The Nintendo Switch Online paid premium service is set to launch in September. Despite this, Nintendo has failed to go into particularly great detail about the service. We do know how much it will set us back for a year ($19.99), and that some form of Legacy Content will be available to subscribers. Remember, too, that the Nintendo Switch Online service is required to play any online multiplayer from September.
We’ll get to play the likes of Ice Climber, Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda when Nintendo Switch Online launches in September. Indeed, there will be a total of 20 classic games with added online multiplayer to get stuck into. So far, only 10 titles have been announced. It is unclear whether or not we get to keep these titles upon losing our subscriptions. What will the other titles be? Will we be playing more than just NES games again? Reggie Fils Aimé (Nintendo of America President) has gone into a touch more detail in an interview with Waypoint.
Reggie explains that along with legacy content, Switch Online owners will be given access to cloud saves. “You will get the ability to cloud save your content. And so for those consumers that are concerned about saves, you know, we’ve now provided a method to address that.” Indeed, cloud saves finally making their way to Switch players is a great thing – now if your console breaks, you’ll at least be able to pick up from where you left off thanks to the cloud.
Nintendo Switch Online: Will it Replace the Virtual Console?
Speaking on the legacy content, Reggie says that while Nintendo won’t announce the other 10 games of the Switch Online service, they have a “deep and rich library” to pick from. Only the NES and SNES are mentioned at all, mind. N64 fans may have to wait a little longer.
“Secondly, you’re going to get access to some legacy content. And we’ve said that we’re going to start with 20 games that are going to be available. We’ve outlined the first 10. And so that’s the other benefit that you’re going to get as part of Nintendo Switch Online. What I would say is that we’ve got a number of months until the service launches. We’ll continue to provide detail as we go. Right now the message is that it’s launching in September. Fundamentally there are three elements to the service: connected play, the cloud saves, and the legacy content. We’re going to continue providing more details as we get [closer].”
Nintendo Switch Online: Are Classic Games Worth the Cost?
Being able to play a number of Nintendo classics with online multiplayer attached does sound good. We’d like to know more about what games will be available, and for how long, but the promise is a solid one. Reggie keeps teasing us about what titles will be on Switch Online:
“What I would tell you is that we know that Nintendo has a deep and rich library. We know that consumers enjoy playing those legacy games. And we also know that we’ve done a lot in making that content available. Whether it’s the work we’ve done on past platforms, whether it’s what we’ve done with micro-consoles in the NES Classic and SNES classic. For us, it’s really about being thoughtful around what’s the best way to enable consumers to have access to this content and to do it in a meaningful way. We think the work that we’re doing with the Nintendo Switch Online is one way to address that opportunity.”
It will be nice to see what titles Nintendo has up its sleeves for Nintendo Switch Online, but it’ll be a little while before we are given more details. Will we be seeing new games added every month a la PS+ and Xbox Gold? Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon. The Nintendo Switch Online release date is this September.
