Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Gets A Tasty Limited Time Discount (UK)

£34.99 is the Nintendo RRP for 12 months expansion pack

Still not worth it to me personally. Good of ShopTo to offer the cheaper price though.

Still not worth it for me. If nintendo started selling some of their nso games, then we're talking.
Until then, ill keep playing them on my series x retroarch

I struggle to justify the basic subscription just to play 2 games online.

@FishyS
I have the basic and thats enough for me.
For me its not worth the upgrade.

Guess I'm the first one here to say it's worth it.

Superstar Saga, Banjo, the Booster Course Pass, Mario Party, Pokemon Snap, Strider, Virtua Fighter 2, a whole bunch of games (and Mario Kart) that I've put some decent hours into now.

Of course I would rather buy these games standalone but it's starting to be worth it.

I'd only been using the subscription for Smash Ultimate and Dead By Daylight so decided not to renew. Ive had my fill of playing those now and I own most the GB/NES/SNES/N64 games that I'd want to play anyway physically or through the mini consoles so the subscription offering doesn't do much for me. Nice to see a cheaper deal though, rarely seems to happen with this one

Saw the picture with the N64 controller and NSO Expansion Pack and assumed we were finally getting more N64 games.

I agree with @iceclimbersmain, I think it's good value for what you get.

It's still overpriced considering its the worst subscription out of the 3 consoles.
It should be free to play online on Switch given the lack of basic features with an option to pay for the retro catalogue for those who want them.

Still not worth it. Needs more features and loads more games. Why would I pay for something which is inferior to something I can get for free?

@step_over Yeah this is actually closer to a 25% discount. And I may be wrong but I think Shopto pretty much always has prices like this, so I'm not sure why it's being posted as news.

Typically, this offer hasn't been extended to Australia, but the family pack isn't the worst value proposition if I had 7 other people to split it with, but it's still lousy value for money otherwise. I'm not into playing against others online. As introverted as I am, I'd rather play with family/friends in the same room.

Plus, I don't want to pour hours into GB/GBC/GBA/N64 games that I will never own. I'd rather play those games on PC or DS instead. Hell, I'd sooner buy a dedicated handheld specifically for playing these sorts of games over renting them from Nintendo.

And until Nintendo ever sells their classic games again, I'll stick to third parties that will.

Over 3 months without an n64 game added lmao

The only thing it's missing is more games.

CDKeys also has these similar prices.

No indication whatsoever that this is a limited time discount ?

Standard NSO has continually been available from these retailers at a good discount

I feel like it's worth it but I quite enjoy the N64 and Gameboy Advance apps. The MK8D pass on top as well is nice too.

It really comes down to how much you'll get out of the extra apps and any DLC on offer

@jco83
I agree, this is likely the grey sellers standard discount going forwards 🫡

@step_over 🫡

Has anything been added to the N64 since Goldeneye?

As a father who pay for the Family plan for my 2 kids and myself, through I don’t play online that I’m aware of, the jump in price from $35 to $80 or whatever it is is always going to be too much for me, my brain just can’t accept that the + part of the service costs so much more than the actual service, that’s backwards. Even Sonys high end Premium, which comes w/ a lot of games, is only double the base price and Extra is only 50% more, maybe less.

https://www.nintendo.com/switch/online/?cid=A1005-01:ch=pdpd&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzdOlBhCNARIsAPMwjbzZrbzVKLCXo14MNJl5RZFjnuffw-9v1TMPdtffO55haGrnmgsJZ0oaAr3REALw_wcB

And yes I know PS+Ess costs more than NO but it’s on sale practically monthly for $30 and I’ve never paid more than that and we all use it. Maybe when Switch 2 launches and they raise NOs price to $50 and keep the expansion pass at $80 I’ll do it. That’s all it’s worth to us.🤷🏻‍♂️

I only have it for the N64 titles but still waiting on Ten Eighty.

If I wasn't already subbed to the family membership I'd jump on this. As a gamepass subber I think that NSO+ is the best of the bunch. You get bonafide classic games that you can play online for the first time ever, it's the cheapest of the three and the games never leave. There are as many hours in NSO+ as there are in the touted microsoft offering.

Sony's is so god awful it isn't in the conversation.

I may well have to take advantage of that offer. My current base NSO sub expires in a few months and I’ve never tried the Expansion Pack before.

Plus it would give me the chance to play The Minish Cap for the first time since it originally released on GBA. Seeing as it’s my 50th today, that’d make a nice birthday present to myself.

@The_Pixel_King happy birthday. The Minish Cap is one of my GBA favs on this service. GBA on NSO+ is my most played of the retro sub offerings. To this day I consider the GBA the finest handheld ever made.

I would appreciate this discount more if...

