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Nintendo Switch Online Service Annual Pricing Revealed

Nintendo Switch owners will now have an idea of how much money to put away to use the upcoming Nintendo Switch Online service.

Ozzie Mejia

May 7, 2018 6:55 PM

Details have been coming in slowly regarding Nintendo's upcoming online service for the Nintendo Switch, which is set to launch in September. A few more details trickled in on Monday evening, with Nintendo offering some more information on the perks, as well as the pricing.

Users in the United States will be able to pick up 12 months of service for $19.99. Three months will run for $7.99, while a single month will go for $3.99.

However, that's just for one single Nintendo account. Those looking to use more than one account to jump online will have to look into the Family option, which allows up to eight Nintendo accounts to go online for 12 months for $34.99.

Balloon Fight is among the games included in NES - Nintendo Switch Online

The perks for Nintendo Switch Online will include "NES - Nintendo Switch Online," which includes classic NES games with online capability. When the service launches, 20 of these games will be available at launch. Those games include Balloon Fight, Dr. Mario, Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Soccer, Super Mario Bros. and Tennis. The other 10 launch games will be announced in the future and all of them will offer various online features, like competitive online play, onlin co-op, voice chat via the Nintendo Switch Online app, and the ability to watch each other play for single-player games. These games will also be available to download and play offline.

Another feature that should intrigue Switch owners is Save Data Cloud Backup, which offers cloud saves for various Nintendo Switch games. This save information will be tied to a user's account and can be easily retrieved in the event that a Switch console malfunctions and a user needs to pick up a new one.

Look for more information about Nintendo Switch Online on the Nintendo website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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Shacknews

 reply
May 7, 2018 6:56 PM

Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, Nintendo Switch Online Service Annual Pricing Revealed
- ThomW
  
   reply
  May 7, 2018 8:48 PM
  
  $20/year isn't bad -- especially if it includes cloud saves and a library of NES games with online play added (I don't see anywhere that it says that those games cost extra -- am I wrong about that?).
  
  I'm not sure I can say I'm a fan of Nintendo retroactively restricting online multiplayer in games like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon 2 though. I wonder if people who bought the game before September can continue to play online, or if it'll magically stop working. I'm betting the latter. Kind of shady if that's the case.
  
  I hope they finally tie your online purchases to your account instead of the hardware. I don't want to own any of those stupid tiny cartridges, but at the same time I don't want my library to go up in smoke either. Also, ditch the stupid friend codes.
  - K1Bond007
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 4:37 AM
    
    They were pretty up front about online being free for only a limited time till the service launched.
    - ThomW
      
       reply
      May 8, 2018 6:54 AM
      
      haha I'm sure every parent who doesn't hang out on Shacknews would disagree.
      - K1Bond007
        
         reply
        May 8, 2018 7:18 AM
        
        Wouldn’t be surprised to find it on the back of the box.
- Rehevkor
  
   reply
  May 7, 2018 8:56 PM
  
  How the fuck is it only NES games? It isn't, right? That would be monumentally stupid.
  - onji
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 4:30 AM
    
    Probably something they'll expand upon
  - Turd Ferguson
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 4:33 AM
    
    It's Nintendo's internal internet rules. For every good decision they have to make at least one really stupid decision.
  - Schnapple
    
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    May 8, 2018 5:02 AM
    
    Well "monumentally stupid" would be putting games on there at all when you're also selling a standalone console for $79 that has them, yet here we are.
    - Hoax
      
       reply
      May 8, 2018 5:06 AM
      
      That 2 dollar per game with hardware and 2 controllers.at least on that front they are humanely priced considering that they ask 8+ bucks per game on the vc.
      - Schnapple
        
         reply
        May 8, 2018 5:43 AM
        
        True, I’m just saying that this feature on their $20/year service is sort of conflicting with their impending re-release of the NES Mini.
        
        Which I still want because an irrational Nintendo whore. And I’ll be getting the online service too.
        
        one random winner
        
         reply
        May 8, 2018 6:53 AM
        
        Sounds about right.
  - waxthirteen
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 7:12 AM
    
    I assume (hope!) it will be expanded upon in the coming years, but yeah... I absolutely could not care less about getting NES games on my Switch. SNES, N64, and (maybe if we're super lucky) GC games would 100% seal the deal for me.
- yAak
  
   reply
  May 7, 2018 10:30 PM
  
  DR MARIO, yessssssksjskjafklsllkgjwjab
  - one random winner
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 6:53 AM
    
    That's the only one I'm interested in besides maybe SMB3.
- [deleted] 711354446
  
   reply
  May 8, 2018 6:55 AM
  
  [deleted]
  - fadetofunk
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 7:16 AM
    
    They'd rather you give them $20/$35 a year rather than buy the few VC games you want and stop buying.
    - one random winner
      
       reply
      May 8, 2018 7:20 AM
      
      I am curious about that family plan. Wonder how that will work?
      - fadetofunk
        
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        May 8, 2018 7:22 AM
        
        Nintendo has a good family account system. I have family accounts. I have an account, my daughter and my son. I created their logins and can control what they can and can't do.
        
        I imagine the system will see my root account and charge me $35, but then my son and daughter get all the benefits on their switches.
        
        one random winner
        
         reply
        May 8, 2018 7:41 AM
        
        I was thinking there might be some limited option to use it across multiple switches. If so my bros and I would totally take advantage, it would fit with their "multiple Switch household" dream though.
        
        fadetofunk
        
         reply
        May 8, 2018 7:47 AM
        
        I imagine nintendo will just charge family accounts (like mine) more money. Everyone else who has a standard account pays $20 for their one account.
- Snif DeCrac
  
   reply
  May 8, 2018 7:32 AM
  
  Any news yet if they will allow downloaded games to be used on more than one Switch on the same account?
  - one random winner
    
     reply
    May 8, 2018 7:41 AM
    
    Nothing yet, would be great though.