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Nintendo Switch Online: Confirmed Launch Date, Cloud Saves, NES Games, And Online Multiplayer Full Details

1:36 AM 0

The Nintendo Switch is finally getting a full online service on Tuesday 18 September, a full 18 months after the hugely successful console first launched.

With the launch date only a few days away, we finally have confirmation of the 20 NES games bundled in with your subscription, along with details of a week-long free trial – meaning you can test out Nintendo Switch Online's full service before you buy.


Nintendo also confirmed that a launch day update will permanently lock Switch user profiles to their linked Nintendo Accounts. This will ensure you can safely manage your cloud saves and game purchases, while restricting account access to only one specific user (no sharing Super Smash Bros Ultimate with your mates, then).

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 What is Nintendo Switch Online?

Nintendo Switch Online is the – you guessed it – online service for Nintendo Switch owners. Much like Xbox Live or Playstation Plus, signing up to the service affords you a host of additional content, offers, and access to online multiplayer play. There’s also a tie-in smartphone app that provides players with in-game battle stats, voice chat functionality, and additional information on select titles.

Anyone with a Nintendo console will already have a Nintendo Account, which functions as your personal profile for downloading updates or buying games through the eShop.

This is, however, the first time Nintendo’s online service has required a paid subscription to use, so wary players will be looking to see if it matches up with equivalent offerings on competing consoles.


Officially, users must be 13 years old or over to sign up for Nintendo Switch Online.

 When does Nintendo Switch Online launch?

 After waiting 18 months for a full online service, we now know Nintendo Switch Online will be launching proper on September 18.


While the general release window was leaked through an Amazon listing back in July, Nintendo has since given us the exact date. A planned Nintendo Direct livestream was expected to offer more details about the service, along with a firm launch date, but was delayed to September 13 due to a destructive earthquake that hit Hokkaido, Japan earlier in the month.

What will Nintendo Switch Online cost?

The Nintendo Switch’s online service is launching in less than a week. In a tweet today, Nintendo revealed that the service will be available on September 18th, and users will be able to download a seven-day trial from the Switch store before committing to a subscription . Nintendo said it plans to discuss more details about the features and pricing of Nintendo Switch Online during a Nintendo Direct on Thursday. The official website for the service notes that it will cost $4 for a month, $8 for three months and $20 for a year. A family membership, which supports up to seven others in a family group, will run for $35 for a year.




What does Nintendo Switch Online give me?

That all-important question: what’s in it for you? The sections below will run you through everything likely to tempt you to Nintendo's paid online service.

Fight fight fight


Nintendo Switch Online will finally give you the online capability to play, compete, and cooperate with players around the world.

Online team-based shooters like Splatoon have proved hugely popular on the Switch, though committed players have had to make do with a fiddly workaround for enabling voice chat through the console.

With the latest in Nintendo’s iconic brawler series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, also arriving in November, it’s hoped that the fleshed-out service will prove a capable platform for competitive play – and pave the way for Nintendo’s hesitant foray into eSports.

Where are my classic games, already?

If the warm fuzzy feeling of supporting your favorite video game publisher wasn’t enough, your extra pennies each month will also net you access to a library of classic and retro games.

This isn’t the Virtual Console from the Wii and Wii U, though. Instead of a marketplace for one-off purchases of classic games, Nintendo Switch Online members will be able to play select titles bundled into their subscription.

At launch you’ll get 20 NES games, with the full list now announced and listed in the box, right. There will reportedly be additional online features for cooperative and competitive play, though we envisage the exact specifications will vary between each game. 

At some point we expect this range to expand, though with the SNES Mini selling so well and a N64 Mini / GameCube Mini seemingly in the works, we expect Nintendo won't want to rush their whole back catalogue to market at once.

Save files for all (almost)

One sore point for users has been the omission of cloud saves for their games, meaning that a busted Switch console will take all your hard-earned progress with it. To prevent you having to start Breath Of The Wild all over again – again – the paid service will back all of your save files onto Nintendo’s own servers for safety.

NES GAMES AT LAUNCH

  • The Legend of Zelda
  • Ice Climber
  • Balloon Fight
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Mario Bros.
  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Dr. Mario
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Donkey Kong
  • Ghosts ’n Goblins
  • Excitebike
  • Tecmo Bowl
  • Yoshi
  • Double Dragon
  • Gradius
  • Ice Hockey
  • River City Ransom
  • Pro Wrestling
  • Baseball
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