Nintendo Switch Online Service Details Revealed

20 free NES games, to start, will be ushering in the next era of online functionality for Nintendo and the Switch.

In a relatively conspicuous tweet, Nintendo announced details regarding the upcoming paid online service. We already knew that the service would be required to play games online, but this information has left me blown away.

The service will be arriving in September. The service will be required to play first party games like Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and ARMS. The presser makes very careful note of the fact that not every game will need the service for players to utilize the features. This will come on a game by game basis, according to Nintendo.

Switch fans have been clamoring for any news at all of a virtual console, and while this isn’t that, it is the next best thing.

The paid subscription service will include 20 enhanced NES games to start. The service will receive more games as time goes on, although it is unclear whether these will be strictly limited to NES games. I am hoping we see SNES, Nintendo 64 and Gamecube games eventually, even if we see a price bump to support that integration. The service will have classics like Balloon Fight, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda to start.

“Balloon Fight, Dr. Mario and Super Mario Bros. 3 will be joined by Donkey Kong, Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Mario Bros., Soccer, Super Mario Bros. and Tennis. An additional 10 launch games will be announced in the future,” the release reads.

The service will include cloud saves, something that fans have been begging for. Now, if something happens to your Switch or you get a new one, you will be able to access your save files easily.

And the price? A one month membership will cost you $3.99. Three months will cost $7.99 and one year will cost $19.99. A family of up to eight Switch accounts will be able to grab a family membership for $34.99 each year.

The one down side is Nintendo doubling down on their smart phone app, which will be used for voice communication and the like.