Nintendo Switch Online


Nintendo Switch Online is a suite of features on the Nintendo Switch video game console requiring purchase of a subscription. Nintendo Switch Online features include online multiplayer, cloud saving, voice chat, access to a library of Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System games, as well as other promotions and offers. Following a period where some of its features were available to all users at no charge, the subscription service officially launched on September 19, 2018.
The service is Nintendo's third generation online service after Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and Nintendo Network.

History

The Nintendo Switch was formally announced in January 2017, with its release on March 3, 2017. Nintendo stated in its pre-release announcements that the system would eventually require purchase of a paid "online service", but that they would be available to all users at no charge until the service launched. Features announced included a companion smartphone app, as well as access to a free Nintendo Entertainment System game per-month. The service was initially planned for late 2017. By June 2017, Nintendo pushed back the service's release until 2018, but did establish the pricing plans for the service, with an average annual price of, depending on region. Then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé explained that the delays were to ensure that the service was "world-class", and had enough of its announced functionality available on-launch to justify its cost. Nintendo aimed for a lower price point in comparison to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, as the service does not include the same range of features as these subscription services provide. Then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima stated that the price point was a subject of importance in designing the Switch's online services, and that regardless of what competitors were doing, "it's a matter of getting our content to the consumer at a price point that would make them happy, and then we're willing to look at what else we can do going forward."
The Nintendo Switch Online service was launched on September 19, 2018. A Nintendo Direct two days before the release detailed the full set of features that would be part of the Online service, including a larger and persistent library of NES games for subscribers, as well as cloud save support. The initial launch covered 43 markets, with more markets expected to follow later.
In September 2018, Nintendo Switch consoles imported to China started experiencing connectivity issues there, due to the Nintendo Switch Online service using Google's servers, which are blocked in China.
On March 28, 2019, Twitch announced that Twitch Prime members can claim up to a year of free Nintendo Switch Online membership between March 28, 2019 and January 20, 2020.
The service officially launched in South Korea and Hong Kong, on April 23, 2019.
On September 4, 2019, Nintendo announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation that Super NES games would be added to the service the following day under a separate app.

Usage

By December 31, 2018, approximately three months after its launch, the service had gained more than eight million subscribers. Nintendo reported in late-April 2019 that the service had 9.8 million subscribers. The service reached over 10 million subscribers by July 2019, and over 15 million by January 2020.

Features

Multiplayer

Nintendo Switch Online is required to access online multiplayer on the majority of titles. Some free-to-play multiplayer games, such as Fortnite Battle Royale and Warframe, are exempt from this requirement, and can be played online freely without a subscription.

Cloud saves

allows save data for many games to be synchronized online, so it can be recovered if the user must move their Nintendo Account to a different Switch console or if they use multiple consoles. The feature is not supported for some games including those with certain forms of online functionality such as item trading and competitive rankings, citing concerns surrounding the possibility of abuse that could "unfairly affect" gameplay.
Users will lose access to their cloud saves should they allow their subscription to lapse, though there is a grace period of six months to renew the subscription and recover them before they are purged.
According to the list below, there are currently games which do not support cloud save functionality.
TitleAdditional information
1-2-Switch
'
– Championship Edition
Blade II – The Return of Evil
Bookbound Brigade
Cabela's: The Hunt – Championship Edition
Catan
Civilization VI
Color Zen Kids
Daemon X Machina
'
Dawn of the Breakers
Dead by Daylight
Death Mark
Dungeon Stars
Eternal Card Game
Exorder
FIFA 18
FIFA 19
FIFA 20
Fortnite Battle Royale
Gems of War
Go Vacation
In-Vert
'
Lanternium
Lightseekers
The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game
'
Miniature – The Story Puzzle
Mistover
Modern Combat Blackout
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
New Super Lucky's Tale
Nidhogg 2
No Time to Relax
Orbitblazers
Overwatch
Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge
Pokémon Sword and Shield
The Raven Remastered
Robbie Swifthand and the Orb of Mysteries
Speaking Simulator
Splatoon 2
'
Taimumari: Complete Edition
The Town of Light
Warface
'

Communication

Users can voice chat through the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app on smartphones. Voice chat functionality is not available natively through the Switch console; Fils-Aimé justified the decision by explaining that "Nintendo's approach is to do things differently. We have a much different suite of experiences than our competitors offer, and we do that in a different way. This creates a sort of yin and yang for our consumers. They're excited about cloud saves and legacy content but wish we might deliver voice chat a different way, for example."

Classic games service

Past Nintendo consoles with online functionality had offered games from Nintendo's older console libraries through the Virtual Console, but would not use this for the Switch. Instead, Switch Online subscribers can access Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment System apps, both which feature a persistent and expanding library of classic titles from the systems. Access to the games are available as long as the user has an active subscription, and a user must connect to the internet at least once a week to continue to access the titles while offline. Games with multiplayer modes support both local and online play; online play functionality is a first for NES and SNES games.
Certain NES games released on the service beginning in October 2018 also have an alternative version labeled "SP" which either starts the player near the end of the game or starts the game with the maximum amount of items and lives. Most of the games released in both the Americas and PAL territories are the original NTSC-U versions, including their North American naming and 60 Hz support. The Western NES variant of the software is available in South Korea, while the Japanese Family Computer variant is available in Hong Kong.
During its first year, the Online service provided a new batch of NES games on a monthly basis. However, with the addition of SNES titles in September 2019, Nintendo stated that new NES and SNES games would no longer be made available on a regular schedule though would continue to expand both libraries over time.
The service is home to several titles that were not available on the Virtual Console including Crystalis, Journey to Silius, ' and Star Fox 2. Some games saw their first re-release in any form since their original debut such as Pro Wrestling, ', and Stunt Race FX. The service also marks the first ever North American release of the SNES games Pop'n TwinBee and Smash Tennis.

