Nintendo Online details revealed

Nintendo have revealed more details for their online service on Nintendo Switch. The service is Nintendo’s equivalent to Playstation Plus or Xbox Live Gold, but so far has sounded like a much cheaper option.

The pricing for Nintendo Online hasn’t changed from what the company announced earlier this year. 1 month costs $3.99, 3 months is $7.99, and 12 months will cost $19.99, but all of these prices are for individuals with a family 12 month subscription costing $34.99.

The features subscribers gain access to with Nintendo Online begin with Online Play. From September 2018 Switch owners will need to have a valid Nintendo Online subscription in order to play games such as Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 online against others.

Nintendo Online will also allow subscribers to play 20 classic NES games with online play added to them for the first time ever. The games which are part of this service include; Donkey KongTM, The Legend of ZeldaTM, Tennis, Ice ClimberTM, Super Mario BrosTM, and many more.

Any Switch owners subscribed to Nintendo Online will also benefit from cloud backup facilities for their save date. More details will be announced closer to the launch of the service, but it’s possible that a basic online backup will be offered with additional costs for extra cloud storage space.

The Nintendo Switch Online app will also play a part in Nintendo Online. As more games release that use the app it will become a vital companion for anyone playing online. Splatoon 2 currently makes great use for the app for online chat, organizing multiplayer games, and messaging others.

Finally, Nintendo Online subscribers will also be given exclusive discounts on the Nintendo eShop. These discounts might be for brand new titles and old ones alike, with specific game developers also offering greater discounts to subscribers in sales.

Compared to Xbox Live Gold and Playstation Plus Nintendo Online seems a bit lackluster, but it is far cheaper than the competition. The lack of free games each month is an obvious gap, though whether the generous library of 20 NES titles is enough to make up for that hole in the service remains to be seen.