A. They provided a separate calculated discount for those who have already purchased some of the DLC available in this pack

B. It was an international discount

Look, I'm really happy with my subscription this far, it works well and the mk8 dlc and retro content definitely make it worth it, but they seriously need to do something about the n64. When they first decided to start n64 retro content I thought there is no way they are starting this without having actually figured out something for the Rare games. Now I'm just starting to think that it's not happening at all which is honestly really bad. Goldeneye has always just been the okay game compared to perfect dark and where the heck are Jetforce Gemini, Diddy Kong and Conker. And when it comes to third party stuff, where are Bomberman, Goemon? I can understand things like Castlevania are pretty hard to get because they are susceptible to be released in collections and whatnot, but definitely not these games I've mentioned. And also hidden gems? Silicon Valley? Mischief Makers? Work a deal with ubisoft to get Rayman 2 in there. It's only the second best platformer on the system.

How can they start an n64 service and not anticipate that they should make considerable efforts to get these? You can't ignore the fact that the n64 wasn't much without these games. Instead of that they roll out a couple sport games, as good as they may be, all of the mario party games which let's be honest should only count as one and things like Pokemon Stadium which are not even complete games without the gb connectivity. And they seem to consider it a satisfying year of n64 content. Not even close.

Good catch. I've nabbed it up as mine is coming to an end very soon.

I'll get NSO Online + once I'm done with my current backlog. With still plenty to go in TOTK, that should be about 2 years and when the next console should be added to the service.

Wow, a reasonable price!

@TruthisRare Pirating them*

If the service is open for discounts, that's another reason for me to wait to test it. The other being the inclusion of at least one game I've never played and really want to.

For me it's worth it as an avid Mario Kart player the additional tracks, and I've got 60+ hours out of F Zero X, Goldeneye, Zelda Majoras Mask, Mario Kart 64 and Wave Race 64...
The Megadrive titles have 45+ hours playtime too, SNES 40 + hours, so I have got value from the service..
Even Tetris online has 25+ hours, I think I must be in the few who think it's worth it. 🤔
That's 170 hours before adding in online for Splatoon 3 etc...

@Ironcore You won't be able to get those things for free unless you pay. The fact that you're getting those things for free was cause someone else is paying for it. Roms and servers are not free, rom sites in the internet are active cause they had to constantly pay out of pocket to keep those server up or used ads to generate revenue. Without any sort of money making tactics they won't stay active for long. A subscription is also not free, you're not paying so to get more stuff in the server, you're just paying so to keep the service active.

So because they added animal crossing dlc and the mario kart dlc to the pack it devalues the whole thing for me.

The pack is great for kids with only 1 game to play. I don't see who else would waste their time with these older games when the shiny new ones are here.

Wasn't worth it to me until they added and will continue to add GBA games, as soon as I saw the reveal I sighed as I knew I was gonna have to cave and buy the darn thing!
I don't play any games online multiplayer (not on Switch anyways) and have zero nostalgia for anything prior to GBA so it didn't appeal until that fateful day, 8th Feb 2023 still haunts me...

Heres hoping they add GC games or please i beg of the Nintendo gods,, add DS games.

Was pleasantly surprised today. For some reason I thought the gameboy games were part of the expansion and not the simple Nintendo Switch Online membership. So much cool stuff I never played.

Why is it UK only

For people wondering if it's worth it to get online, think to yourself whether there's a whole years worth of gaming and DLCs to enjoy, because if not, might be worth waiting for such a discount, or for a birthday to get a year for free from a relative. I play Starfox 64 a few times a week, and I enjoy going through the NES library, since I wasn't born when those games came out. I've been on for two years and I'm nearing the end of games I want to play, so I might give it a rest for a while. Always best to demo games where you can.

@Warioware
Pokémon Stadium

@wiiware Just create a UK account and get the deal

It's usually £35 so the discount is 25%.

I haven't renewed the expansion pack since the first year due to the meagre monthly additions but this has got me tempted.

@jsty3105 don't need to create a new account, can just change your account country to redeem https://accounts.nintendo.com/profile/edit @wiiware

@jco83 EVEN better!

@Serpenterror I mean I can get a superior version for free vs I can get a worse version (this version) and I as an individual need to pay for that. I would like this version more if they gave me a reason to pay for it such as more features and a larger selection of games.

@Switch_Pro
Pirating? Would be if the said games were on sale. Plus, all the games I emulate, I own them on wiiu (n64, snes, gba etc eshop) so I've bought and paid for them all (actually, bought same games multiple times over the years)
So, for me, I have no problem. If nintendo allowed us to buy their games on switch, I would!
But their loss! I'll continue to emulate all of nintendos classics.
You should see how good diddy king racing runs on series x. Not to mention gamecube games.
I do it all on dev mode, so, inpaid for this service.
Thanks Microsoft!

I also got the regular family subscription. Only me and my kid, plus I've been adding some friends to just use the empty slots. But already for two it's more interesting to get the family sub.
DLCs I'd rather own, I like my games to be full.
I almost went for NSO+ when I thought it was going to be fun playing through all Metroid games for the first time, but after doing #1 and #2 a bit, I completely lost interest.
I am not so fond of the Megadrive games, and I did the few GC games back on the Wii. It's way too ugly and rigid to be enjoyed nowadays.

@FishyS I have been quite enjoying it. I think it's a pretty great deal now that you get GBA and DLC for select titles. It feels like Nintendo dipping their toe in the Gamepass model, and it's a pretty great value. That and with more Nintendo GBA and N64 games on the way... It's a banger of a deal.