NES games

With the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online service on September 19, 2018, NES games were made available with 20 titles available at launch. Subscribers can access them through a dedicated app. Games available include:
Release dateGamePublisherNA/PAL/KRJP/HK
September 19, 2018Balloon FightNintendo
September 19, 2018BaseballNintendo
September 19, 2018Donkey KongNintendo
September 19, 2018Double DragonArc System Works
September 19, 2018Dr. MarioNintendo
September 19, 2018ExcitebikeNintendo
September 19, 2018Ghosts'n GoblinsCapcom
September 19, 2018GradiusKonami
September 19, 2018Ice ClimberNintendo
September 19, 2018Ice HockeyNintendo
September 19, 2018The Legend of ZeldaNintendo
September 19, 2018Mario Bros.Nintendo
September 19, 2018Pro WrestlingNintendo
September 19, 2018River City RansomArc System Works
September 19, 2018SoccerNintendo
September 19, 2018Super Mario Bros.Nintendo
September 19, 2018Super Mario Bros. 3Nintendo
September 19, 2018Tecmo BowlKoei Tecmo
September 19, 2018TennisNintendo
September 19, 2018YoshiNintendo
October 10, 2018The Legend of Zelda SPNintendo
October 10, 2018NES Open Tournament GolfNintendo
October 10, 2018Solomon's KeyKoei Tecmo
October 10, 2018Super Dodge BallArc System Works
November 14, 2018Gradius SP Konami
November 14, 2018MetroidNintendo
November 14, 2018Mighty Bomb JackKoei Tecmo
November 14, 2018NES Open Tournament Golf SPNintendo
November 14, 2018TwinBeeKonami
December 12, 2018Adventures of LoloHAL Laboratory
December 12, 2018Adventures of Lolo 2HAL Laboratory
December 12, 2018Dr. Mario SPNintendo
December 12, 2018Metroid SP Nintendo
December 12, 2018Ninja GaidenKoei Tecmo
December 12, 2018Wario's WoodsNintendo
January 16, 2019Blaster MasterSunsoft
January 16, 2019Ghosts'n Goblins SPCapcom
January 16, 2019Joy Mech FightNintendo
January 16, 2019Ninja Gaiden SPKoei Tecmo
January 16, 2019'Nintendo
February 13, 2019Blaster Master SPSunsoft
February 13, 2019Kirby's AdventureNintendo
February 13, 2019Metroid SP Nintendo
February 13, 2019Super Mario Bros. 2 Nintendo
February 13, 2019Tsuppari OozumouKoei Tecmo
March 13, 2019'Nintendo
March 13, 2019Kid IcarusNintendo
March 13, 2019Kirby's Adventure SPNintendo
March 13, 2019StarTropicsNintendo
March 13, 2019Yie Ar Kung-FuKonami
March 13, 2019Zelda II: The Adventure of Link SPNintendo
April 10, 2019Kid Icarus SPNintendo
April 10, 2019Punch-Out!!Nintendo
April 10, 2019Star SoldierKonami
April 10, 2019' Nintendo
May 15, 2019Clu Clu LandNintendo
May 15, 2019Clu Clu Land: Welcome to New Cluclu Land Nintendo
May 15, 2019Donkey Kong Jr.Nintendo
May 15, 2019Star Soldier SPKonami
May 15, 2019Vs. ExcitebikeNintendo
June 12, 2019City ConnectionCity Connection
June 12, 2019'Arc System Works
June 12, 2019TwinBee SPKonami
June 12, 2019VolleyballNintendo
July 17, 2019Donkey Kong 3Nintendo
July 17, 2019Mighty Bomb Jack SPKoei Tecmo
July 17, 2019Wrecking CrewNintendo
August 21, 2019Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke DaiundōkaiArc System Works
August 21, 2019Gradius SP Konami
August 21, 2019Kung Fu HeroesCulture Brain Excel
August 21, 2019Sega
December 12, 2019CrystalisSNK
December 12, 2019Famicom WarsNintendo
December 12, 2019Journey to SiliusSunsoft
December 12, 2019Route-16 TurboSunsoft
February 19, 2020Atlantis no NazoSunsoft
February 19, 2020Eliminator Boat DuelPiko Interactive
February 19, 2020Shadow of the NinjaNatsume
April 20, 2020Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light SPNintendo
April 20, 2020Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light SP 2Nintendo
May 20, 2020RygarKoei Tecmo
July 15, 2020The ImmortalPiko Interactive

SNES games

Announced in a Nintendo Direct on September 4, 2019, SNES games were added to the service worldwide with 20 titles on September 5, 2019. They are available in a separate app from NES games. Games available include:

Offers and promotions

Switch Online subscribers are also granted access to special offers and promotions from Nintendo; on launch, those who purchased a 12-month subscription or family plan received special in-game items for Splatoon 2, and Nintendo opened exclusive pre-orders for special wireless controllers based on the NES controller, specifically intended for use with the aforementioned NES app. Similarly, a special wireless SNES-based controller designed to work with the Switch was made available to purchase exclusively to Online subscribers shortly after the service added support for SNES titles.
Coinciding with the anticipated release of Super Mario Maker 2, a price-reduction promotion was announced during the game's Nintendo Direct that was available exclusively to Nintendo Switch Online members. The promotion introduced "Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers", which allows purchasers to download two qualifying Nintendo Switch games for a set price of $99.99 MSRP, compared to a $120 sum of buying both games separately.
Nintendo has also offered free original games for those with an Online subscription. Tetris 99 was released as a free to play title for subscribers in February 2019, though has subsequently offered paid downloadable content and retail versions of the game for non-subscribers.