Nintendo Says The Ratio Of Switch Online Expansion Pack Users Is "Especially High" In The US

It's awkward being one of the few that aren't on the Expansion Pack even though the pack still isn't worth it for me :/

Unfortunately I'm still not one of them. I'm honestly not sure what Nintendo could do to entice me to switch to the higher tier. I own every game I've ever purchased (with maybe a half dozen exceptions) back to the 80's so I don't care for the retro games. And the DLC is simply not worth the value to me over buying them outright.

Would be interesting to see how many single expansion upgrades have sold versus family ones. I wouldn't buy the expansion as a single due to the cost, but I'm in a family group of 8 so it's about the equivalent of two pints of quality ale. And I can't grumble at that.

Interesting, I think that shows a lot of users here are just a vocal minority, because this surprised me.

But I'm all for them continuing to improve the service. Maybe I'll get it eventually.

I'd guess the MK8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass was the big push, that made it very clear that the Expansion Pack is a DLC subscription service.

I still haven't upgraded as I just buy DLC individually instead and N64/Genesis isn't worth it.

Am i surprised?
No.
I only subscribe Normal NSO for $20 to able play Online for ACNH and other Switch games.
I have no interest with NSO Expansion.
I have no interest to play N64 and SEGA older games.

@NotArmani Agreed!

That's disappointing.

inb4 everyone here says they haven't upgraded.

@moodycat Apparently it is acceptable.

@NotArmani why feel awkward? It’s your choice. If it doesn’t make sense for you, then don’t do it. 😊

Whenever the new PS Plus tiers get released, I’m sticking with Essentials myself. Don’t see the point in giving Sony anymore money per year let alone monthly. My Switch and Xbox Series X see more action than my PS5.

@moodycat same thing is going to happen with the new PS Plus tiers too.

Sorry Mr Furukawa I am a negative stat there for you. I am waiting for the right dlc to be free on there, I don't think a single title that I want will be enough.

I upgraded but only because people in my family plan wanted to. If it were up to me, I'd say heck no because it really isn't worth the price. I barely even use anything in the expansion pack.

If they don't add anything worthwhile by the time this current subscription period ends I'll downgrade back to regular NSO. Or at least discuss it with the people in my family plan.

How is there no poll in the article?

Here, cut and paste and edit this article:

Are you paying Nintendo extra to play online:
1. Yes, NO only
2. Expansion pass all the way, who cares about money!
3. Nintendo's online isn't worth it to me.
4. Online? What's online?

You're welcome.

@moodycat I have to disagree, I think the package of what you get is value for money if you actually want the things. Three dlc packs and a number of games would cost you way more individually.

The big push behind this is the amount of people (more often casual than hardcore) who want to save money and they support it in any form… Its not even a idea formed within Nintendo, but by MS and its Game Pass and they dont even have a yearly plan yet. People want to go through these game sub plans in the face of creeping rising retail prices on games over the years. This is the answer towards against $100 retail new games in the future.
Also, I like this DLC Pass… because it puts certain DLC to scrutiny. Im looking at Pokemon right now with this.

I bought it and feel like I should have heeded everyone’s warning.. I didn’t realize I’d be playing games in a square compared to the actual size of my tv.. so off putting.. I’ve tried several times.. just can’t get over that 1 detail tbh

Wish you could just pick and choose what you want to expand with. I only have interest in N64, not Megadrive, not their DLC stuff for games I don't own or don't care to get DLC for. It's too expensive right now for just N64 as far as I'm concerned.

Why no numbers?

We had numbers for the base option. It was 32m by sept 2021.

And "most" could mean 51%. And it's just NA, not WW.

Sounds like they are cherry picking the data to make it sound better than it is.

A year later what's on it now will still be on it, and there will be more. There is no rush to see the credits scene to Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time.

Sad to hear, but not surprised. I still do not miss NSO since not renewing my subscription. I still hate the fact that it has become acceptable for companies to charge on top of ISPs for internet.

@Richnj How are they cherry picking when they typed out what it is?

They said North America - the market that matters the most and then they said most. Whether it is 80% or 51% it is still accurate. The money, the important part, shows up in the P/L column.

I opted to buy the Mario Kart expansion pass separately from the NSO because Im not very interested in what else it has to offer, yet. But if Nintendo continues to attach a lot of DLC to its service I will eventually regret not upgrading.

