Nintendo Switch Online Details Revealed – September Launch, $20 Yearly Subscription, Cloud Saves & More

Alessio Palumbo
Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo just revealed new details about its upcoming paid online service (originally set to launch several months ago).

The Nintendo Switch Online will launch in September, with a yearly subscription priced at $20, much lower than Sony's PlayStation Plus or Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold. It will include the much-anticipated cloud saves feature, the ability to play online and to access the smartphone app.

Related Story Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Review – A Joke Worth Repeating

You can find more information on the official website.

• U.S. Pricing: Various price points offer a variety of affordable options for different players.

Individual memberships:

- One month: $3.99

- Three months: $7.99

- 12 months: $19.99

Family membership (12 months): $34.99

With a family membership, up to eight Nintendo Account holders will be able to use the Nintendo Switch Online service, even on different systems.

• Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online: Subscribers will have access to NES – Nintendo Switch Online, a compilation of classic NES games. The collection will initially include 20 games, with more added on a regular basis. At launch, previously announced games 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.

For the first time ever, players will be able to enjoy these classic NES games online. Depending on the game, players can engage in online competitive or co-op multiplayer, or take turns controlling the action. Friends can even watch each other play single-player games online, and “pass the controller” at any time. Every classic NES game will support voice chat via the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app. It will also be possible to play these games offline.

• Save Data Cloud Backup: By using Nintendo Switch Online, a backup of Nintendo Switch save data for most Nintendo Switch games will be stored online for easy access. This is great for people who want to retrieve their data if they lose, break or purchase an additional Nintendo Switch system.

• Online Play: A Nintendo Switch Online membership will be needed to participate in co-op and competitive online features for many current and upcoming Nintendo Switch games, such as Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Mario Tennis Aces and Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido.

• Nintendo Switch Online App: The Nintendo Switch Online smartphone application can be used to enhance the online experience for compatible games through voice chat and other features.

Alessio Palumbo Photo

About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.

Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.

Button