Nintendo has revealed that the Switch eShop will be undergoing maintenance later this evening in North America (or in the early hours of the morning in Europe). We know - that's not quite the exciting news you usually expect to see on these pages - but bear with us.
As you can probably guess, this maintenance is taking place in order to kickstart the Nintendo Switch Online service. Current online functionalities on the console will be unavailable for up to 3 hours, with the brand new paid-for service and the recently revealed 6.0.0 system update presumably taking its place immediately afterwards.
In case you were wondering, the 5pm PT mentioned above translates to the following times for your specific region:
5pm PT / 8pm ET / 1am BST / 2am CEST / 10am AEST
Once those three-or-so hours are up, we'll finally get our first proper look at the new service including its layout, new menu options and, of course, be able to start the free 7-day trial (or you could even just go ahead and pay for the full shebang if you're against free stuff).
Will you be checking it out the moment it goes live? For those of you in Europe, will you be staying up to see events unfold? Let us know below.
Comments 219
Do we know yet if you receive gold points for buying the online service?
6.0.0 update is going live as well, but at what time? I need more stability!
I'm most interested in seeing how the NES games look in HD and how they see stored/accessed on the switch. Guess we'll find out soon!
Wouldn't it be nice if as a suprise there was some sort of achievement/trophy system but instead of points or a trophy you gain a gold coin.
And just like that, the online ARMS community is no more. It was fun while it lasted.
I don’t want this to start. Can you delay it again, Nintendo?
@thesilverbrick
So true. So long Arms
a year and a half later and bet it will be the most basic layout, why this stuff take so long
Booooooooooooooooo!
This has a good chance of flopping with all the negative feedback I've seen. This could be one of those 'consuner wins!' situations. Don't pay up and we could end up with free online for the rest of the generation.
Was hoping it would be done by time I got off work. Shame.
Get it done cant wait to have NES games and hopefully within the next year SNES games.
Excited!
A Good Era dies.
@Old-Red that definitely won’t happen
@Old-Red Yeah right, don't think so. Even the peopel who is complaining (me included) will get it at some point, the consumer never wins
I don’t think this will flop. It’s inexpensive and relatively harmless. It’s not what the gamer community wants but eventually the masses will pay purely for online 1st party games. Me and my splatoon addiction are paying minute one.
@Old-Red it did not happen with Xbox gold, it did not happen with psn plus. So I highly doubt that it will happen with Nintendo, especially since it is the cheapest if the three.
I don’t understand the “flop” talk. This isn’t a game. It’s not like if it sells poorly out the gate it’s done. Nintendo realizes online is important and knows this service is going to be around for the long haul. I remember people crying about how bad PSN was compared to Xbox Live. Wasn’t like Sony just threw in the towel, and Nintendo won’t either. They will keep adding new features and benefits and hopefully, like PSN, it will go from sub-par to a fully featured, fleshed out service.
@Old-Red,
Yeah, what is it with companies charging us for the service they provide? All of those services provided by those servers, all those freebies, storage space for gamesaves... this should all be free. How DARE do they charge us for this? Right?
Man.... I had issues with XBL and PSN being $80 per year in Canada, but this is $25, and provides the online service, cloud saves, some "freebies" you may or may not care about... which is similar to what others are doing (although with less interesting freebies), but I don't have any issue with this. This is good value, even if ONLY considering the cloud saves. I haven't heard a lot of negative comment about this, to be frank.
What people don't seem to get, is that running online services (even only for matchmaking) costs money. We should stop pretending that this should be "free". Someone, somewhere, need to run those servers, house them, provide electricity to those, maintain them, and so on. Those companies have a huge workforce to maintain and pay too, they can't absorb the costs of running these servers forever, just because some think they deserve to have it for free.
@Mgene15 @thesilverbrick I don't see why it should. For the most part the folk you're playing online in most games are the very folk who'll be signing up for this subscription. Casuals and those who don't want or need the service, likely never played much online to begin with so their loss won't be noticed. There will probably be a noticeable drop in the opening days/weeks as not everyone will buy it immediately but it will soon return to normal.
Online used to be free until bloody Microsoft got greedy. Ah well. Good luck Nintendo.
Hey NL why aren't you covering more important news like this one:
Deleted by NL
@Realnoize @tech7 @Bunkerneath @faint
Yeah, I know, it's Sky all over again. All it would take is one month of everyone refusing the service and we'd have a couple of premiership games on TV again at the weekend. The population is so easily manipulated this way. FOMO syndrome.
As for the whole 'free' thing, as far as I'm aware I'm paying £40-50 for each game and the last time I looked that ain't free. If you think that games like Splatoon haven't been profitable up to this point then it's time to get woke.
So is there going to be a big splash screen when we boot up our Switch after this warning us of the paid service? Every. Single. Time.
As many visitors as this site has there must be parents out there who's kids are going to be complaining tomorrow after school b/c they can no longer go online and race their friends in Mario Kart 8D or play ARMS. @NintendoFan4Lyf but you still have to sign up for the trial, I don't think it's auto sign-in you need a credit card to sign up. Surely there will be some parents who have no idea this is coming.
I know all of us know it's been coming since before Switch launched, but surely some families don't, they just bought it for their kid at Christmas for Mario Kart, maybe Odyssey too. Do you think parents are waiting up until 11PM tonight to sign up for online just so their kid can play online after school tomorrow?
I'll be shocked if we don't see an article about Ntineod's share price dropping later this week. Unless they get so many subs the stock goes up, also a possibility, share price is fickle.
@thesilverbrick unless you’re not buying the online service, I’ll always be available for a round of arms. Gota bounce! Springman
I do love my Salmon Run and Splatfest is this weekend.
I'll sign up a few hour (or days) later. I'm curious to know if Paladins would be free to play online. I read the articles, but I want to get the first hand knowledge none the less.
Ugh why so late...
@NintendoFan4Lyf I know, right? It's insane the amount of negative feedback this has had. £20 for an ENTIRE YEAR of online gaming is chump change as far as I'm concerned. I genuinely don't understand why people are up in arms over such a paltry cost. We've been enjoying free online console gaming from Nintendo for nearly 13 years. And the response to being asked to pay approx £1.60 a month? Unbridled fury. We genuinely live in the age of entitlement.
@Old-Red Sony and Microsoft charge way more. Their programs were also way different when they started. I’m treating this as the beta version of their online. At the end of the day that’s what it is.
Once again, England left out of the fun.
@AhabSpampurse people love to complain
Quick, everyone play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 before the service goes online!
I don’t know how I’m going to afford this service. I’ll have to cut down my tequila intake by one bottle a year!🤨
@Aven That's way too good of an idea for Nintendo to make happen.