Sounds like a bunch of people here simply can't accept that others disagree with their opinion on the service.
I upgraded the day it came out and haven't looked back since. Hell it even got better with the newer games and DLC added.
But hey to each their own and I respect everyone's opinion unless they are obviously flaming.
Lastly this is another case of the loud minority vs the silent majority.

I was an early subscriber to the original NSO, but as a single user (no family or friends), the expansion pack has no current value for me.

Sorry to hear it, but not surprised. Other then the subscription I paid so my daughter could play Pokemon online, I don't bother with the NSO game subscription. It's hot garbage and I prefer to own games. Renting for me died when I was an adult and could purchase games for myself. Have not rented since the 90s.

Well, "most" might mean anything between 51% and 99% of the users, but the point is those people are saying "yes, we're updating because we think your proposal is good". Keep doing it this way", which is something I disagree with. But if other people think it's a good service, to each their own. I'll upgrade when I feel it's the time to. Maybe within one year, when there's more content

Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete.

@mandlecreed Edited b/c I screwed up the other day. 😫 Now it's too expensive for either option, how can the "expansion" cost that much more than the base.🤷

@Grumblevolcano If you're paying an extra $30 per year for online just for the 2 year MK8 DLC you're costing yourself an extra $35, $60 vs $25, just to rent it, rather than own it. Not saying people aren't, math is hard, but its a financial mistake.🤑

https://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/?cid=A1005-01:ch=pdpd&cid=A1005-01:ch=pdpd&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrZ_upoDa9wIV6QaICR3cZg6fEAAYASACEgJ_FPD_BwE#expansion-pack

I’d rather buy the DLC and have it forever than only have it as long as I keep paying

I upgraded to get to play Ocarina and other N64 games, and the addition of the Mario Kart courses was welcomed. I think it's worth it for me, but I don't understand why they can't just add way more games to each service, and possibly add GameBoy, GBA, etc.

@rjejr The theory is more that Happy Home Paradise could've been a one off for DLC but the MK8 Deluxe DLC indicates that more DLC will be added in the future. So like if BotW 2, Xenoblade 3 and Splatoon 3 got paid DLC they'd be added to NSO Expansion Pack when they got released.

I upgraded with a bunch of friends in a family subscription. That's the best choice you really have to keep things cheap. If everyone chips in, you pay only a tenner each year, that's not a bad deal at all for all the extras.

Speaking of which, where is our May N64 game?

I’ve said it before, but the expansion was a price bump i am not wanting to support 🤷‍♂️

I like the Expansion Pack because I grew up in the N64 era, it was the first console I bought with my own allowance money, I had inherited my older sister's SNES. That said, the lag on NSO N64 games makes these games unplayable. Especially Mario Golf which is all timing based. I've tried every controller including the wireless N64 one avail. to NSO subscribers and nothing worked. Neither did changing tv settings. The only way I can get N64 games to not have lag is by playing in handheld mode with joy-cons attached. It seems to be (by process of elimination) that the issue stems from the Dock. And this seems to be the same for others on Reddit and other forums I've looked at. I love the service but at these prices I hope Nintendo figures out how to fix this.

@Pillowpants I share with 7 other accounts to lower the price as much as possible too!

"Another victory for nostalgia!"

Most, but definitely not all! I’m still very much in the, “Thanks, but no thanks” camp. 🫥

@Grumblevolcano But you're still paying an extra $30 per year, every year, that you want to play. And b/c MK8 DLC is spread out over 2 years, well that's really my problem sticking point, the 2 years. Splatoon 2 Octoling dlc is fine. XC3 and BotW2 will probably both be season passes that Nintendo makes sure lasts over a year.

Of course if you and 5 or 6 mates are splitting the cost, that's a pittance, no biggie. But it's called the Family Plan, and I'm a dad paying for my family, so $35 to $80 for us is just too huge a leap. For the extra $45 for 1 year I can buy MK8 and Octoling dlc to own, not rent.

Of course if Nintendo was like Sony and let all of us use NO and NO+ on 1 Switch then I wouldn't need to buy the "Family". It's not a "family" plan, its a "friends" plan. 😝

I never upgraded… maybe there should be a poll as to how many REALLY upgraded 😆

I upgraded immediately. I thought it was a decent deal in the first place (especially as a family plan) but now I think it's definitely worth it. However I am also a guy who has Gamepass Ultimate and both PS Plus and PS Now (soon to be Playstation Plus Premium). So maybe I just really like subscriptions that give me games.

