Nintendo Switch’s Online Premium Service has Some Unusual Features

Limited use free games and a need for a smart device to chat online

Switch's Online Premium

It stands to reason that there would be the need for further explanations and clarification, not everything was detailed in the stream the other day.

Wired recently had an interview with boss of Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime who spent some time answering some of the questions that we all wanted clarification on. One of the biggest bits of news from the stream was that Nintendo would be introducing a premium, paid for, online service for the Nintendo Switch. This brings Nintendo’s new console in line with Microsoft’s Xbox One with Xbox Live Gold and Sony’s PlayStation 4 with PS+.

Although this is already causing some contention from some fans who feel that Nintendo should continue to provide a free online service, as it had done with the Wii and Wii U. THe difference here is perhaps intent. It could be argued that Sony moved to paid for subscription for online multiplayer with the PS4 as a standard as it can use the revenue to fund better servers and improve stability. This is something that the PS3 was criticized for lacking a lot during it’s life cycle. Conversely, Nintendo’s online service has always felt like an after thought; ridiculously long “friend codes” instead of identifiable gamertags, restricted communications and lack of support for a large number of games for online play. So the move to a paid for service could signal Nintendo’s intention to make a go of it with regards to online service and online multiplayer.

That being said, there a couple of weird choices in delivering this said service that have been noted, then recently confirmed from the Reggie Fils-Aime during his interview with Wired.

  • You don’t get to keep your monthly ‘free game’ – in the interview, Wired asked for clarification regarding the ‘monthly free game’ that was being provided as part of the subscription service that Nintendo was introducing. They noted that the wording stated “one free game per month“, indicating that subscribers would lose that game once a new month started. Reggie confirmed that this would be the case:

“It means that essentially you’ve got access to that game for a period of time, and then after the month there’s a new selection. You’ll have the opportunity to buy it, but [after] that month we’ve moved on to another game.”

This seems a slightly odd move, both Xbox Live Gold and PS+ allow subscribers to keep the free game for as long as they keep a subscription active, it makes the most sense, in my eyes. Stopping your subscription means you no longer have the game, so there’s an incentive to keep yourself subscribed. With this model if you don’t play that game in that month, you miss out, which is a shame. It is always possible Nintendo might review this.

  • There isn’t a built in chat feature for the Switch – going onto to discuss the overall vision for Switch’s online capabilities, Fils-Aime spoke of how they are committed to the online service and online multiplayer experience, noting Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8: Deluxe as some titles that will have online multiplayer. In this statement he noted that voice chat will be provided by an app:

“The bigger vision is that we are going to provide an overall online service, subscription-based, that not only will capture the multiplayer opportunity, but also the voice chat capability that we’re going to provide through a global app…Instead of having some sort of bulky gamer headset, you’ll be able to do it right off your smartphone, put in your earbuds that you use for your standard mobile device. We think that’s a pretty sweet solution.”

I see the point of this, Nintendo Switch is billed as a mobile home console in essence. Taking your Switch on the road with you, as Nintendo have envisoned, means that many things could make that less convenient. Battery life being a big one of those issues. Already discussing that battery life might be between two and a half and six and a half hours (depending on the game), it stands to reason that Nintendo have considered ways to improve this performance. Connecting online “on the go” (via Wi-Fi) will obviously take some battery power, especially when you add onto that potential party chat features, it’ll knock it down substantially I imagine.

So the solution, use your smart device (as most people have them) to host the chat app. Connect to the app and chat with your friends online using your headset you probably got with your phone/tablet etc. The flip side to this is if you don’t have a smart device, it isn’t unreasonable to assume that a device you buy is capable of doing all the it touts without the need for an additional device. So people may not be able to chat online with their friends, perhaps affecting their performance or experience of the Switch. Though I appreciate that a headset isn’t an essential item, how much do team based games work when you can actually co-ordinate with your team?

The Switch premium online service will launch for free when the Switch launches on March 3rd. This will be free for around six months as a trial period after which it will move to the paid for service in the fall. I am inclined to think that this free period is to ensure that the service is functioning correctly, leaving any hiccups or issues without too much anger from the consumer. Some gamers already get plenty salty over the most innocuous things, so at least they can’t get too annoyed at a free service not working 100%, right?

There are still things we are waiting to know about the premium service, such as the cost of it? Will it be inline with Xbox Live Gold and PS+ and be $60/£40. If it is, will it be worth it? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on the RGM Forums.

You can check out all the news from the Switch stream over at our ‘Switch Hub‘.