The Switch’s online service has an official launch date and price tag

Nintendo has finally taken the wraps off of its Switch online service in terms of pricing and availability. The company took to Twitter to reveal the info, along with a few details on classic games.

Virtual…

First, NO, there was no announcement about a Virtual Console on the Switch. That’s still not happening as far as anyone outside of Nintendo knows. And heck, they might not even know.

But we did get a few little tidbits about the gaming giant’s plans for its long awaited classic games service, as well as membership for online gaming (etc) on Switch. It’s about time honestly, since the console has been out for almost a year at this point.

As for the news itself, well it’s a mixed bag. Not that you couldn’t have guessed.

For starters though, the pricing seems pretty fair. Nintendo will offer three tiers of membership, ranging from a month to a year. Along with pricing, they are:

• 1 Month – $3.99 USD
• 3 Month – $7.99
• 1 Year – $19.99

Not too shabby there. Twenty dollars a year is not bad at all, and fitting for Nintendo, who’re really just forging their way in the online space with a membership. Fans will also be able to get in on a “selection of classic games” for joining the service, though it isn’t clear if this will be a Virtual Console.

Nintendo doesn’t not actually say those words in the update to their website. And they’ve intimated in the past that this feature would star a rotation of games. They show Super Mario Bros 3, Doctor Mario, and Balloon Fight as of now, which are all NES games. I suppose this might be the beginning of the VC on the Switch, but don’t get too excited. Not yet anyway.

The Nintendo SmartPhone App is also available now (or soon) and will bring the voice chat feature into play… as clunky as that setup seems.

All of the above is free to use (with the exception of the Classics, which won’t hit till fall), until this September. That’s when you’ll have to join up, or stop playing online.

Source: Nintendo