Xbox Game Pass Nintendo Switch

Mumblings of Xbox Game Pass one day launching on Switch have been doing the rounds for ages at this point, especially since a 2019 rumour – which correctly predicted Ori and the Blind Forest's arrival on the system – stated that it could well be in the works. Nintendo and Microsoft's chummy relationship ever since then has only added to the speculation, yet here are on the verge of 2021 with no Game Pass in sight.

What better way to clear up the matter, then, than by shoving the topic right into the face of Nintendo of America president, Doug Bowser? In a recent interview with Polygon, Bowser was asked about Nintendo's own Switch Online service, and whether the company considers it to be a 'counteroffer' to products like Game Pass:

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"The way I look at it is, we want to offer consumers choices on Nintendo Switch, and obviously, the ability to buy the games and play the games that they choose to play. The fact that we have well over an 8.0 attach rate to every Switch unit that’s been installed over the last four years is an indication that consumers want to consume content that way."

The "8.0 attach rate" there refers to the number of Switch titles sold per console – in other words, on average, Switch owners have each purchased more than eight individual games. While Switch Online does offer legacy titles as part of the subscription, Bowser's comments suggest that Nintendo is more than happy to continue selling its latest games in the traditional way, away from a subscription.

Here's what Bowser had to say when pressed further, being asked directly whether or not Nintendo is considering adding Xbox Game Pass to Switch:

"We are always looking at various ways that we can engage our consumers right now. We have found that our catalog and the third-party publishing catalog that’s available, whether that’s through Nintendo Switch Online or through frontline game purchase, has really been allowing us to do that."

Of course, if the launch of Game Pass on Switch was just around the corner, the president of Nintendo of America wouldn't slip up and give the game away in an interview beforehand, but his comments sure give the impression that Nintendo isn't particularly interested in having the service on its platform.

Would you like to see Xbox Game Pass arrive on Switch one day? Do you like the idea of a subscription service, or would you prefer to keep buying games individually when they appeal to you? Let us know with a comment below.

[source polygon.com]