Switch paid online service delayed to 2018, costs $20 a year and includes online-enabled classic game library
Play games like Dr. Mario online.
Nintendo has delayed the launch of the paid online service for Switch from its previously planned fall launch to 2018.
Additionally, the company announced that paid online subscribers will now get access to a “Classic Game Selection”—“a compilation of classic titles with added online play, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight, and Dr. Mario—rather than a single Virtual Console game as previously announced.
Speaking to Kotaku, Nintendo said users will be able to download and play as many of the games in the classic library as they want as often as they like, as long as they have an active subscription. Speaking to IGN, Nintendo said the library will include NES games at launch, and that Super NES games are under consideration, but that there is nothing to announce at this time.
In addition to online gameplay access and the classic game library, the paid online service for Switch also includes access to the online lobby and voice chat smartphone app and Nintendo eShop deals.
Until the paid service launches in 2018, online gameplay will remain free. When the service does launch, pricing will be as follows:
- One-month Membership – $3.99
- Three-month Membership – $7.99
- 12-Month Membership – $19.99
More information about Nintendo’s online service will be announced “later this year.”