@NintendoFan4Lyf I spend that on coffee in a week
@Bunkerneath Battlefront 2 says hello
I’ve learned early on not to adopt new tech or services on day one; too many bugs and patches to be added later usually offers a bumpy experience. I’m sure the service will get better in time but for now, I’ll wait and see how it plays out.
It's $20 a year. Seriously.....stop complaining, for goodness' sake. Everybody is so negative on everything all of the time.
@faint
Why would you pay for a beta version of anything? Look, I'm a long time Nintendo fan, but this is a gateway subscription that will only rise in price over time. I refuse to be financially tied to a corporation over long periods of time. They only way to ensure high quality is to buy a product that's of high quality in order to encourage more of the same. Giving a money orientated company your cash before they've done anything just encourages lazy practices and sub-par services and products.
Everybody who is subscribing, please enjoy! I'm sure that there will be enough subscribers to play with. Plenty of people, who are willing to spend. I am not subscribing, and I know there are others who will not, either. That said, don't let my opinions on this, dampen your opinions. Again, everyone please enjoy!
Nintendo, come back to me when you have a proper online service.
Sticking to my guns here, I can live without Splatoon and Mario Kart online.
Not paying for such cash grab even if it's Nintendo.
Either give us a more substantial and REAL service and charge more (look at PSN+ and Xbox Gold) or keep it free.
It's insulting to all customers now at this state.
@Old-Red
10,000 whiny cheapskates aren't going to stop the rest of us 20+ million subscribers
@Old-Red,
Yeah, I guess all those people hired to maintain the network do it for free. Those servers that, even if just doing matchmaking, need to run to match the many thousands of requests at any given time, run on free air, and never break, ever. Oh and all those security measures too. I'm sure these servers are all housed into an unprotected building somewhere. Free visits for anyone! Everything's free. And Nintendo doesn't have to pay for anything. It all just happens, you know...
This thinking is typical of someone not having ever worked in Tech services. If you'd have ever work in a business environment with a decent network infrastructure, you'd know that even a simple network is FAR from dirt cheap, when considering everything that needs to be taken into account (security, backups, maintenance, electricity (not only for servers but for air conditionning as well), staff (and you don't want cheap labour for this, you want top network engineers present if anything goes wrong, etc...)
"I paid for my game, so that should cover any online service related to it, and its recurring costs, forever and ever for life".
Hey, I paid for my car, the manufacturer should buy me gas foerever.
The conception that all of this costs nothing comes from the fact that many services don't charge MONEY for it. But nothing's free. If it's free, it's because someone else is paying for it. Google sells your information to third parties. They're selling your eyeballs to advertisers. That's why their services are free. Platforms like Steam gives free online because they choose to absorb the cost (they also don't have to maintain as big a workforce as they don't build consoles - they are mostly about software). You don't pay money, but it has a cost.
And that's a recurring cost. A one-time payment for a game cannot cover for a service forever and ever. Business-wise, that's never going to work.
And of course, Nintendo's going to profit from this. They're not a charity. They're a business. And that's what businesses do.
Look, I can complain about a lot of things, and I'm usually the one complaining about prices on the Switch for anything (as most games on there are pricier than their equivalent on other platforms), but this ain't part of my complaints. I see this as a good deal. I mean, an annual plan at $24 CDN, means about two bucks per month. TWO BUCKS.
I mean, holy sh... people spend more than that on coffees everyday.... If you have a family, the cost of a family plan FOR A YEAR is about the cost of a single meal for the whole family at McDonalds.
I can't believe people are so entitled these days...
Can ya'll believe that Henry Ford and his paltry Model T he's trying to peddle?? I've been walking for free my entire life, then he thinks he can start charging people to move around?
Give me FOLDERS, Nintendo! I imagine i'll buy more classic games, seeing as Sega Ages and what not are coming, and I don't want to spend 10 minutes browsing through my games every time!
Edit: I'll be subscribing. For 20 bucks a year a more stable online service would be quite enough.
How do you sign up for this service? Could not find in the e-shop.
Would like to get accounts for all family members as well. Thanks for your help.
What if Nintendo used the Nintendo online subscription fee to budget and entice 3rd parties studios to develope for the Switch? It’s a P2P service so minimal overheads. Would players be happy to pay? I know I would...
Nintendolife HOW COME YOU NEVER PUT THE BRITISH TIMES FOR ANYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!! I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE BRITISH!
Im not actually that mad but please start putting British timesss!
RIP to an unknown but probably not insignificant number of online players.
@vexinginsanity it’s in the article 1 am BST
@cb3 eShop hasn’t been updated yet. Should be able to sign up tonight. 5pm PST/8pm EST is the scheduled update. Should be available sometime after that. EShop update could take up to 3 hours.
@Realnoize
Geez man, if you want people to actually read and respond to your comments try to avoid writing and essay lecturing them with the same point over and over. Look I get it, servers aren't free, but the money Nintendo makes can clearly cover the costs. It did with the Wii and that had a higher playerbase. To pretend that this isn't just a join the club cash/tie in is terribly nieve.
So are you people saying so long ARMS online really saying you can't pay $19.99 a year for online service? That's $1.67 a month. You being serious?
For UK buyers £16.49 or £15.67 if you get a Facebook code (think you need a new Account).
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nintendo-switch-online-12-month-membership-1649-1567-with-fb-code-3052305
For bargain hunters, the South African store is 262ZAR for a 12 month membership (£13.42 using Revolut) or a family membership is 459ZAR (£23.50). And yes Accounts from different regions can be added to that.
@Realnoize
I can’t belive anyone thinks others using their critical faculties to decide whether a Consumer product is good value means they’re ‘entitled’.
Well actually I can, after the last couple of days watching the zealots and their tantrums on here.
Isn't the first week online free?
JESUS CHRIST, PEOPLE! Itˋs only 20 bucks a year and if you share the cost of a family plan with a friend or two (or other family members), it's even cheaper. 🙄
@electrolite77 I don't care what anyone does with their money. I was just asking a question. I guess they have their reasons. Those they ARE entitled to have.
@MrBlacky Family plan is 34.99 for 8 accounts, so that would be $4.38 a year if they all split the cost. But my understanding is that it's not about the money. My dad does that kind of thing. He deprives himself of things to be an activist. In the end it makes not one bit of difference. The system trudges on without them and they lose the enjoyment they could have. I'm not trying to be harsh, I'm just being honest. This is a great time to be alive in many ways. Gaming being one of them. I'm not going to miss out on that unless I just can't do it. I think I can swing $1.67 a month.
@Supadav03 Thank you!!!
