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.
| Title | Additional 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 date | Game | Publisher | NA/PAL/KR | JP/HK |
| September 19, 2018 | Balloon Fight | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Baseball | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Donkey Kong | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Double Dragon | Arc System Works | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Dr. Mario | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Excitebike | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Ghosts'n Goblins | Capcom | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Gradius | Konami | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Ice Climber | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Ice Hockey | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | The Legend of Zelda | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Mario Bros. | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Pro Wrestling | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | River City Ransom | Arc System Works | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Soccer | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Super Mario Bros. | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Super Mario Bros. 3 | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Tecmo Bowl | Koei Tecmo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Tennis | Nintendo | ||
| September 19, 2018 | Yoshi | Nintendo | ||
| October 10, 2018 | The Legend of Zelda SP | Nintendo | ||
| October 10, 2018 | NES Open Tournament Golf | Nintendo | ||
| October 10, 2018 | Solomon's Key | Koei Tecmo | ||
| October 10, 2018 | Super Dodge Ball | Arc System Works | ||
| November 14, 2018 | Gradius SP | Konami | ||
| November 14, 2018 | Metroid | Nintendo | ||
| November 14, 2018 | Mighty Bomb Jack | Koei Tecmo | ||
| November 14, 2018 | NES Open Tournament Golf SP | Nintendo | ||
| November 14, 2018 | TwinBee | Konami | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Adventures of Lolo | HAL Laboratory | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Adventures of Lolo 2 | HAL Laboratory | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Dr. Mario SP | Nintendo | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Metroid SP | Nintendo | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Ninja Gaiden | Koei Tecmo | ||
| December 12, 2018 | Wario's Woods | Nintendo | ||
| January 16, 2019 | Blaster Master | Sunsoft | ||
| January 16, 2019 | Ghosts'n Goblins SP | Capcom | ||
| January 16, 2019 | Joy Mech Fight | Nintendo | ||
| January 16, 2019 | Ninja Gaiden SP | Koei Tecmo | ||
| January 16, 2019 | ' | Nintendo | ||
| February 13, 2019 | Blaster Master SP | Sunsoft | ||
| February 13, 2019 | Kirby's Adventure | Nintendo | ||
| February 13, 2019 | Metroid SP | Nintendo | ||
| February 13, 2019 | Super Mario Bros. 2 | Nintendo | ||
| February 13, 2019 | Tsuppari Oozumou | Koei Tecmo | ||
| March 13, 2019 | ' | Nintendo | ||
| March 13, 2019 | Kid Icarus | Nintendo | ||
| March 13, 2019 | Kirby's Adventure SP | Nintendo | ||
| March 13, 2019 | StarTropics | Nintendo | ||
| March 13, 2019 | Yie Ar Kung-Fu | Konami | ||
| March 13, 2019 | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link SP | Nintendo | ||
| April 10, 2019 | Kid Icarus SP | Nintendo | ||
| April 10, 2019 | Punch-Out!! | Nintendo | ||
| April 10, 2019 | Star Soldier | Konami | ||
| April 10, 2019 | ' | Nintendo | ||
| May 15, 2019 | Clu Clu Land | Nintendo | ||
| May 15, 2019 | Clu Clu Land: Welcome to New Cluclu Land | Nintendo | ||
| May 15, 2019 | Donkey Kong Jr. | Nintendo | ||
| May 15, 2019 | Star Soldier SP | Konami | ||
| May 15, 2019 | Vs. Excitebike | Nintendo | ||
| June 12, 2019 | City Connection | City Connection | ||
| June 12, 2019 | ' | Arc System Works | ||
| June 12, 2019 | TwinBee SP | Konami | ||
| June 12, 2019 | Volleyball | Nintendo | ||
| July 17, 2019 | Donkey Kong 3 | Nintendo | ||
| July 17, 2019 | Mighty Bomb Jack SP | Koei Tecmo | ||
| July 17, 2019 | Wrecking Crew | Nintendo | ||
| August 21, 2019 | Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai | Arc System Works | ||
| August 21, 2019 | Gradius SP | Konami | ||
| August 21, 2019 | Kung Fu Heroes | Culture Brain Excel | ||
| August 21, 2019 | Sega | |||
| December 12, 2019 | Crystalis | SNK | ||
| December 12, 2019 | Famicom Wars | Nintendo | ||
| December 12, 2019 | Journey to Silius | Sunsoft | ||
| December 12, 2019 | Route-16 Turbo | Sunsoft | ||
| February 19, 2020 | Atlantis no Nazo | Sunsoft | ||
| February 19, 2020 | Eliminator Boat Duel | Piko Interactive | ||
| February 19, 2020 | Shadow of the Ninja | Natsume | ||
| April 20, 2020 | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light SP | Nintendo | ||
| April 20, 2020 | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light SP 2 | Nintendo | ||
| May 20, 2020 | Rygar | Koei Tecmo | ||
| July 15, 2020 | The Immortal | Piko 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.