot of features offered by the xbox and playstation. The ps3s online service is 15 years old free and is a way better service than what's offered on switch. Some "fans of Nintendo " will tell you otherwise that the service is good or apologize for the rubbish Nintendo offers but doing a little bit of research about the service will tell you it isnt close to any other online network on other consoles. Nintendo online network should be free just like I think xbl and psn should be free.

[Neonridr]

you are entitled to your opinion. But as an anti-Nintendo player (don't pretend you aren't) it's a very biased complaint. I own both a Switch and PS4 and pay for both online services. I totally agree that the Switch online pales in comparison to the other two and is missing some basic features that even the PS3 and 360 had. Proper party chat and messaging are two basic things that should be there that aren't.

As for the games, I totally disagree there. Getting access to some of the greatest NES / SNES library of games is definitely not worthless, and as they continue to add more games and systems into the mix it's only going to get better.

I give them a partial pass because the service is cheaper than the competition, but they still have some things to learn and need to keep growing in other areas.

[darthv72]

curious but why would switch need cloud saves if the idea is to take the switch with you when you go places?

[RazzerRedux]

"why would switch need cloud saves if the idea is to take the switch with you when you go places"

Same reason you need cloud for your smart phone. What if you lose/break your Switch?

It is needed. Nintendo is behind, as usual.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

A free game once a month from Nintendo would be nice considering they have the most expensive software of the three, I wish they'd give us the majority of the NES/SNES, ect... Catalogue, would bring alot value to the system.

As for the Cloud saves, I wish they'd let us backup to an SD card.

[bobsmith]

just for mario maker online and super smash

[Smellsforfree]

I agree that NSO isn't as good as what is available on XBox and Playstation, but it is currently the only way to play Nintendo Switch games online so yeah I'll be continuing to pay for it.

Here is some food for thought -- NSO is $20/year for an individual or $35/year for a family (up to 5 or 6 members I think). Do we want it to remain at that cost or cost the same as XBox/Playstation at ~$10/month with those features? I mean, we all want it to remain at $20/year and bring all the features MS and Sony bring, but lets be realistic here and acknowledge that it would be more expensive if that were case.

[stupidusername]

I have a family subscription with 5 other friends and we only pay 5$ each for a year. That's close to nothing compared to the prices of PSN and XBL. The service is without doubt lackluster compared to competitors, but if the competitors made a bare bone version of their services that only let you play games online and nothing more for 5$ a year, then I'd honestly choose that version. I'm in no need of in game voice chat, ps+ games, discounts and so on. I just want to play my games online for the least amount of bucks.

[overlordror]

Same thing I do with my family. When we break it down it's less than a few coffees a month. Not bad considering the cost of other services.

[Teflon02]

PS Vita has party chat, proper in game voice. A much better online system in general for absolutely free. Switch gets no pass imo, no matter what excuse is used

[The_Sage]

Smells...

$10 a month is $120 a year. My PS Plus subscription cost me $50 for the year.

[Smellsforfree]

It is ~$10/month, though, if you go on a month-by-month. What I said was accurate.

[The_Sage]

Why would anyone do that?

[ZeekQuattro]

I do but I spend most of my game time on the Switch so it makes sense for me. I will be getting Live again once PSO 2 is made available though.

[Teflon02]

I mean, if you really wanted to play pso2, could have for years on ps4 for free. Same with Vita and PC. My laptop in like 2013 was able to play it maxed out and it wasn't some crazy level laptop. If you don't pay. That's not a good reason to since Xbox is tyhe only place that makes you pay to play f2p titles

[porkChop]

"I mean, if you really wanted to play pso2, could have for years on ps4 for free. Same with Vita and PC. My laptop in like 2013 was able to play it maxed out and it wasn't some crazy level laptop."

It was only available in Japan, and the servers were only in Japan. So if they don't live in Japan how were they supposed to play it?

[ZeekQuattro]

PSO 2 is being brought to the West thanks to Microsoft so that's where I'll be playing it. I can't very well play it on a Vita I don't own nor do I care to play games on PC outside of emulation and even then that was years ago. That's what I have consoles for. I'm not buying a Vita to play a game I can get somewhere else on a system I already have. Why even bring it up?

[septemberindecember]

Yeah, I do...but I want them to add more SNES games and fix it up or I don't think I'll continue. Played Super Mario World with a buddy. It was fun, but boy does the service need some work. The feature set is okay (party chat is my only real complaint, feature wise), but the quality of the online is legitimately bad.

[FallenAngel1984]

It’s not like Switch owners have a choice if they want to play online multiplayer games. Unlike PS+ on PS3 & Vita it’s not an optional service. It’s a mediocre service that requires users to pay for it to get certain basic features.

