Last year, Nintendo chose to launch a new tier of its Nintendo Switch Online service under the name Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. This decision proved to be controversial, as it was the first time that a subscription service tier was being offered up like DLC. On top of that, the base Nintendo Switch Online service has been considered unreliable and missing some core features that every online service has. Many fans have come to believe that Nintendo simply does not understand how to do an online service, and the expansion pack cemented that idea.
Before Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack was announced, Switch owners were calling for the addition of Nintendo 64 games. Nintendo Switch Online offered NES and SNES titles, and the N64 seemed like the next obvious step. However, Nintendo announced that N64 titles were coming only to those who subscribed to the Expansion Pack. To try and sweeten the deal, Nintendo added various DLC packs and a SEGA Genesis emulator. It seems that Nintendo wants to continue to draw subscribers to the service and has been regularly adding new DLC to the pack, and for some players, it may finally be worth the asking price.
Everything Included in Nintendo Switch Online
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Nintendo Switch Online is the base Nintendo online subscription service and is the cheapest console service. While Xbox Live Gold and PS+ sit at $9.99/month, Nintendo undercut those services by offering Nintendo Switch Online for $3.99/month. With this low monthly cost, subscribers are able to play games like Super Smash Bros: Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe online with their friends. They also gain access to the save data cloud so that they can save certain saved games and not have to worry about losing their data.
Along with online play and the save data cloud, the base version of Nintendo Switch Online offers access to a trove of games from the NES and SNES. Players can relive their childhood by playing NES games, checking out a library of over 100 titles that includes Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Donkey Kong. They also gain access to over 100 different SNES games like Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Star Fox, and Donkey Kong Country. These titles have been reformatted to work with joy-cons, and some even added online play. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can also purchase NES and SNES controllers made specifically for the Switch.
The other two big features that Nintendo Switch Online advertises is exclusive games or offers and access to a smartphone app. The exclusive offers include the ability to purchase NES, SNES, N64, and SEGA Genesis controllers. Subscribers also get to check out Tetris 99 and Pac-Man 99 at no additional charge. Where some controversy comes in is with the smartphone app. The Nintendo Switch does not offer voice chat through the console, as subscribers are instead required to use the Nintendo Switch Online App if they want to talk with their friends.The app also includes some special features for games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Splatoon 2.
What The Expansion Pack Adds
Last year, Nintendo added another tier to the service called Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. This pack is not available as a monthly subscription, as it instead requires a 12-month subscription of $49.99. The cost of the pack is $30 more than the 12-month subscription for Nintendo Switch Online. While most players will be content with the base version of the service, the expansion pack adds a few extra goodies that may pull people in.
For starters, the pack adds two additional Nintendo emulators to the console. Subscribers are able to play a small library of N64 titles, with classics like Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, and Super Mario 64 included. In a surprise move, Nintendo also included a collection of SEGA Genesis titles for subscribers to check out with games like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Golden Axe being made available.
While the emulators will pull in players who are looking to check out some old-school games, Nintendo wanted to sweeten the deal for those players who are more interested in newer games. As such, it made the decision to offer DLC packs for newer games in the expansion pack, The first DLC pack that it included was Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise. This pack added a lot more content for Animal Crossing fans to chew through, and it helped improve the value of the service in their eyes. However, those same players could just purchase the DLC for a one-time payment of $24.99, which was half the price of the service.
Nintendo wanted to sweeten the deal even more, so it has added another two DLC packs to the service. First, Nintendo added the long awaited Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack at no additional cost. Then, it recently decided to add the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion to the offerings. These were two decently sized packs that subscribers could get their hands on alongside all the previous offerings. If someone were to buy all of these DLCs outright, it would cost them around $70, so suddenly the expansion pack looks like the cheaper option.
The Expansion Pack May Be Worth It
The value of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is based on the player interest in the titles on offer. If they have zero interest in checking out old-school titles on the N64 or Genesis, and if they have never touched one of the three titles that offer DLC, then the pack is obviously not worth it. It could be worth it for fans of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, or Splatoon 2. If anything, the addition of these DLC packs shows that Nintendo really wants people to subscribe to the pack, and it will most likely add even more DLC to help draw in potential subscribers.
Nintendo's asking price for the service is a lot more than the base package, and is therefore a hard sell for many players. However, if said player has any sort of interest in purchasing the DLC for three of the biggest games on Switch, then they may want to consider taking a look at the expansion pack. For many, the N64 and SEGA Genesis titles are just an added bonus. It all depends on what someone is looking for in a service, and if Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack has something of value for them, then it may be worth the price.