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Nintendo
Although one of the best-known gaming companies in the world, Nintendo has never really mastered online multiplayer. The company's game consoles have been hampered by friend codes, confusing (or absent) voice chat systems, and inconsistent performance for years. Yet fans have often forgiven the business. After all, unlike the services of Microsoft and Sony, it was free. It's hard to argue with free.
In about a week, things will change. Nintendo launches the Nintendo Switch Online program, which places most of its multiplayer online in a paid membership program.
What is it?
Think of Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus, but for Nintendo: it's the key to the multiplayer game on the Nintendo Switch. If you want to play games like Splatoon 2 or Rocket League online, you will have to pay for this privilege. The service costs $ 3.99 for one month, $ 7.99 for three months or $ 19.99 if you pay a whole year in advance.
It's not just about online multiplayer. The Nintendo Switch Online service also offers subscribers a classic game library, support for cloud-based game data backup, access to the Nintendo Switch smartphone app, and exclusive member-only offers. .
Let's take a look at each of these benefits, their caveats and some quirks of the program you should know about.
Look at this:
Nintendo Switch Online announced details
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Classic Nintendo Games
Nintendo
When the Nintendo Switch entered the store, it lacked an iconic part of Nintendo's gaming systems: the virtual console. This is what Nintendo calls its library of downloadable classic games; the eShop catalog of NES, SNES, Game Boy and Nintendo 64 titles. Finally, Nintendo revealed that these games would no longer be available as separate downloads, but would be part of the Nintendo Switch Online service. Think of it as Netflix for some Nintendo games. Now, the company has announced about two dozen retro games, all from the original NES, which will be paired with the service.
Twenty of these games will be available on launch day, and most of them are classics. Subscribers of the first day will have access to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon and River City Ransom, among others. In October, Nintendo will add the Solomon's Key, the NES Open and the Super Dodge Ball to the library. In November and December, he will follow Metroid, Wario's Woods and other games.
It's also more than just a virtual subscription console. Nintendo is expanding these classic titles with online multiplayer support, which means you can play Dr. Mario against a friend over the Internet. If the game offers only one player, the Switch will allow you to pass control of the game between rounds, and if the second player does not want to play, he can use a slider in his hand to indicate tricks on the game. # 39; screen of a friend.
Nintendo has not announced the full list of games that it will add to the service in 2019, but here are all the NES titles available on Nintendo Switch Online that have been announced so far:
At the launch:
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These are the games that Nintendo will add to the service in the coming months:
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Of course, you will lose access to the games if you let your Nintendo Switch Online subscription expire. But you should know that you will also lose access to your NES library if your console is disconnected from the Internet for more than a week. Nintendo says the console must check with the service every seven days to maintain access.
This is not a problem with games downloaded from Xbox Live games with Gold or PlayStation Plus.
Online game
Nintendo
Access to the online multiplayer game is the main selling point of most console subscription services. Just like with Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online will allow you to play games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Arms and Splatoon 2 online.
In addition to working with retail titles, the online game is also enabled for the classic Nintendo Switch Online game library. So you can relive the experience of the death of Player 1 before playing Super Mario Bros. at least one favorite online multiplayer game will work without a subscription. Fortnite will be playable online even if you do not have an active online subscription. There may be other exceptions to the rule, probably for games that exclusively offer online multiplayer. Nintendo has not yet released a complete list.
Cloud save data
Nintendo
If you want to back up your backup data to a Nintendo Wii, Wii U or 3DS, you need to transfer it to an SD card. On the Nintendo Switch, this is not an option. If your system has been lost, stolen or broken, all the hours you've been in The legend of Zelda: Breath of nature would be gone forever. The Nintendo Switch Online data cloud backup feature is designed to change that.
For Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, game data will automatically be saved to Nintendo servers if you have an internet connection. If you log in to your account on a new console, you will be able to download this data and pick it up where you left it. This is a simple and easy way to protect the time you have invested in Nintendo Switch games.