[overlordror]

Yeah, cloud saves should not be tied to being a paid feature. But for some reason Nintendo accounts are still tied to hardware rather than just accounts.

[FallenAngel1984]

Sony still ties cloud saving to being a paid feature but at least it’s easy to back up saves on PlayStation hardware to local external devices.

Nintendo has you rely on them, and what’s worse is that certain games can even opt out of supporting cloud saves

[TheGamez100]

Eh its $20 a year and I want the cloud saves....a lot of things need work though but they may increase the price too with it. Really hope for n64, gameboy, gba, and even gamecube games in the future.

[Segata]

I got a year free with Twitch Prime

[CobraKai]

I don’t, but then again, I don’t need it

[hiawa23]

No, and I already have damn near every Super Nes or Nes game made in my emulator console. Haven't found a reason to pay for online on Switch yet.

[DragonWarrior19]

$20 bucks for a year is absolutely nothing. Plus I still am riding off the free year from Twitch Prome and a few 3 month promos that I've gotten overtime.

[stupidusername]

Pro tip for when your promos run out: Join up with 5 friends or randoms for a family subscription and you're only paying 5$ a year.

[Tross]

Still? I haven't started paying for it in the first place. I take the money I could spend on that and buy a bunch of indie games on sale instead.

[jlove4life]

Heck yeah my guy I gotta get my daily splatoon 2 online fix

[traumadisaster]

Isn’t it $20 year? I can’t remember but there was one game kids wanted that needed it. Seems cheap enough

[CDbiggen]

I play far too much Tetris 99 to give it up.

[Bigman4k]

Nope

[SlagWolf]

I refuse to pay for any online service.
I have PC for that
Also I really don’t play online much any ways
Unless it’s private games with friends I really don’t care for multiplayer much these days

[gamer7804]

I bought it just to be able to have some more local modes in Mario tennis, I played some Tetris 99 online. But overall it’s largely been a waste of money. Nintendo has some great IPs but they have a lot of work to do in the social dept. to voice chat it has to be available in the game itself or use discord on your phone....

The nes and snes services could be good but their library is barebones.

[monkey602]

I havent paid for Nintendo's online service at all. Dont need to. I dont care for the old NES games and dont play the Switch online when I'm out with it so it's pointless. The service is diabolical anyway

[PCgamer98]

It's sucks but atleast it's cheap. But I would gladly pay the same amount as ps/ms monthly online if nintendo went with netflix like approach with retro games.

[Teflon02]

Twitch primes the only reason I have online lol. PS3's free online was more feature packed. Wii U was more feature packed. Vita was WAYYYYYY more feature packed for free. Like naw. It's not even about the price. You can't even send msgs lol. No party chat... like come on..

[nommers]

I see no reason to. I’m not ever rebuying any of Nintendos older games again. They don’t even offer a lot of titles like wwf no mercy on them.

[Donnie81]

I never bothered to even do the free trail yet. If Nintendo has a cool multiplayer game that’s not so kiddo focused I’d consider getting it

[talllpine]

I don't really care too much for the retro games, I care more about not having proper chat functionality. The time I've spent playing the old games vs the time I wish I had chat to communicate to my friends is very easy for me. End up using ps4 chat while playing super smash with my friends. Oh and Smash could have some better multiplayer too, no cpu's? Coop, team cpu battles?

[AK91]

Still? I never started.

[Harryvok]

I never bought it to begin with. The main reason being i don't use my Switch for online multiplayer, that's what my PS4 is for. I don't use my Xbox One for multiplayer either.

If i had access to a vast back catalogue of NES, SNES and N64 games (not a rotating roster, not a few at a time, just a huge catalogue available at all times) as well as cloud saves for all my games including the back catalogue of games, then i would definitely pay for the service. I currently pay for Xbox live AND Xbox gamepass as well as Playstation Plus (can't get PS Now in Australia or i'd have that too).

Give me access to a big back catalogue of old games and i'll happily pay for it. I think a lot of people would, even as a separate service. But as usual, Nintendo has to do things 'differently'.

[Kosic]

Yes, well no.
Bought a family pass for around £22 for the year. Sold off 7 slots at about £3.5 each making a small profit. So I got my year for free.

[Artemidorus]

Nintendo are just second rate garbage as of recent. Someone bring back the big guns.

[Fritzwochel]

Never paid for it lol. It's not worth it for me lol.
The only title worth it for me is Tetris 99 lol. But that alone won't make me subscribe lol.

[PressPlayBros]

Idk why I do, but yes.

[Positivelypositive]

It needs much more for the value. If you don't spend all your time playing Splatoon.