Had some weird happen last night after midnight while play Splatoon 2. I got bumped out of the game and then it did a cloud save of the game. (or at least that what I thought is said - happened really fast) I thought the service had started already so I went to sign up and found nothing. Thanks again!
@Ricochet72 Wait? Really? I thought Britain was GMT OMg IM so dumb
@HobbitGamer This is a terrible analogy. It assumes we will getting a better service (like dedicated servers) for our money, when in reality it will still be P2P online play.
A better analogy would be that you have been walking for free your whole life, now Nintendo comes along and says you need to pay $20 a year to walk. And if you question the value proposition of that offer, you get mobbed by fanatics screaming "IT'S ONLY 20 DOLLARS!!!!".
@ThatNyteDaez What fun? I dont get it
God I cannot wait for this! Still can't believe people are complaining about this, but to each their own I guess. For the price of a nice lunch I will play NES games all year with my buddies from around the world.
@AlphaElite That's not even close to a good analogy. Walking is not the same as being given a form of entertainment for free, then asking you to make the choice to pay to have an extra form of entertainment. What Nintendo is doing is letting you go to the movies for free for a year then you have to pay $20 a year to keep going as often as you like. Gaming online is not a human right. They provide a service for your enjoyment. Choose to pay and have it, or don't pay and not have it. It's completely up to you.
@electrolite77
I agree, everyone can decide for themselves if it's worth it or not. But I still believe a person thinking somethng that costs money (because it does) should be given for free is part of the definition of feeling entitled.
Truth is, free will always beat "not free", whatever the amount is. There are people who pirated games sold for $1 a bundle (so less than $1 each) on Humble Bundle. So of course, some people are going to complain about a $2 per month service.
I personnaly prefer to see a reasonable fee for such a thing, than seeing ads all over the place and Nintendo selling private information to third parties and the likes to cover the costs of their server infrastructure. But that's me.
Unwritten benefit of Nintendo Online being behind a paygate: No more dirty casuals online playing competitive games like Splatoon 2.
@Travan No, that analogy would be that you're already paying a ticket for each film, and the cinema then decides it wants you to cough up a bit extra for the privilege of entering the building.
@Realnoize I don’t get it. What match making servers are you talking about.
And
“Hey, I paid for my car, the manufacturer should buy me gas foerever.”
No you payed for you car you go to the pump to buy petrol.
Same as I payed for my game and then payed my internet provider to play my game online
@Travan Your movie analogy is also off-base. The correct analogy would be a movie theater where you got to see movies for free, but it was barebones with no concession stand and a lower quality projection.
So now the theater tells you you must pay $20 a year to watch movies there. You ask them - in exchange for your money - if they'll be adding a concession stand and better quality projectors. And they say no. Then when you question that, overzealous theater-goers shout you down with terrible analogies about movie theaters.
@Realnoize Online is a service that Nintendo provides that costs money. Someone expecting a business to give them things for free is an example of them being entitled. They don't have the right to have free services.
I'll be mourning the end of this era. Forever in my heart, free online gaming.
@thesilverbrick Lol what? Why ARMS specifically?
@c2017nlifemedia wow. No.
@Travan
Exactly. I like your movie analogy. I'll add that it's not because they let you go to the movie for a year, that it didn't cost anything to them.
It's like they bet on compensating the costs with you buying popcorn and sodas at inflated prices, but then people keep expecting better and better movies all the time (that cost more to produce), prices of popcorn and sodas supplies are increasing, you have to raise your employees salaries from time to time, they expect you to renovate the theatre and all of that.... and at some point it doesn't become a viable solution anymore and they don't have a choice to charge a bit.
People don't seem to see it this way. Most think that because someone else paid for it before (because this had a cost), that it should be free forever.
$20 isn't bad at all. I don't understand what the problem is. I'm sure we will get more than NES games, but we are getting Pro Wrestling. That is almost worth the $20 right there.
Best one to use here is.
“It’s cheaper than psn and live.
“It’s only 18 pounds”
“It goes towards maintaining the servers”
Your paying for 3 decades old nes games with DRM.
Everyone will get the online to play their switch games at least I will. Let’s be honest.
@AlphaElite Again, you're off base. They have been letting you use a service that costs them to run for free for over a year. And they are adding services you didn't already have. Unless I've been missing the NES games library and cloud storage all this time. Bottom line is, it's your choice. For me $20 a year is a steal for what they're offering and I'm grateful they took the hit to give it to me free for a year. So I will gladly pay $1.67 a month for the service. You also have the choice to take a pass.
@Old-Red the same reason people did for the ps3 and the Xbox 360. This isn’t a new thing.
@Realnoize Bingo
@1UP_MARIO
"Same as I payed for my game and then payed my internet provider to play my game online"
You paid for your game. Fine. You didn't pay to have servers up and running 24/7 to handle matchmaking. You paid a one-time fee that covered the costs of developpement and marketing for your game, + profis for the developper.
Your internet provider provides you with traffic lanes and nothing else. You can indeed play your game online, provided your game knows the IP address of all the other players you want to connect and play with. Your internet provider doesn't give you that. Someone else has to give this to you.
@Old-Red I bet you are already tied to a number of large corporations.
Y’all are so damn dramatic about everything
@faint And xbox live was $50 a year from the start and was very bare bones. All communication was through games only. There wasn't a "friends list" you could do anything with. There was no online cloud storage. It was as bare as it could be and still have online functionality. And that was $50 17 years ago. What would that be now?
@Travan "Gaming online is not a human right."
I get what you're trying to say, it I think it's absurd that, even after paying for a game, I still have to pay something else to overcome a paywall that blocks essentially what was a feature of the game. In that sense, it's kind of a right. A gamer's right. A consumer's right. I paid for a game, so I should be able to access its features (of course, there's DLCs and season passes and the likes, but they're arguably different).
@Realnoize so what your saying is nintendo is paying for the multiplayer games servers. Just how in Fortnite there’s a dedicated server which is from the developer Nintendo pays for the servers
@Vee_Flames Is it Absurd that you buy a TV and still have to pay for cable, Netflix, etc. Or that you buy a car and still have to pay for XM/Sirius? Or that you buy a house and still have to pay for upgrades down the road. Buying a game gives you that game. It doesn't include the OPTIONAL online service to play online with others and all the additional services that come with it. Online is an add on service, it's not part of the base game.
"Ready to go? Seriously?
Has Nintendo even noticed the massive backlash?! 28,000 dislikes on Youtube at last count, a massive amount of people on Twitter using "#BoycottNintendoOnline", as well as on Youtube...
Good lord, Nintendo, you really screwed the pooch on this one. 🤦
These conversations are always pointless. I try to avoid them but sometimes I make mistakes and post. Bottom line is this. I'm paying $20 a year for Switch Online and I'm really excited about it. Some aren't going to enjoy the service out of protest. To each their own. Enjoy!
