When the switchch was released in 2017, Nintendo made its online services completely free – putting the program as unique in comparison to the PS4 and Xbox One, both of which require subscription services to make online games. However, Nintendo's plan was to always offer a paid service, and that it came in the form of Nintendo switchch Online – a less expensive option than those offered by Sony and Microsoft, but one that conflicted with a few things reserved for players.
While Nintendo's competitors offer free games to subscribers every month, Nintendo had, until this year, only given players access to a selection of NES titles. Completely simulated and supported by the saved sites and back-up functionality, the games were fun, but not a fantastic reward for releasing an online site. In 2019, Nintendo expanded its offering by adding SNES games – a welcome step, given that many of the console's best titles are effectively consuming NES 'top efforts.
Access to the likes of Super Metroid, Zelda: Connect Past, Super Mario World, F-Zero and Super Mario Kart I would have tried many of these Switch owners who had refused to take the domain, and would have just made others who were thinking of ending their own. However, we hope Nintendo doesn't leave it there; given that the Virtual Console is now a thing of the past, it would be great to see Nintendo Switch Online expand to cover other classic programs, such as Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, N64 and perhaps even GameCube.
Of course, games are one thing – Nintendo Switch Online has other functions, with online gaming and cloud saving perhaps the most important. Given that Nintendo is now earning money from this service, it would make sense to expect the company to put in some cash to add more functionality. We would like to see the cloud storage system get some tweaks, especially now that Switch Lite is available; as that exchange between the two switch switch scenarios will prove, the current cloud setup is far from over.
Are you excited about the state of Nintendo switchch Online in 2019? Would you like to see more programs added, or do you yearn for better features and services? Let us know about the idea.