Though I do think Nintendo needs to make their online offerings more expansive to entice more buyers, but what they have right now is pretty great.

They completely messed up the expansion and the virtual consoles tbh. Gamecube is over 20 years old but we still have to pay full price for their remasters instead of giving us the originals. The N64 Online library is pathetic, it's been online for a year now and it's empty!

After this poor effort, it's going to be so difficult to tempt people into a subscription for the next generation of console.

@JohnnyMind I agree. It was always a pretty good deal when it was just N64 and Genesis/Mega Drive games. But, with Mario Kart 8 DLC (amazing value on its own as you basically get Mario Kart 8.5), and now some bangers of GBA games... The future is pretty great for this service. I'm still holding out that Microsoft and Nintendo can bring Banjo Tooie, Perfect Dark and Conker to the service... But as of right now, you get an amazing deal if you have even a passing interest in the deal.

@robchacot full price? Pikmin 1+2 is $60, but on their own they're $30, and one of the best remasters ever made is like $50 for the Prime remaster. I get GCN games are old, but $30 for them is pretty reasonable without the Prime remaster treatment. I'm sure Nintendo will keep them coming if Pikmin does well and considering to get some of these games on original hardware is can go anywhere for $40-170 I think Nintendo is offering here a pretty good value.

@JohnnyMind Thanks. I actually bought both Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime this week, thinking these are more modern games. After these, I might get into Super Metroid. I figured that I shouldn't play those old games that I didn't play back in the days. Maybe it will feel more familiar after getting a taste of the new Metroid games, and I will enjoy Super Metroid then.

Well I ended up buying the expansion pack after cancelling last October. Its surprising how little has been added since then especially for N64.

Although, I am enjoying Kuru kuru kuririn for GBA.

@TruthisRare I'm not saying that it's strictly unethical, in fact I am of the same opinion for games that are unavailable or you already own, but unless you are dumping your own cartridges, then it's piracy. Just calling a spade a spade. However, not liking the format Nintendo is providing you the ROMs in, is not the same as them being unavailable.

@FishyS that's fair. I don't tend to buy Sega collections so for me it's a solid value. For those who got them elsewhere they won't see the value proposition the same. I do think the Mario Kart 8 DLC is pretty nuts to include as I think that is pretty great value for a family who play Mario Kart together to save some dollars for online kart racing.

As for the GBA games... Yeah it's a bit sparse right now, but once Metroid Zero Mission, FE Sacred Stones, the Golden Sun duology and possibly 3rd party games like Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced and Sonic Advanced arrive... It's going to get a lot harder to resist... And would be an instant purchase for Pokemon diehards once Pokemon Fire Red, Leaf Green and Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald arrive... Damn that will be a must have for a bulk of Switch owners.

@Switch_Pro

Your not a nintendo policeman? Got to watch out these days, as nintendo has even been striking down youtubers streaming their games legally mind you, and closing them down, cutting off their incomes.
If it makes you feel better, when it comes to new titles, I buy them, but when it comes to games you can no longer buy, I emulate. I'm not "stealing" nothing, and I feel fine in my conscience doing so. I'm the type, I won't even steal a pen from work I feel guilty. Not when it comes to retro games you can't buy!
Is the real issue maybe you are jealous because you don't have access to emulators? A series x?
Heck, most of the nintendo life staff probably use emulation.

@TruthisRare doesn't matter what Nintendo does or doesn't do with copyright. @Switch_Pro is correct. Just because you don't agree with how they distribute them does not make them unavailable or not ripping them yourself not piracy.

Think of if I replied to you the way you did to Switch_Pro "what you too lazy or broke to own the tools needed to rip your own ROMs and need to pirate? What a joke." Notice how that response sounds way less reasonable than what I said above?

And the law does not care about your conscience or feelings. It's fine, you do you, but you can't say what you're doing is legal under the letter of the law. Switch_Pro is right, that under the current form of US Copyright unless you ripped the game yourself, from your purchased copy then it's piracy. Is it fair? No. Is it ethical the current setup for US copyright law? Probably not. Is downloading a game off the internet piracy even if you own or previously owned said game? Yes.

Though it's up to you how you feel, but you will get push back on your ideas. And on the side, Switch_Pro made it very clear he was not discussing the ethics of it, just the current sate of legal language and laws.

@TruthisRare clap clap clap very mature response. Once again I don't care what you do. You have fun. But, no need to be defensive when we're having a civil discussion.

EDIT: For those curious about legalities of emulators and ROMs here is a video made by a lawyer about the topic: https://youtu.be/wROQUZDCIMI

Have fun!

@Don Ah yeah, now I remember. Very slow build up, I miss the old Wii VC days. Anybody else remember the Hanabi Festivals??

@jco83 If I change / edit my country, does it means I have to pay in pound sterling?

@jsty3105 My games and saves are in usa account, so I don't want to make a new account.

@wiiware the offer here is from a UK retailer, and as far as I know they only accept GBP.

A slightly better price is available from another key reseller cdkeys.com and they accept many currencies (cdkeys is actually a US company)