@OctoInk20 First thing, 25,000 of those 28,000 will have the service. Second, they already know a few thousand won't get it. They also know a few million will. Business isn't about the NO's, it's about the YES's.
@1UP_MARIO
Nintendo's already said that free to play games like fortnite will continue to be free, you don't need to pay Nintendo for this.
Epic games, creators of Fortnite, have their own servers and cover their costs with the tons of constant microtransactions people are paying in that game. So Nintendo's isn't charging you to play this game online because all the online functionalities for that game happens on Epic games servers.
But any game relying on Nintendo's own online infrastructure, are using servers which are maintained and operated by Nintendo. Even if a game relies on peer-to-peer for online play, all players need to know the IP address of the other players they want to play with. And unless you can contact every player yourself outside of the game and ask them their IP address, you can't do it. So that's why you need a server to handle all of this, and link these IPs with Nitendo IDs, and so on...
@Realnoize What matchmaking servers? I paid Capcom for Resident Evil Revelations (and Nintendo got a part of the money I spent), to use Capcom's servers (it's probably not even plural) tracking statistics etc, the same ones they're running for Resident Evil Revelations on PS3. Now, Nintendo wants me to pay them money so I can continue to play the game I bought, with the internet connection I pay for, connecting to someone else's servers. What do Nintendo's servers do but show me which of my friends are online (wow!), and why should Nintendo deserve any more money than I already paid for the game and pay monthly for my broadband connection?
@Realnoize You obviously have no idea how peer-to-peer works. You don't have to know anyone's IP address to connect to them through p2p, the p2p system itself scans for and connects to other systems indicating they want to connect.
I'm still saving this money for amiibo. I only play local multiplayer on anything not named Splatoon, and that was only because it forced me. It's not a matter of price so much as there's nothing on offer for me.
I might end up having it anyway if my brother decides to get it, though. I'll try out Solomon's Key for the first time if that happens.
@Realnoize ok so what I understood is I’m paying for Nintendo servers
@Travan TVs aren't designed to receive a signal right off the box, so cable/satellite is pretty much essentially if you NEED, not want, to use the TV to watch shows. Netflix is entirely optional, and your TV doesn't come with Netflix nor need it to function correctly, so that's not a good example, either. As for a new car, I believe everyone comes with a radio/CD player. It'll be weird if you had to pay a premium just to use the radio that came with the car every time you started it, don't you think? I don't know much about Sirius and the likes, but I'm assuming those are entirely optional.
I'm sorry, but when I brought Splatoon 2, the online mode was part of the game. Sure, it's optional, but so is every other single mode in the game. I didn't pay for a game just to access the single player mode and then pay a separate fee for the online multiplayer mode. The fact of the matter is that the online mode came with the game, and since I already paid for the game I should be able to access it. It doesn't matter whether it's "optional" or not. It's already in the game.
Of course, it's just not Splatoon 2. It's every single game with an online mode (well, except FTP ones). If the online modes we're separate from the main game (which would be grossly inconvenient), then sure. You have to pay a separate fee for it, I guess. But I'm talking about something that was already included in the base game to begin with. Mind you, I'm not even complaining. I'm just saying that online gaming should be free. Nothing else.
@AlphaElite Yeah I didn’t mean for an equal analogy. I wanted a flawed one. But I agree about the mob. Actually, in my mind, a lot of folks are like Them; standing on opposite sides of the street while pointing one finger and emitting horrifying screams.
@Vee_Flames LOL Hey fit things however makes you feel better. You buy a game and you get to play it. Online service is an added OPTIONAL service. If you want it, pay for it. If you don't then just play the game you paid for offline.
Hopeless.
@Travan again, that's not how paying for games work (or should work, at the very least). It's just like saying you pay for an online multiplayer game and then pay extra money to access it's offline features. If a game contains X number of features, as long as I paid for the game they should be all accessible without a paywall.
But yeah. I'll be paying for the subscription anyway (not today, though), but as long as online gaming is included in a game, it should be free. Steam offers free online gaming. Should they begin charging too?
@Vee_Flames Apparently that is how paying for games works. Since every console has been charging for games and online service for years. I'd say that's exactly how it works. It's just not how you want it to work. And I would love that too. But we aren't going to get that. They provide us something we enjoy. It costs money. So we have a choice. Enjoy it, or don't. It's not complicated at all. A few thousand people tweeting hashtags isn't going to change it. For every 100 protesters there are a million subscribers. If crying hasn't changed the outcome of the 2016 election, it certainly isn't going to change this.
The consumer never wins. We all hate it but we all need to get it or our multiplayer games are empty boxes
Nintendo fanboys never disappoint they will always find a excuse to defend Nintendo even when fans of Nintendo agree that this service it's mediocre (Just look the dislikes on YouTube) and just because it's cheaper doesn't mean it's worth the price because we are not living in 2008 we are on 2018
@GKO900 I don't think anyone would turn down free online service. But that's not on the table. And it won't be. If you want it you have to pay for it. So I will being paying for it. Just like I do on the other consoles. If any of them offered it free, I'll gladly take it.
@Travan Well, just because other consoles make you pay for online gaming doesn't really mean it should be universally. In late 2016, I brought Overwatch for my PS4. But I couldn't even go into the training mode unless I was a PS+ subscriber. So here I was, with a game I paid for but couldn't even use because the whole game was behind two whole paywalls.
Either way, online gaming should be free across all platforms. P2P online apprarently doesn't cost a dime, so at the end of the day console makers want to make money off separate entities (like cloud saves and shareplay and whatnot) by coupling the online service to online gaming. I just have to pay the fee because I want to play online, but I don't enjoy paying such a fee. Especially when I don't think the fees are justified.
So hey guys, I'm going to start a business where I'll be selling cups to my clients for like $60, and then they can come and get free coffee every morning, forever and ever.
Any semi-intelligent businessman will say that this business would be unsustainable. And any elementary school kid could see that unless I get more clients everyday forever and ever as well (which is impossible), this can't hold up and will drive me towards bankruptcy.
That's also similar to the whole moviepass program (or whatever it was called). Unlimited movies in theatres every month for a flat fee. It didn't take a genius to understand that this wouldn't be sustainable. And it isn't. And they had to start imposing limits.
Same thing here.
Something has a recurring cost. You can't expect that your purchase, which has a fixed amount of profits tied to it, covers for a cost that will reccur every day, month, year.
But hey, let's all think that it should be free because, you know, we want it to be free.
