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You Can Now Subscribe To Nintendo Switch's Upcoming Online Service

Name: You Can Now Subscribe To Nintendo Switch's Upcoming Online Service - GS News Update
Uploaded: 2018-07-27T13:25:00-0800
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Description: Memberships for Switch's upcoming online service are now up for pre-order from Amazon and GameStop.

Memberships for Switch's upcoming online service are now up for pre-order from Amazon and GameStop.

By Kevin Knezevic on July 27, 2018 at 1:32PM PDT

16 Comments

Nintendo's premium online service for Switch is slated to begin this September. While Nintendo has said it will reveal further details about the service ahead of its launch, those who are already planning on subscribing now have the ability to purchase a membership from certain retailers.

As pointed out by Wario64, subscriptions for the Nintendo Switch Online service are now available for pre-order from Amazon. The online retailer doesn't list what date the service is scheduled to begin, but the memberships are available in two tiers--12 months or three months--and will be delivered via a download code once the service launches. You can order the 12-month subscription for $20 and the 3-month subscription for $8. Likewise, video game retailer GameStop also has both subscriptions available for pre-order from its online store.

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Now Playing: You Can Now Subscribe To Nintendo Switch's Upcoming Online Service - GS News Update

On top of those tiers, Nintendo will offer a one-month subscription to the Switch Online service for $4, although that doesn't appear to be available for pre-order yet. Switch owners will also have the option to subscribe to a family plan, which allows up to eight different Nintendo Account holders to share the same membership, even across different consoles. The family plan will be available for an annual fee of $35.

Following the launch of the Switch Online service, Switch owners will be required to have a subscription in order to play most multiplayer games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate online. Additionally, the service will offer subscribers cloud saves for Switch games, as well as access to a library of classic NES titles with added online play.

The Nintendo Switch Online service was originally scheduled to begin in late 2017 before being delayed into this year. In addition to Amazon, Switch owners will be able to purchase subscriptions directly through the Nintendo Eshop or at other retailers. The service will also only apply to Switch; online play for 3DS and Wii U titles will remain free. You can read more about the service on Nintendo's official website.

This story has been updated.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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Ant_17

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Ant_17

Guess Nintendo can't wait to fleece Switch owners.

Upvote • 5 years ago

sakaiXx

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sakaiXx

Will only considers it if it offers good game discounts.

2 • 5 years ago

Marky360

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Marky360

Why would I want to pre-order a subscription to a service I don't currently need to access anything? I mean you don't get the free games yet and you can play all Switch games online now for free so why in the hell would I WANT to pre-order this it's not like they are going to run out of subscriptions? No this is absolutely stupid and so is having to pay for online service at all the sub should just net you the monthly free games and you should be allowed to play online without it. Come on Nintendo I thought you guys were better than the competition? I blame this on all the gamers that willingly paid up for XBL Gold back in the 360 days when all it offered was access to online play and no free games meanwhile the PS3 had THE EXACT SAME ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR FREE!!!!! When I found this out back in the day I let my 360 sub laps and bought all my mulitplayer games on the PS3 I could not believe ppl were willingly paying for Xbox live when they didn't have too. Then Sony went and followed suit with Microsoft giving us no real choice. Now it looks as if Nintendo is jumping on the screw over the consumer bandwagon. Now things have shifted yet again and Sony is screwing ppl over with this lack of crossplay crap I feel if we are going to have to pay for the service they can at least give us what we want from it.

2 • 5 years ago

Vodoo

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Edited By Vodoo

@Marky360: In the 360/PS3 days, who had the better online service by a mile? Xbox, obviously. The PS4 online infrastructure and feature set only increased because it went to a "paid" service.

Do you think maintaining a closed server farm is free? Keeping it secure? Sony learned that lesson the hard way. Even though I understand the need to charge for upkeep and innovation for the online services, I do think that both MS and Sony should be charging half of what they are. Some of that extra money goes towards the free games every month.

For a console company to offer great online features without compromises, it requires constant updating and maintenance. Be glad Nintendo is charging a smaller fee, though they'll likely have less features.

Having said that, I completely agree with who the hell would pre-order a service that they don't want? It's like calling to make reservations at jail or calling Gamespot news, "News."

Upvote • 5 years ago

Marky360

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Edited By Marky360

@Vodoo:

I played on both services last gen PSN and Xbox live and I can tell you 1st hand that both services were identical there was virtually no difference between the two. The only major difference in feature set was there was party chat on Xbox and no party chat on the PS3 but that's about it and that is also the only real difference between the PS3 and PS4 when it comes to online as well nothing else has really changed or is any different. The money you pay for online access is a rip Microsoft and Sony aren't hosting the games you play online on their servers they are hosted on the servers of the individual game companies that publish and develop the games. The only thing Microsoft and Sony do is give you access to those servers as well as provide their own in-game chat services on PSN and Xbox live but this shouldn't cost you anything as other comparable services like TeamSpeak and Discord exist and are free. Furthermore Xbox has all the same Xbox live features available on PC yet its free on PC no charge because even Microsoft knows there's no way a PC gamer is going to pay to play online it's just stupid. The service you pay for should literally just be the free games you get monthly you shouldn't ve charged to play online that is just basically a rip off.

Upvote • 5 years ago

GustavoB

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Edited By GustavoB

@Marky360: You thought Nintendo was better than the competition?

It is the worse by a wide margin.

Upvote • 5 years ago

Marky360

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Marky360

@gustavob:

Yea I guess you are right Ninty has had some shitty practices.

Upvote • 5 years ago

greatatemi

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greatatemi

Thank you Microsoft, thank you for making your competitors to sink to your level

-Videogamedunkey

3 • 5 years ago

DEATHWlSH

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DEATHWlSH

People are pre-ordering something without even knowing the details of what they're getting? That seems pretty stupid.

7 • 5 years ago

so_hai

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so_hai

@DEATHWlSH: Yes, that's why Germany had that great law to prevent this with game pre-orders.

Upvote • 5 years ago

dspino

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dspino

So I can only enjoy Splatoon till September. Lovely.

2 • 5 years ago

krazeekhujo05

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Edited By krazeekhujo05

This online service is a joke when compared to XBOX & PS, the worst part is the "free" games a month are only Nes titles and are only available for a month even if you have the game downloaded in your library you can't access it after 30 days. Nintendo needs to offer current gen titles from themselves and 3rd party, but they won't Nintendo likes to rip off the people, I will not be paying for this service F U Nintendo!

7 • 5 years ago

Marky360

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Edited By Marky360

@krazeekhujo05:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but all three services are technically a huge rip-off. Now the free games you get from PS+ and GWG are great and are not a problem but the fact that all three companies now require you sub to their individual services just to play online is a load of bullcrap and a complete rip-off.

Upvote • 5 years ago

sd4138

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Edited By sd4138

@krazeekhujo05: It is no longer certain games free for just a month. They changed it so now starting in September, it’ll launch with 20 nes games with new ones added every couple weeks.

4 • 5 years ago