Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: A Switch to the Online Plan
When Nintendo first outlined their online plans for Switch earlier this year, they were met with plenty of vitriol. For the last few years, those who’ve played games on Nintendo consoles and handhelds have adjusted to playing online for free, despite some competitors charging for the luxury. But just as Sony started charging for online through the PlayStation Plus program with the PlayStation 4’s release in 2013 (which worsened when they raised the prices last year), Nintendo felt obligated to do the same with the Switch. In typical Nintendo fashion, though, they were taking a unique approach, with most of the online capabilities being handled through a smartphone and a mobile app, instead of through the main system like others. It sent the message that they still didn’t get online play on consoles.
While the service was planned to offer bonuses alongside the ability to play online like competitors, that wasn’t enough to quell the upset. Subscribers would receive select classic games to download to their Switch hard drive; but unlike free games on other consoles, which remain active on the system unless the user ends the subscription, these would automatically delete after a month. Both this and the planned mobile app functionalities were seen as very “Nintendo” moves, from a company that’s historically struggled to adapt to modern online systems.
Fortunately, it’s now clear they carefully analyzed the heap of criticism they received, and in the interim between that announcement and now, they’ve come up with a better solution for the online aspect. The service will officially be called “Nintendo Switch Online,” and will cost considerably less than competing non-PC online services. It will cost a mere $4 to play for one month, $8 for three months, and $20 for a year. No one expects Nintendo’s service to be as feature-rich as Sony’s or Microsoft’s, but the price will match that. The launch of the service was also delayed from later this year until 2018, so playing online will remain free until then.
They’ve also changed how bonus games will be available. It will now have a Netflix-style Virtual Console, where users can download multiple games at once. Titles like Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario will be available with newly-added online capabilities, and unlike the previous plan, games downloaded will stay on the platform as long as the owner has an active subscription. Currently, only NES games are planned to be part of this classic games deal, but SNES games are under consideration. (Perhaps they feel SNES games could compete with a possible SNES Classic Edition?) Given how much VC games went for ($5 for each NES game) and the price of the online subscriptions, this sounds like a fantastic deal if they maintain an acceptable rotation of games. With how Nintendo’s treated VC offerings on previous systems, especially outside Japan, merely asking for a good rotation is a lot.
This raises the question of whether we’ll receive a traditional VC. Though no numbers are public, there was talk about how most VC games didn’t sell that well, outside of select offerings like Nintendo’s most popular classics. While this service sounds nice, some of us would like to own our digital games, which is possible now that Nintendo finally has a dedicated online service instead of one tied to the hardware. Since this new online service won’t even start until 2018, it will be a while before we find out if two such services are able to coexist.
Unfortunately, their solution to implementing online capabilities is staying put, including headset connectivity. While Nintendo hasn’t announced their own headset for Switch (yet?), Hori will soon be releasing a Splatoon 2 edition, and the diagram detailing how to use it might make you think you don’t have the college degree necessary to understand it. The headset has to be plugged into a splitter, whose cables will then be plugged into two devices: One will be for the Switch headphone jack, while the other will go into the smartphone. It has to work in tandem with the special app Nintendo will make available sometime soon, which should also come with the option to use the Switch’s online functionalities and leave the phone open to accept phone calls simultaneously. It’s a hell of a solution instead of the Switch natively supporting all these features, and we still don’t have the full details as to how this works.
The Splatoon 2 headset itself is nice, however, and captures the aesthetic of the game. Perhaps they’ll confirm plans to release it worldwide soon.
It’s impressive that Nintendo addressed the price and extras for their online system in a prompt manner, but it would be great if they’re working on an online play and headset solution at the moment. It will be far less confusing if the features can be handled by the system itself. Hopefully this is the kind of feature they can implement in a future firmware update, and doesn’t have to be saved for updated hardware.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