@Travan I agree with you. I am excited playing some nes games again. I don't have any nes games, and it is good to have them on the go too. As for others, they just want to express their complaints on why they don't want to pay. Too bad for them. They are just spoiled, that they didn't have to pay. Now they have to on the switch.
@Vee_Flames I think healthcare should be free. Water should be free, child care should be free for working parents. We could go on and on about things that SHOULD be free that aren't. In fact a large chunk of a working adults paycheck is taken from them so that other who could work but choose not to can have things for free. So if we're going to talk about what's fair and who's getting screwed, my mind doesn't go to having to pay $1.67 a month to play games online. I take that hit too.
@Realnoize You just gave me horrid flashbacks to selling the Blockbuster Blue Ticket program, even though it meant cutting my store's revenue while my staff costs increased.
@Travan Hey I agree with you I hate having to pay online on my PS4 but the difference is that you can get it cheaper than 60 and offers much more, a lot of games just this month alone I got 6 games 2 of them are AAA titles and the discount that it offers are so good not to mention basic online features like it should voice chat party chat/app, cloud saves, messages, achievements and more that alone makes you feel like your money was well invested, but with Nintendo you are just getting charged for something that used to be free and offer nothing more and if you think this is gonna be 20 forever you are naive they will probably rise the price next year
@Vee_Flames
Sure, P2P doesn't cost anything as it doesn't require servers. But then, some servers are needed somewhere to tie in your IP address with your online ID. This way, if someone is cheating illegally, the ID could be banned by those who operates the servers. Something that wouldn't be possible under a free P2P connection, as no control is done.
A free P2P connection, without any link whatsoever with Nintendo would render the online experience complerely uncontrollable. Could you imagine the lot of complaints that people will send Nintendo? I'm pretty sure you know how gross, stupid, aggressive, annoying and mean people can be online when there is no consequences to their words or actions. If we want to go down this road, we should be aware that this will terminate Nintendo's image of being seen as a family-friendly console. And this whill guarantee Nintendo will be sued to hell and back by angry parents all over the world because some unknown jerk traumatized their kids while playing a game online.
A paid online infrastructure gives the owner of the network some control over what's happening. And all console manufacturers need that minimal level of control. They don't have a choice. They're selling a product to everyone, it should be suitable and safe for everyone. That include the online environment they provide on their consoles as well.
@Travan I actually agree with you on that front. If something is finite, then it would be a terrible idea not to affix a premium on it. But some people unrealistically want these finite things to be free.
But this is online gaming we're talking about; a very trivial thing compared to water or healthcare or free education. Like I said earlier, I reluctantly pay for these online services, still not being sure of why they aren't free. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to sound entitled, but I'm just saying that if a mode was presented in a package I paid for, that mode shouldn't be behind any sort of paywall. Sure $20/year is cheap as hell. But still.
@Nintendolife, you guys should do a poll: Are you going to pay for Nintendo Switch online? Yes. No.
@NintendoFan4Lyf Some people spend that much on coffee per day.
@faint That's pretty much as I see it as at the moment (beta version of their online), room to improve.
A good amount of people bring up the comparison with PSN+ and Xbox Live Gold but don't compare it to the first time it was release but to the current version which like you said is way different when they started, the 1gb cloud storage limit for PSN comes to mind.
@ultraraichu Well that's because they already set the standards for online just because Nintendo just started doesn't mean it has to be a barebones service in 2018 there's no excuse for that
@GKO900 But the only reason it was free is because they hadn't officially launched it and they took the hit so we could still play games online. Otherwise we would have been playing nothing online until today. They took the loss for a year. It wasn't free to them. Just us.
And so, the whining begins.
@Realnoize Thanks for not replying to any comments calling you out on your lack of knowledge!
@Enigminator Sad, isn't it?
I hoped there was going to be a launch sale on eshop to celebrate!
@Travan What hit they took? they don't offer you dedicated servers for any game and why would they charge you last year for online if they only had like 5 online games that's why they didn't
@Realnoize That sounds very informative and all, but do we really know that’s the reason Nintendo is charging us? Has Nintendo made a statement like that? Charging in order to tackle cheating in games sounds like a very minuscule reason to do so.
Only time will tell if NSO profits do go towards anti-cheat and the elimination of lag/disconnects (which I never really had a major issue with since I was playing online for free), though. I have a feeling these issues will still persist, but I’m just basing that feeling on experience.
@GKO900 They did put effort in supporting games with (free) additional content and updates...
@NintendoFan4Lyf But there's a 7-day free period even when the service accepts money and it's active. So that annual subscription should start one week from now. Unless, as the article states, free stuff is not your thing.
@sanderev Capcom do (free) additional content and huge updates in MHW just like other companies for other games so.....
@GKO900 Sure. That's ONE game. Nintendo does this for ALL their games. And MOST publishers these days put Microtransactions in their full price (60 euro) games.
So if you had to choose, locking half of a Nintendo game behind a microtransaction-fest or paying for the online play, what would you choose???????
I'd rather pay 20 euro/year and play the entire game. Than half the game for free.
And if you think it should be free "because it's free on PC" you should also consider this: PC online gaming works differently. In 99% of all games the game itself hosts the servers / or uses a P2P connection with some matchmaking through Steam's APIs. There is only cost for one game to be paid. And if the cost grows too high (not enough people buying the game / dlc for the game / microtransactions) then the server will be shut down.
I will use the 7 day trail period, but after that I will not be subscribing to the service, since the only game that I actually play online that would require me to pay to play online is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I will just go back to my Original Wii U Version of Mario Kart 8 and just play for Free there, and on Switch I will keep playing Paladins since it will not require me to pay either.
@cb3 no idea, I have been looking too
@Vee_Flames
I'm not sure this will target anti-cheating measures specifically, but from a business perspective, it is pretty much evident that they have a responsibility towards the online experience their console provides. In this day and age, no manufacturer could legitimately release a console with online features without any form of control, where anything goes. This would be a magnet for lawsuits all over the globe. Especially from a company still seen by many parents as making stuff suitable for the family.
Truth is, the only way to provide a safer environment for all, is to impose some form of control. So even if most games are working in a peer to peer manner, you need games to go through Nintendo servers first to link your IP address with your Nintendo ID, if only to show your name to other players or other info. Nintendo may also need to keep an activity log for security reasons, and forcing players through Nintendo servers first make sure those who hacked their consoles and have been banned for it aren't ruining the experience of others.
I'm pretty sure that if a completely free, p2p server functionality wuold be implemented, it would not take long for people to complain about the tons of cheaters, and the impossibility to ban anyone from ruining games of others. When you don't have any consequence to fear, you could hack your console away and make a hell of all the games you join.
Anyway, manufacturers of consoles don't have a choice to control their online experience. Be it free or not, they have to control it. And this control has a cost. Whether we like it or not.