Expansion Pack only be worth it to those who buy the N64 Controller cause if you try to play those N64 games with anything other then that it just doesn't feel right I know that for sure I played Donkey Kong 64 on Wii U with the Pro Controller the controls did not feel right at all

I think it's worth it. Less than $5 a month for that many games and the expansions is a solid deal. Granted I also don't have a problem with streaming over owning movies.

Only because my friend started a family plan. I barely play any of the expansion stuff though… its kind of a waste for me.

@NotArmani I’m with you brother (in the non gender-specific sense 😄). Expansion Pack seems… OK… I just have no need for it. Maybe I’ll pay for a couple months if I really want to play OoT again or something.

If even the Nintendo fans that are avid enough users to be posting on websites aren't into it, that does cast a little doubt. But that doesn't count thr people who's parents are paying for it. I don't know a single person that has the expansion, but that is a very small sample size. Lol

I’ll probably upgrade once my regular subs runs out later this year, but I really want an n64 controller to play the expansion pack games

Do the poll again, let’s see he’s right. 🙂

@Sonos because they'd picked favourable data and then presented it in a favourable way...

America counts for about 40% of the Switch market, by not talking about the remaining 60%, they are leaving a lot of info off the table, and leaving the success of the expansion pack globally in question.

If America counts for 40% of NSO subs too, then that number is around 15m(ish), and then I'd like to know if that's 51% of that, or 80-90%.

And yeah, 51% and 80% is still "most" and still accurate, but they aren't the same. The difference between these two could be 5m or more users, which would actually actually leave an margin of interpretation of 70% more users in that market...

That's the same to you?

I paid $17 to upgrade for a year of the expansion pass because I wanted to play banjo kazooie on the go. The way I did it made it cheaper than a year without the expansion so I didn’t mind.

@DarthFoxMcCloud I have at least 4-5 Switch friends IRL, but they’re all lame and won’t do it. (K I haven’t asked 2, but yeah… not gonna happen for me.)

That's a pretty high upgrade rate.

Pass for me, I have NSO mostly for the (terrible) backup service and online service for certain games. I went a year without it and didn't miss it that much. The expansion games are not a selling feature for me, i'd rather own a copy of the game than one tied to a service that I might not always have.

If only there was some....virtual console.... or something. Ah well. I don't think i've spent more than 5 minutes with a N64 in my entire life so the games aren't a draw for me. If I want to play old games I'll play an old copy I own or emulate it.

This may sound stupid, and I am okay with that - I am (unfortunately) American. Stupid is what we do. If I have already have paid for the MK booster, paid for the AC DLC, and owned the Splatoon DLC for years - If I sign up for the expansion does it override my paid for DLC with it's (what I call) "rental" versions? I will explain my term "rental" - If you rely on the NSO expansion for these DLCs you only have access to the whole DLC as long as you maintain the NSO or it stays active (servers stay on (3ds/wii u eshops are prime examples of servers getting shut down)) if I buy the DLC I have it forever. So am I forced to "replace" my paid for DLC with the NSO's version? How does that work? And I really don't think playing a bunch of pea soup green games on my HD tv is something that will entice me.

Which means the vocal minority and actual consumer buy in are not in alignment.

That's surprising and disappointing. It's ridiculously overpriced for what it is, but at the same time, Nintendo's retro properties are forever in demand. I do wonder if retention will be an issue though. Only a certain market segment wants to play retro games of that vintage very often, and the DLCs really work out far more expensive on the sub than just buying them.

I wonder how much of this is individual customers and how much is metrics being skewed by a trove of people splitting family accounts with 8 people? Because the individual plan is outrageously priced for what you get. I can't see myself upgrading unless the content drastically changes. Paying that price every year doesn't really justify a few select $20 DLCs and retro games I'd drop into for occasional nostalgia.

@Richnj Since when does "most" mean 51%? Not calling you out, I recently read a normal media news article not related to gaming that did the same thing. And I don't get it. "Most" has a connotation of "near 100%" - normally nobody would say "most" if they didn't mean "nearly all". Now I'm seeing "most" referred to as ">50%" which is almost an opposite meaning of what it's always meant.

When they include Goldeneye 64 as an Expansion Pack exclusive in August, everyone will be upgraded then.

No expansion pack for me. I already have most the retro titles physically sitting on my shelves at home. The only additional content on offer that I'm interested in is the Mariokart tracks but I wouldn't pay an additional $30 a Year! to play them and then have them disapear in a few years when the server shuts down. When you could just buy them for $25 one time and have them forever. Isn't that the obviously smarter choice?

