Online and Back in Time

Five years of Nintendo Switch Online

There's a subscription service for everything nowadays and video games are no exception. Both Xbox and PlayStation have had subscription services for well over a decade now and it was only time before Nintendo joined in the mix. With Nintendo Switch Online recently celebrating its five-year anniversary, I figured it was time to share my opinion about the service, and why it might be underrated.

Nintendo had had online games before but not nearly as many as their competitors. Mario Kart and the Splatoon series were Nintendo's claim to fame in the online gaming market. So, you can imagine the surprise when Nintendo announced that it would be providing an online service for the Nintendo Switch.

Actually, surprise isn't the right word... frustration would be a better term.

Online play had been available for the Nintendo Switch at no cost for titles that could benefit from it. Nintendo announced that with this digital subscription service online play would now be put behind a pay wall. Many people were upset with the sudden change, and it certainly felt like a cash grab to most consumers, myself included. The one shining grace at launch was the price. For just $20 you could pay for a year's worth of service. By comparison, both Xbox and PlayStation required a minimum $60 per year subscription.

And as the release date drew closer, Nintendo worked hard to make sure that they were in good graces. They explained that the service would not only allow for online play but would also provide a digital library of NES games that would be playable on Switch with an Internet connection. They explained that this game library would continue to expand over time and would provide a legal way to emulate some older titles. The other major advantage came in the form of cloud saves. Before this point, all your saved data was stored on the system’s hardware. This meant if your Switch was damaged or stolen any and all progress would be lost permanently. It may not seem like much, but when you've put dozens of hours into a game, it really stings when you have to start all the way at the beginning. Nintendo Switch Online launched in September of 2018, about 18 months after the Switch's initial release. A year later, SNES games were added to the service.

It's interesting to play an older title from a long series and see how much the games have changed.

I did not purchase the service when it first launched as I was unsure how much I would benefit from it. Cloud saves were definitely a nice feature, but the retro games weren’t really a selling point for me. I did not experience playing on a home console until 2011, and although I had played a small handful of retro games, I wasn't familiar with most of them. As time went on, I began to see the value in trying the older titles as I really began to dive into the medium itself and what made it special. I finally purchased my subscription in the summer of 2020.

I do think the timing of my purchase made an impact. With a global pandemic forcing everyone to stay inside, many people had rediscovered their love of gaming especially older consoles that weren't easily available. Prices in the retro game market began to skyrocket, and some console libraries are still feeling the effects to this day. Not to mention, it can be very difficult to track down original hardware that works well. Just like every electronic device, over time consoles will wear themselves out. And as a gamer with a very tight budget, finding a working system and the right television to play them on was almost impossible. So, being able to play older games on hardware that I already owned was a nice experience(although I'm sure there are some purists out there that would disagree).

As previously mentioned, the base subscription for Nintendo Switch Online contains digital libraries of NES and SNES titles. Not only are these titles reworked for the Switch’s control scheme, but additional features have been added. The first one I noticed was the ability to create a save point. Retro games have very few checkpoints and some don't have any at all. It's nice to know that I don't have to complete the entire game in one sitting. The second and far more contested new feature is the rewind ability, allowing you to rewind the game if you make a mistake. Whether you agree with that or not, it is a feature that's available. There are also a handful of visual filters.

In 2021, Nintendo released an expansion pack for Nintendo Switch Online which included Sega Genesis games, Nintendo 64 games, Gameboy games, and Gameboy Advance games. This expansion pack was an additional $30 more per year. Subscribers who bought the expansion pack were also given some exclusive content such as additional tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This particular piece of downloadable content was later made available for purchase separately. I know several individuals that were upset with the increase in price for the expansion pack but considering that a yearly subscription with Nintendo is still cheaper than PlayStation or Xbox I don't mind paying a bit more each year.

I wasn't good at Tetris when I was younger but I've learned to appreciate it more over time. That doesn't mean I've gotten much better.

After five years, the question remains-is Nintendo Switch Online worth the money? It all depends on the type of gamer you are. If you grew up playing a lot of these older titles, I would definitely consider this a good investment. It allows you to play these games without tracking down original hardware and gives an option for portable play as long as you have an Internet connection. I would also say this is great for gamers who might want to start getting into retro titles but aren't completely committed to having a physical collection. However, if you know you don't play retro titles often or only want the service to get access to additional content, I suggest buying the content separately instead of paying for something you wouldn't use.

I'm curious to see how Nintendo moves forward with the service. There are already rumors that Nintendo is working on their next console and switched my not be their main focus in a couple of years. Even so, I've enjoyed the service so far. It has helped me develop an interest in retro titles and allows me to try them out before deciding if I want to collect them physically. Just like any other online service, the value comes down to the consumer.

This post was written by Vanessa Hart, creator of Deep Dive Gaming.