@mowerdude Because everyone and their mothers are on the Wii U version's servers right now right?
@MattFox This guy has the idea
@sanderev 😂😂 What does this have to do with their online, 1 I agree with you I despise micro transactions but that's not how micro transactions work they don't block half of your game, 2 there used to be a time when Nintendo said they will never do DLC or season pass now that they do it apparently are the only ones that know how to do it lol so be ready when they jump into that bandwagon, and 3 don't think their service is gonna be 20 forever sooner or later they are gonna charge more
Who else is ready to pay for a service that doesn't meet basic standards!? I'm not~
Have to plug my console back in - I had taken it with me on the road. I'll check it eventually. I'm not expecting it to be mind-blowing overall for my current games, but look forward to the new features.
Are people expecting XBL or PSN level of features and perks? Those services are $70 a year in Canada. Granted, they give you more. But at $70, they should.
At $25, I never expected Nintendo to match what the others are offering in terms of feature for that price. I just set my expectations accordingly.
With that in mind, I think that's perfectly fair. And I'll hop on board no problem.
@Realnoize Are you saying that people should have low standards and don't expect online industry standards in 2018
@AlternateButtons me too. And I've got my $60 ready for those NES controllers too.
@Kinoen I'm ready! Meets my standards so all good here.
@GKO900 No silly. He's saying for $20 he doesn't expect the features of a $70 service. Pretty straight forward isn't it? Besides there's benefits to low standards. Ask anyone who gets drunk and wakes up next to someone they'd never gone home with sober.
@Travan
Your standards are very low then...but hey, you do you.
@GKO900 Got to start somewhere and in Nintendo's case, they set their own standards which varies depending on how you view it (can't find a definitive rule for that online).
Remember this is the same company that have different Friend Codes for each individual game (ds and wii era) compared to in-game friending and names like now or the Wii overall compared to Xbox 360 and PS3.
I think it would be barebone if they only have online play. Without the cloud storage, free games, and special deals (tbd), there would be a lot more rage since the other 2 offer that in the package to sweeten the deal.
@Kinoen Or maybe you're value on $20 is high? Either way, we both get what we want so it's all good.
I'm hyped.
Not.
@Travan
I went on a tangent on the thread about how I feel about it and there's loads of videos you can watch on why, even for $20, it's not worth it. I would suggest watching at least one of them before buying.
About 50 years ago my dad vowed to never buy another brand new car. He wanted to "stick it to the man". He believed people like him would bring down the auto industry by not buying cars. I grew up watching my dad work on his old cars. He's 75 now and still owns old cars and works on them. He could buy a new car, but he still won't do it. He actually feels like his sacrifice has made a difference. All he's done is lost time working on cars. It made no difference. All he managed to do is deprive himself of reliable transportation and time doing better things. So I've seen both sides of these things. I will not be an activist for the things in life that are an option. If I can make my life better or add enjoyment to it for a few bucks I'm going to do it. so when I see I can have something I'll enjoy for $1.67 a month, I'm going to pay it with no hesitation whatsoever. This is why I don't have a problem with this issue. I'm not a sheep, I'm not a fanboy. I'm just paying $20 a year for something that I want, so I'm going to pay it. Simple as that.
@Travan Just add Kineon to your ignore list. I am planning on adding him to my ignore list because he is trying to spread information.
@ultraraichu But it is barebones when you compare it to even the Wii U which is Nintendo previous console which offered backwards compatiblity with Wii software and peripherals, you can freely copy and backup your save data, free online multiplayer, you can send messages and invites WITHOUT needing a external smart phone app, a web browser / video player, seriously I don't understand why people defend Nintendo 🤦♂️
@c2017nlifemedia lol. He tells me I’m paying for servers
@Kinoen I appreciate your concern, but it's worth $20 to me, so I will be subscribing.
I’m excited to check it out. While Nintendo still seems to be lagging far behind it’s competitors in the online services department this is at least a step in the right direction.
@Travan Nice story bro but that doesn't change the fact that you are indeed a sheep that don't understand why I lot of people don't really mind the price but the fact that they don't really offer industry standards and they are charging for your save data security which is anti consumer
@Alantor28 wow man. You must have a big list of people you ignore because you don’t agree with their opinion. Every week you tell others to ignore others.
Sometimes you even write the names for the banning of people
@1UP_MARIO Simple, because they're morons who think their opinions are facts and are anti-Nintendo. I used to be baited by trolls in past communities, but over time, I sharpen my senses and ignore them. I would tell people to ignore people who may be trolls.
But if a person is either a entitled imbecile and tries to turn their opinions into facts, I will add them to my ignore list because they're not worth the effort and energy to talk to.
@Alantor28 do you consider your opinions as fact
@Realnoize To play devil's advocate, Steam on PC has those same controls, for free. Individual games like Battlefield have those controls for free. It's part of the price of the game, DLCs, etc. It's not that servers are free, it's that you already paid for them when you bought in. This is extra atop that. Nintendo is free to monetize their platform however they wish, but people do need to understand this isn't about "not losing money" this is about "achieving maximum profits." Because as the reaction shows, people are more than willing to pay more than is necessary for a service to make more profit than should be expected. It is what it is, monetization for additional revenue to ensure games are generating as much profit as can be achieved.
That's neither an argument for or against. It's just what it is.
@tech7 You never know. XBox succeeded with it because they introduced online gaming to console players for the first time, and you had to pay in. Everyone else did it (badly) for free. Playstation succeeded because at the PS4 launch, Microsoft generated such terrible bad image people adopted anything Sony did as better than the alternative. Specifically in that timeframe the bulk (according to Sony) of PS4 early adopters were XBox 360 owners (used to paying) defecting to Playstation. Nintendo doesn't have an imploding XBox community seeking refuge, and they don't have the "first online gaming outside PC" image the other two had. I don't think it will catastrophically fail but I don't think it will be as successful as they hoped and I think matchmaking in Switch games will get a lot wose. 3rd party games will be all but dead for matchmaking. First party will be down to Sploon and Smash. Even Kart won't be lively. Too old. Pokken and Arms will be half dead. It won't "fail" but it will have negative impacts I suspect.
A lot of Nintendo gamers aren't really online players, and Nintendo isn't swamped with online shooters/sports like PSXBox.
Honestly... no, I’m not happy about paying more to keep playing my Splatties. No, I’m not satisfied by the NES games. No, I don’t feel happy paying for a faulty and imperfect online service.
Yes, I will be paying for the service. I want to keep playing online, I really want the cloud saves and I’m gonna try to be optimistic and hope their online improves as time goes on.
