Topic: If you get NSO expansion pass, would you keep Mario Kart 8 Booster Pass track DLC after that sub ends? (dumb question?)

If you get NSO expansion pass, would you keep Mario Kart 8 Deluxe track DLC after that expansion pass subscription ends?

I don't have enough nintendo experience to know the answer.

EDIT: Here's the conclusion if you don't want to read the whole thread: NSO Expansion is "access" to the track dlc while the subscription lasts. It's not ownership. If you want to own it, buy the dlc directly.

Nope.

I'd assume your ability to access the DLC ends when your subscription expires.

I wonder if they will do a new physical release at some point (2024?) with all tracks?

@Magician Should I tag an NL staffer to ask? They might know? Or be able to find out.

@MarioBrickLayer A definitive edition physical would be nice, but that seems awful late in the Switch life for a physical release. I'd buy it, though.

@WoomyNNYes Looking at the offical site it says if you get it with an expansion pass it's "For the duration of the active membership".

@WoomyNNYes

Not necessary, just reference the fine print in the official video.

Time stamp 1:43

"NSO Membership required for free access."

Apparently if you get it through the pass you will need to be on the internet when launching the game otherwise you can't access the DLC. That will be annoying, I like playing my Switch on my travels where there's no wi-fi.

@jump @CactusMan @Magician Thanks! I guess that answers it.

I'll recap in case someone else skips to the end of the thread:
We don't keep access to the MK8 booster tracks DLC if the expansion subscription ends, according to the fine print in the Direct video.

I almost got the expansion because I thought we'd keep the DLC. Glad I pre-ordered it, then.

@WoomyNNYes

Worse than that, this is clearly Nintendo testing the live service waters.

Kind of makes me worried for MK9.

Will we be paying for courses piecemeal?

@jump Wouldn't it behave similarly to the NES/SNES apps? You don't need to be online every time you play those, you just need to pop online once a week or so to verify you still have NSO.

@Magician It seems more like GamePass than a live service model. It's the same with almost all of Happy Home Paradise in ACNH, except you still have access to the features you unlock on your island.

I will say, the flaw yet saving grace of this is that I can't imagine they're not gonna allow people who don't own the DLC to play DLC maps with people who do own it. Because that would compromise the experience of most people online who do have it, if they could only play those courses if literally everyone else also had the DLC (I can't imagine a paid DLC 5 years later is gonna be bought by a majority of the 40 million people who own this game). And considering online is the main way people play this game (certainly nowadays it is), its not as big a deal if you have the DLC or not as it could've been.

@kkslider5552000 I'm not sure about that. In the Wii U version the DLC courses could only be played online with people who had the DLC (you could choose whether to join a game with DLC owners only or with anyone), so I'd expect it to be the same here. Even if only 1% of players buy the DLC, that would still be enough people that you'd probably be able to find a game with no problems.

Short answer; all DLC from the subscription ends when you stop paying for the subscription and said subscription ends.

So let's say you have the Expansion Pack now, you have 9 months left, and you stop the recurring payment for the subscription, you'll lose that DLC in 9 months time.

When the subscription ends, the DLC that you didn't buy, is gone.

@kkslider5552000 I take it back, you were right: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/02/reminder-you-dont-n...

I hope they implement an DLC only section anyway. Like on the Wii U version. I'm an online player and to rely on luck to play them is stupid. Maybe for the time until the next wave releases? Each wave getting a separate lobby for a certain time.

So basically, if you're only upgrading to expansion pack because you think the DLC adds value, you're missing a huge piece: you don't "get" the DLC as if you bought it.

Seems scammy. If you buy +Expansion, you should be able to own that content. Otherwise it's more like you're renting DLC for $50/ year when you could buy it outright for $25.

How gullible are Nintendo customers? We'll see soon enough.

I think it's pretty awesome/kind of crazy they're letting people who don't buy it or have the pass play the tracks, albeit super randomly through online play. Yea, you can go long stretches without seeing any of the new courses, but you can still see them and play them without spending a cent. That is pretty cool, honestly.

@BadWaluigi
I agree, but that's kind of the future of gaming and most media it seems: renting most things through subs rather than owning. It's the same for Game Pass and will likely be the same for whatever Sony tosses into the ring. Also the same for music, movies, etc. You just have to weigh the prices and what you want. For me, I'm probably just keeping base-level NSO and straight up buying the DLC.