Nobody likes being forced to purchase too many subscriptions, but they are sometimes necessary. A Nintendo Switch Online membership is required if you want to play online games on the Nintendo Switch. Subscription plans are required for online multiplayer gaming on the Xbox and PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch Online is a similar proposition.
The good news is that Nintendo Switch Online costs $20 per year, which is less than PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live Gold, or Xbox Game Pass. (You can also pay in installments of $4 per month or $8 for three months, but the $20 plan is the best value.) That plan includes online play, online cloud saves, and access to some free games that you can play as long as you’re a subscriber. However, it will only apply to one Nintendo Switch account holder. Families with multiple Switches, or anyone with multiple accounts on the same Switch, will be charged $35 per year for up to eight family members. Otherwise, the only way to play many games online will be through the Switch Online membership of whichever individual account has it.
You don’t have to play Nintendo Switch games online, and Nintendo’s games are arguably the most offline-friendly of the big three console makers. (There are also numerous local, same-room multiplayer games available.) Still, many Nintendo games have online multiplayer, and the service is essential for that alone. Nintendo’s online multiplayer features aren’t always great, but they’re gradually improving: Switch Sports, Mario Strikers: Battle League, and Animal Crossing are all online-focused games, as are many of Nintendo’s recent releases.
Some games do not require Switch Online, and the majority of them are free-to-play titles like Fortnite or Fall Guys. So there are options for living with a Switch without using Nintendo Switch Online. If you have multiple Nintendo Switches, cloud game saves come in handy. It’s much easier to switch from one Switch to another to play a game when you can just load your game save from the cloud. If you have multiple Switches in your home, only one can be configured to play games while offline, while the others can be used while connected to Wi-Fi.
Even if you only have one Switch, you might want to upgrade from, say, the original Switch to the new OLED version. Even if you don’t have cloud saves, you can still transfer game save data between systems.
Nintendo offers a few free games to Switch Online subscribers, but far fewer than PlayStation Plus (which recently added some new tiers for extra premium and retro games), Xbox Live Gold, or Game Pass Ultimate, which rotate games on a monthly basis.
Nintendo relies on its NES and SNES classic games, both of which are available in Switch apps that are semi-regularly updated with new titles. There are currently 62 NES games and 54 SNES games, so there is plenty to keep you entertained. The NES and SNES apps are similar to what Nintendo used to offer on the cute plug-in NES and SNES Classic retro consoles, as well as in “Virtual Console” games on the older Wii, Nintendo DS, and 3DS. One appealing feature of these games is that many of them can be played online.
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack is a step-up tier that adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis retro game collections (about 16 N64 games, and 25 Genesis games so far). Both compilations contain some excellent games, such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Sonic 2, and Phantasy Star IV. They also have built-in game save features, but unless you’re a die-hard N64 or Genesis fan, they’re not worth the extra cost of the step-up plan. Otherwise, N64 games are difficult to come by, but there aren’t many. There are other ways to get the Genesis games; there’s an excellent, separately sold Sega Genesis Classics compilation on the eShop, as well as some standalone Sega Ages games. It doesn’t seem worth it to pay an extra $50 per year for the Expansion Pack (or $80 for a Family subscription).
To sweeten the deal, Nintendo has begun to include some additional DLC content with the Expansion Pack, including a Splatoon 2 expansion, additional Mario Kart 8 Deluxe courses, and Animal Crossing extras. These can be purchased separately for about $25 each.
All of Nintendo’s online services were free until the release of the Nintendo Switch, in contrast to Microsoft and Sony, which charged a fee for the use of their online servers. For the first year of the Nintendo Switch’s life, online services were free, though it was announced that paid online would eventually be available. While this was initially disappointing, the content promised by Nintendo appeared intriguing, and people were optimistic.
So, does the Nintendo Switch Online service remain worthwhile? Yes, in a nutshell. Longer answer: it’s worth it just for the cloud backups. It’s also a given if you enjoy playing online with your friends, even if the quality of the online multiplayer connections can be a little shoddy at times. Other perks, such as the ability to try specific games for free, exclusive games such as Tetris 99, and discounts via coupons, add a nice flair to a service that’s pretty solid for its price point.