Honestly I’ll just keep going with the flow, because complaining actually isn’t going to do me any good... funny, eh?
@Alantor28 so anyone who has valid criticism against Nintendo is anti Nintendo.
@Travan I’m not sure if you think you’re arguing with me or someone else. I think the price for the switch online is good and I think this is the beta version.
@1UP_MARIO No, I would never stoop to the trolls' level and turn my opinions into facts. I hate internet trolls. I wish all internet trolls were locked up behind bars or forbidden to use social media or the internet.
@1UP_MARIO there are definitely things to criticize them over. Never dropping the price of their physical games is one. This online service is no big deal.
@1UP_MARIO They may have valid criticisms, yes. But those who mock Nintendo and wish they go out of business or fire one of their most important key figures aren't valid criticism, that's plain trolling and stupidity.
@faint Yes. There are things to criticize them for. I know the game price is questionable, but sometimes, people overlook them or am I saying this wrong?
@GKO900 Well you're certainly entitled to be wrong.
@Alantor28 to tell you the truth the only person calling people trolls and insulting others or telling others to ignore and ban people is you.
@1UP_MARIO That's because some of them are. I did nothing wrong. I did not insult people at all.
Do you want to be added to my ignore list too? Because you're testing my patience...
@faint No I'm not arguing with you, I was just adding on with my two cents on how the whole online console thing got started.
@faint thank you. I always appreciate valid criticism for and against even if it’s our favourite multi billion corporation
I'll be getting nintendo switch online tonight because 5 of those 20 NES games are really good games. Wish there were more and only happy about 1 of the 9 upcoming ones. Hope we get SNES games within the next year, but I doubt it.
Of the 4 Switch owners I know, I'll be the only one putting in for online. The other 3 couldn't care less. Guess we'll see how this all pans out.
@Alantor28 that’s your choice. You can put us all on your ignore list. Have a nice day
@faint
Yeah, this is true in many ways unfortunately.
@GKO900
To post #164
Ditto.
@Travan
To post #166
Alright man, best of luck to ya =/
@Alantor28
To post #163
LOL! The sooner you do the better tbh.
Oh look people are attacking people for Nintendo again. It's always sad to see.
When your greatest defense is personal attacks, and comparisons to other services' prices then you don't have a lot to defend.
@Alantor28 thanks you are so kind.
@Realnoize Ya know... I am glad I add 1UP_Mario to my ignore list. Even if he has valid criticism, he was getting on my darn nerves.
Other than that, u has some valid points. But I am still getting the Online Service.
@Kinoen At the end of the day, it’s worth is gonna be different for everyone. And no one is necessarily wrong. I only play Nintendo games online. I don’t care for voice chat. I don’t need two free games every month. I just want to play my Mario Kart, Splatoon and eventually Smash Bros online.l and hope they play well. For me, the $20 is worth it. All the other stuff will just be extra
@GKO900 I though when you mention barebones service, we were referring to the online service compared to Xbox and Playstation online service which is the "standards for online".
I only mention the Wii and friend code part on what is Nintendo view on when it comes to their own "standard" and how they change or improve on it. Even the switch learned from the Wii U and traded/improved on it in it's own way to get way more players. I do think the app for voice chat is weird and wrong.
I'm just remembering the same uproar PSN had when it was first release. I was also thinking it will improve.
@1UP_MARIO Okay, you're starting to annoy me... Don't reply or talk to me even when I have you on my ignore list. Seriously, I will get cancer by talking to you...
@Alantor28 just to let you know I can still see your comments and comments you write about me. I just wanted to understand, I got on your nerves because I made valid points or is it I made valid points and that got on your nerves
@AhabSpampurse,
The voice of reason..but of course a lot of people think that once you offer something for free,you have to offer it free forever.
@johnvboy Yeah, but hey, this is the internet. Even if people say they have valid criticism, it's just their opinion. But almost all the people on the web are very dumb and would bash anything without giving it a chance.
@Alantor28 last comment to you. You haven’t put me on ignore yet. It’s on the bottom right corner of each message. Good bye.
@1UP_MARIO Alright. U did have valid points. I'm sorry for personally attacking you. I just get angry at internet trolls because I was wronged by them.
@Alantor28,
They also wrongly say that everybody is up in arms over the online service,when in fact all the forums and YouTube channels are a small vocal minority at best.
@Alantor28 I appreciate your apology. I would also like to apologise if I come off a little rude.
The main thing for all of us is happy gaming as it connects us all in this forum
@UmbreonsPapa
Aye, but those are opinions. Objectively, the service, as it is, is bad. Not trying to say "I'm right and you're wrong, deal with it", it's just when compared to the competition, it offers nothing of substance, not even the basics like messaging or voice-chat, which apparently the Wii U had(?).
Note: I only ever use voice-chat while in parties, but still want the option to have it in games.
And thanks for not "coming at me" like how people tend to do when its X vs. X and we aren't on the same side.
I'll just personally say I expect cloud saves for all games. Make that a thing, and I may consider buying a subscription. Otherwise, I just think it's a crappy, half assed product, and I don't spend money on crappy products no matter how cheap they are.
@NintendoFan4Lyf some gamers are too spoiled from all the free online we had its about time to have actual maintained servers.
@Giygas_95 It has been mentioned that Nintendo itself is allowing cloud saves for all games, but developers are responsible for the decision of actually “activating” the cloud save function for their game. Not sure if that’s true, but it has been floating around.
@Jiya Well, they aren't allowing it for Splatoon 2 which is pretty bad honestly. As for third party I just think it should be mandatory. Dead Cells for instance can take many hours to complete.
@Giygas_95 Honestly the Splatoon 2 one is bugging me as well.
@puddinggirl Maybe it’s insulting to you.
I know I wouldn’t be paying if it was as expensive as PS+ or Xbox Live. Specially considering I would need to pay for three users, making it all the more expensive.
The price is perfect for the service offered.
@NEStalgia
Xbox did introduce online gaming to consoles? Sorry, that is wrong, segas dream cast was earlier. Regardless, I see your points but I do not agree that they had a big impact. If free online would be important, Nintendo would have sold more Wii U's. Most people who play online regularly will buy the subscription service, no questions asked. But we will see soon enough. I would not be mad if I'm wrong here, but I highly doubt it.
The moral of the story here is:
Some people like it, others don´t.
The end.
@Giygas_95 thats because of the cheating problem and they dont want cheaters carry their crap over.
@Jiya The service isn't a huge deal for me since I don't play games online that often, but I do enjoy Splatfests. Maybe I'll save the free trial for the next Splatfest.
Although I had a really freaking hard time unlocking all the ships in Steredenn Binary Stars. If that has cloud saves I could almost see getting a subscription. It's just the fact that not all games support it that really bugs me.