Unfortunately, there is a catch. In order to avoid wasting time and cheating in online games, some titles are not compatible with this feature. In appearance, this makes sense – players can not hack their Pokemon Let's Go: Pikachu and Eevee record data to cheat – but that means competitive multiplayer games with a single-player component are not protected. If you lose your Switch and want to pick up where you left off in the Splatoon 2 Solo Campaign, for example, you'll be less fortunate.
Nintendo also says that it can not guarantee that the data will remain available if you cancel your subscription.
Voice chat and smartphone app Nintendo Switch
Online multiplayer is great, but without the ability to talk to other players, it's a strangely solitary social experience. That's why voice chat is so important. Unfortunately, the Nintendo solution for voice chat is … weird.
Most game consoles allow you to plug a headset into the USB port or the audio input jack of the console and speak directly to players through the game. But most Nintendo Switch games that support Voice chat require the user to use a smartphone using the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone application.
It's a complicated and strange experience. To chat with other players in Splatoon 2, for example, you need to download the application on your phone, invite your friends to a Skype-like VoIP chat in the app and finally connect to your game. You will chat with your team on your smartphone while playing the game on your console.
In a recent issue of Nintendo Direct, the company praised the system as being more open, a way for other people in the room to hear and talk on voice chat via a speaker phone. If you want to have a traditional console experience, you need to buy a complicated audio splitter to literally tie your switch to your smartphone.
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This is not a user – friendly experience, that 's why some games have already avoided it. Want to use voice chat in Fortnite on Nintendo Switch? Just plug a headset into the console and play. Despite the improved situation, Nintendo continues to double on voice chat based on the app. It is part of the Nintendo Switch Online service and, at launch, will support Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARms, Mario Tennis Aces and the Nintendo Entertainment System game library of the subscription service.
In some games, the application will also allow you to access other special features. Right now, the only game that supports it seems to be Splatoon 2, which allows you to get exclusive items in a gaming shop only through the Nintendo Switch Online app.
Special offers
Nintendo
Nintendo Switch Online members will have access to special offers. These may be discounts, items in play or special products not available to non-subscribers.
Until now, there are only two examples of what these special offers could actually be: special gaming equipment for Splatoon 2 (available to subscribers who pay a year of service to the company). advance) and Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers for Nintendo Switch, an exclusive offer
It's a shame that these controllers are only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. They are almost identical to the original NES controllers, with the exception of a Joy-Con rail on the top edge of the square controller to connect it to the Nintendo switch. However, the limited availability is logical: they are specifically designed for use with Nintendo Switch Online's classic NES game library, which you can only play if you are a subscriber.
This advantage could be a gold mine for souvenir collectors in the future, assuming that the controllers are an indication of the type of special offers offered to subscribers.
You will need a Nintendo account to sign up
It is there that things get a bit complicated. Your Nintendo Switch has individual user accounts for each user. Nintendo also has a "Nintendo Account" to manage your profile and purchase history on the website, consoles and smartphone apps. To use Nintendo Switch Online, you will need both. If you already have a Nintendo switch, you probably already have this problem, but if you are new to Switch Online and the console itself, you will need to go to http://accounts.nintendo.com to get started.
At present, Nintendo and Switch accounts can be linked and unlinked at will. But that will change soon. Starting Sept. 18, any Switch profile linked to a Nintendo account will be permanently locked, so be sure to like your username.
Up to 8 Nintendo Accounts Can Share a Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Do not want to pay a separate subscription fee for each member of your family? You are lucky. Nintendo offers a 12-month family subscription for $ 34.99. Anyone participating in the Family Affiliation Plan must have full access to the benefits of the Nintendo Switch Online service.
There will be a free trial
Not convinced? Nintendo knows that its service will be skeptical. That 's why she is offering all users a free one week trial to launch the service on September 18th. The seven-day trial offers almost all the benefits of basic service, but does not include access to special offers, like NES retro controllers.
If you do not like the service, you will have to manually disable the automatic renewal to avoid paying a monthly fee of $ 3.99 at the end of your trial.
OK, how can I register?
Nintendo
The service is not online, so there is no way to register it. Prepaid subscription cards are available at some retailers, but the easiest way to purchase the service is simply to wait for its launch. When the service is online, you can add it to your account via the Nintendo eShop.
This article will be updated as more details on Nintendo Switch Online appear.
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