Here's what you pay $ 20

The long-awaited Switch Online service from Nintendo has finally arrived, but is everything in place? Well no. But is it worth the 20 dollars? It's another story.

Nintendo Switch Online highlights five features: online gameplay, the NES application, the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone application, Save Data Cloud and special offers. Before systematically breaking down what all of this means for you, let's look at how much it costs.

Subscription plans

If you decide to sign up for Nintendo Switch Online, we strongly recommend that you obtain one of the annual subscriptions, as you will save a lot of the changes. Not to mention that annual subscribers (family or individual) have access to exclusive content (later).

Nintendo Switch Online

Yes, you are charged for a previously free service, but from Nintendo's point of view, this business model makes sense. The company could not charge its players a service that lacked titles, so it was necessary to wait for the Switch build a beautiful library voluminous. Not to mention the contest – Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus – charged for that same service, so why would not Nintendo do it?

However, what annoys me as a consumer is that Fortnite does not require the Nintendo service to be played online. While this may sound like an act of kindness (and it is), it actually decreases the service of Nintendo. The company has awarded a prize for its launch, but this value is being thrown out of Fortnite, which is arguably the biggest online title on the Nintendo console at the moment.

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The decision represents both a commercial mistake by Nintendo and a misunderstanding of how consumers think. When some games require Switch Online and others do not, this can become frustrating as new games are released.

Save the data cloud

Registering on the cloud is certainly a major highlight of this service, but it should not be. Nintendo is essentially kidnapping your backups in the cloud and asking for ransoms to bring them home safely. Do not forget that it is also the case if you have a microSD card, because you still can not save the data. And what's worse is that the company will charge this money each subscription cycle, and if you do not pay, your backups are dead.

So if your switch breaks while you renew your subscription, you will need to recover those 999 moons again. This system is ridiculous, and it is there that Nintendo must follow the footsteps of its competitors for once. Xbox Live offers free, subscription-free backups, and while PS Plus charges, both services let you transfer your data to a USB flash drive.

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In addition to the bizarre backup model of Nintendo Switch Online, some games can not be saved, including the Nintendo Splatoon 2. prevent cheating. However, competitive players work tirelessly to rank and get better results in games like Splatoon 2, so the least that Nintendo can do is recognize this effort by proposing a better solution.

NES Classics

If cloud backups were not so important, the NES classics would have been the main selling point. At the launch, Nintendo offers 20 NES games, including The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. The games can be played solo, with some titles also allowing local two-player cooperation and even an online cooperative. Even in single-player games, NES allows you to "pass the controller" to the online player so you can act effectively. However, only the host of the session will be able to keep the recorded game. All games are accessible via the NES NES application, downloadable from the site Nintendo eShop.

Similar to NES Classic console, the application allows you to choose from different video filters and create suspension points for each game. Nintendo plans to add three other games each month, starting with Solomon's Key, the NES Open Tournament Golf and the Super Dodge Ball in October.

There is, however, a small caveat for players always on the move. If the Nintendo switch is not connected to the Internet after seven days, access to the NES application will be locked.

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Overall, this service seems a little outdated compared to Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus, which offer free and relatively new AAA games every month. But $ 20 a year for a NES game library added month after month is a good deal – if you like retro titles.

Online smartphone application Nintendo Switch

Although I can write 3,000 words to explain why players should not have to use their smartphones only to access voice chat, I will avoid breaking a blood vessel and judging what we have.

The Nintendo Switch Online app currently supports four games – Mario Tennis Aces, ARMS, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 – as well as the NES application. When you launch a specific online game mode, the application asks you if you want to enter the chat. The quality of the voice is actually quite decent, but the problem is that the cat plays the role of game cat and that's all. There is no message option, or even private chat with friends.

In contrast, Nintendo includes a unique feature called Game Specific Services. The only game that he supports so far is Splatoon 2It provides access to rankings, milestone information, personal statistics and SplatNet Gear Shop.

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This type of tool is actually quite cool and useful because it allows you to stay connected with your game when you are not playing. If Nintendo had given priority to this type of service instead of focusing on voice chat via an app, I think it would have been much more useful for players. Because if the cat is not already implemented in the game, you'd better believe that I'm open Discord.

Special offers

I thought it would be difficult for Nintendo to spoil its program of special offers, which is specifically designed to provide interesting offers or content. But my boy, I was wrong.

First, let's break down the NES controllersthey can only be used with NES games. Even if you want them, they are limited to one subscription purchase and are very expensive (close to the retail price of $ 79 for a fully functional Joy-Cons). Nintendo also announced an exclusive gaming equipment for Splatoon 2. Awesome, right? Except that this specific benefit is exclusive to members with 12-month subscriptions.

To be clear, the Nintendo subscription service is not configured in a tiered system. it's based on when you renew your subscription. But Nintendo executes it as if the longer your subscription, the more rewards you receive.

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Nintendo thus isolates not only non-subscribers, but also players with subscriptions on a one or three month cycle. Of course, you could simply say: get the annual plan, then; it's cheaper anyway. But people who pay for the same service should not be treated differently.

What is missing

Nintendo's online service is relatively cheap, but it lacks some features offered by its competitors. I'd like to see a success / trophy system and more classic systems like SNES or N64. We also desperately need a universal and concrete party system similar to that of Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. Hopefully, most of these features will come at some point, but they would have made Switch Online a more convincing purchase.

Is the Nintendo Online Switch worth it?

Despite my burning complaints, Nintendo Switch Online is definitely worth $ 20 a year. Even if you do not plan to play online, the ability to back up your data is extremely important for your well-being. I do not take the chance that my Switch or game cartridge goes down one day, erasing every 160 hours of play on my Legend of Zelda: Breath of Nature record. In addition, the ability to play classic NES is very attractive.

What Switch Online really has for the moment is its price, $ 20 for one year being one third of the price charged by competitors. Although it only offers one-third of the content as competitors currently do, this can change once Nintendo has solved the problems.

Credit: Nintendo