Also I'm personally tired of NES games. Those have been easily available since the Wii (legally at least since emulators were around even before).
@Camilla Which means they're linking all your online progress to your save file. That stuff should be linked to your account.
@Giygas_95 Yeah. Alot of games take crazy amounts of work and losing all of that work would suck hard. Though as @Camilla mentioned: they’re trying to scorch out the hackers from Splatoon 2 and some other games might follow the movement.
This just isn’t one of those situations where everyone can win. Can’t expect it to be perfect, I guess...
Consider it a tip for old Nintendo, keep em in business another 100 years
@Jiya Well, as far as I know, PlayStation and Xbox support cloud saves for all games (correct me if I'm wrong), and many of those online games are way bigger than Splatoon. If Sony and Microsoft can figure it out, I don't see why Nintendo can't...but then Nintendo always lags a decade behind when it comes to online. I love Nintendo, but damn, they sure could learn from the other two companies when it comes to pretty much anything other than first party development.
@tech7 yeah, im aware dc had the modem and optional lan interface first, however, it was a modem standard, broadband was optional, and it was far from mainstream in the us, Dreamcast availability aside. Xbox was the first in the actual broadband era to bring it mainstream, plus Microsoft was part of Dreamcast all the same, so the original statement that Microsoft introduced online to consoles really holds with our without including Dreamcast.
Ultimately i think most people who play online regularly aren't playing on switch to begin with, and most who are are playing Splatoon and smash (eventually). And fortnight that doesn't need a sub at all. I'm unsure how many will buy a sub to play the luigi balloon game in Odyssey. Or how many will buy it to play dark souls player invasion mode. And of those that buy subs how many will be playing those modes versus grinding Splatoon and smash. Maaybe diablo. But switches success isn't as a broadband teetherd console but asa portable. Paying for subs when you mostly use the machine away from home makes little sense.
Again it won't fail asa service but i feel that games will suffer.
Ever try finding alobby in blazblue? Even with free online?
Edit: i do think many, especially younger people may abandon some of the Nintendo online games in favor of checking out fortnight and Paladins..... It's free, after all...
And whilst waiting for your inevitably huge let-down for the year, you can always break out your trusty Dreamcast and still jump on-line and play..
https://www.dreamcastlive.net/games
@Sebas Which in a nutshell is... "Mixed Reactions!!~♫"
Finally🙏🏽
@Alantor28
“Seriously, I will get cancer by talking to you...”
What an utterly ridiculous thing to post. Grow up.
@tech7
“If free online would be important, Nintendo would have sold more Wii U's”
The Wii, DS, 3DS, PSP and PS3 had free Online. They sold. Wii U didn’t because it was, well, Wii U.
I pay for PlayStation Plus and have played years of World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. Not to mention Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
What I’m getting at is that subscription services are increasingly becoming the norm. $20 for a year is dirt-cheap by any standard. I understand that many Nintendo players are younger and may not have income, but it will probably be $25 or $30 next year. That’s how these things work.
We got 1.5 years free already while Nintendo payed for the server infrastructure. It’s not something that we think about, but data centers aren’t cheap. Sometimes subscription fees help to keep your favorite game companies afloat.
@Galenmereth And a future of more games. This is the Netflix model of Virtual Console, and it's a lot easier to manage and support with a proper funding stream like this upfront than gambling that a sizeable number of folks will purchase the games you're modifying roms of to allow playable in this update or that. It's more consistent, and that leads to a more stable and reliable virtual console service, and avoids the problems we faced with, say, the Wii U's VC library.
i can't wait but it's going to nice
I see person after person here excusing Nintendo on this. I’m sorry but this service was delayed a year and is as lackluster as could be imagined. I get that it is cheaper but it is still so underwhelming. You get a bunch of free current games with those other services, not the same value here.
I’m sorry but I guess I’m just too underwhelmed. I was personally never concerned about the price but thought that maybe Nintendo had a rabbit up their sleeve, especially with how long this was in development.
Shouldn't it be down by now? Still playing online.
Oh Nintendo. I would gladly pay 3x more for a service that delivered 3x more. I'll buy into it anyway simply to enjoy the continued thrill that is getting beat up by Japanese Mario Kart gamers, but all of the supposed bells and whistles of a tiny NES library and the rest, I couldn't possibly care less. Cloud saves sound good in theory but what I'd REALLY like is an online service that functions more like Xbox Live and allows me to actually use my purchases the two Switch units in my household. Imagine the possibilities.
@ultraraichu I was referring at first to PS4/Xbone online standards then you said
"Got to start somewhere and in Nintendo's case, they set their own standards"
So even in their own standards they didn't improve at all and they even brought back Friend Codes so I don't know why are you saying they improved when now they charge you for securing your save data
Just got it - update and annual membership. Will test now. FYI, I'm in Seattle, WA.
Cloud save uploads seem to be working
NES too, though I'd like to swap the A and B buttons in Mario. I hate the default controls on the Pro Controller :-/ Being able to set custom controls would be nice.
Using the X button as B is nice, but not as good as having custom controls.
@GKO900 I think I see where the confusion is, the part where I mention that was as a little tongue in cheek for general standards, as in they will bring a turtle shell to a gunfight. In the sense that they will do some stuff that won't make sense to be different. Like when the other 2 compete with more powerful systems, they made Wii and Wii U. Kind of weird when the standards back then was next gen top graphics. That was my fault I should have left that part out or have a
It's true that friend code is still there, but it's not per game anymore and there are other ways to add a person as a friend besides that. Be it friends that you make/already have on your social media, Wii U, 3DS, Nintendo games on your smart device, or people that you just played with online. Hopefully they include NNID down the road.
It's not to say I'm defending Nintendo, more so giving it the benefit of the doubt, same I did with Sony with their network and to improve. With all the things that goes on online (and RL), I find it best to be a bit optimistic.
@Galenmereth
"Assuming the drought of VC games was a lack of revenue stream" - we actually can assume this. Nintendo said as much as why Wii U VC trickled out so slowy.
Again, there's a very good reason to only start with NES titles - they're rolling out classic consoles and don't want to self-compete. This year they're betting on more sales of SNES Classic Minis, so no SNES games yet on Switch Online.
@Galenmereth
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/07/we_cant_release_virtual_console_games_any_faster_as_it_would_impact_new_development_says_iwata
Iwata explained that they had limited human resources to put on VC for Wii U.
Human resources are only limited by limited hires. But limited hires are limited by financials. Virtual Console titles didn't make the sort of money new games do, so they couldn't just hire a bunch of new people to focus on VC - especially when they were bleeding money through the Wii U era.
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