Well, I guess I’m in the minority. Nothing about it makes me want to pay anything extra. I wouldn’t be getting the basic in first place if I did have to for the few online games we do play. The nes apps don’t get used more then 2x a year.

Not super happy to hear that "most" customers are validating Nintendo in this, but it isn't the end user that's in the wrong here, of course.

@NEStalgia in normal situations yeah, but when talking business and politics, 51% is enough to be considered "most", and then used to justify whatever without technically lying.

Like most in these comments, I also haven't upgraded. But maybe we are the minority. I'd have liked to see a poll attached to this article.

I don’t think it’s a bad value. I just don’t play the old games and would rather just own the MK and ACNH DLC. Add Game Cube and I am in.

@Bearzilla823 nothing "unfortunate" about being American. Be proud of who you are.
Sincerely,
A non-American.

Very cool. It's already a great value if you join a family plan. Hopefully they add more DLC to the list: I never bought the expansions for BotW or Three Houses.

I have my doubts about those numbers.

@mrMike oh of course.

But that is the point. This info is selected to be positive for the service, and while it won't be an outright lie, it won't be representative of the full story. People should be aware of that.

I find this hard to believe.

The irony of the expansion pack is that a fairly substantial portion of the price is rumored to be from licensing the Sega side which no one talks about.

What a waste of money. Blind payments, low quality, same as usual.

I don't think the grumblers on a Nintendo fan site make up the majority of Nintendo's sales for the year. Just the loudest.

@moodycat Even if it was the wrong message, it is a practice they use to entice gamers to subscribed. The only issue I had with their offering is that they could had easily sell those NSO games via download just like the DLC as well and people will gladly give them money for those too. Not sure why they won't do it, the only reason people sign up for NSO was to try those games, if they like it they will buy it.

I'm not in the US (I'm UK) but I would consider getting it if they added BOTW and FE3H DLC plus Diddy Kong Racing and a few other N64 classics. Mega Fantasy Zone peaked my interest when they added that a while back so never say never.

I'm glad I've expanded! It's Incredible and I can't wait until Nintendo adds more to it!

"Most NSO subscribers have upgraded to expansion pass."

What is the adoption rate of NSO among switch owners, broadly? Because expansion pass is "more than half" (so lets just say, barely half) of that number, not of all switch owners.

As others have said, there are some weasel words in the mix, here.

It's too lazy to compare NSO with the likes of Gamepass. You aren't paying nearly the same level.

Divide the yearly fee amongst a family plan its dirt cheap!

I'm gonna keep my subscription to Retroarch and Dolphin.

Yeah I am highly skeptical of that if only because it would be uncharacteristic of any service for this to happen, let alone what Nintendo is providing.

I haven’t upgraded and probably won’t. for the current price, it offers practically nothing to me. I have already played the N64 games I care about before or can play them elsewhere and any expansions included I would rather buy and own rather than rent, only to eventually need to buy if I want to keep them permanently (because Switch online will one day be discontinued). They would need to start offering substantial free games like other platforms for me to start considering and even then I rarely play those free games on other platforms so yeah…

I'm in an odd position, because I absolutely think NSO can be better and offer superior emulation right out the gate, but I'm also playing the heck out of it across all the apps, so I can't really say the service isn't paying itself for me. I'd rather own many of these games, sure, but the "rental" model does mean I'm trying out stuff like MUSHA and Alien Soldier and being blown away, and those games I may have never bought in a traditional purchase system. My ideal, though, would be a mix of subscription and purchase, which is essentially how Game Pass works.

Yeah I have a hard time believing that. I know 2 others irl with a switch and none of us think spending that kind of cash TO RENT 20 year old games is the "great deal" they tell us it is...it's not.

As a person who still have none of the game for the DLC pack and don't plan on getting any time soon its really worthless.
My opinion :
AC - slowly gets boring after 2 months MK8 - I have Diddy Kong Racing im fine thanks. Once you have one racing game then you're set for a good while. S2 - aren't you going to be dead soon?

Huh, that's surprising to me. I'd like to hear what the actual percentage is. But hey, if a lot of people think it's worth it and are enjoying it, good for them. Not worth it to me.

IN YOUR FACE HATERS! It's a great service, and you complaining here for the sake of complaning, just showcases the vast majority of the audience likes what Nintendo is doing. Meanwhile, I'll keep on playing Star Fox 64 on my Switch!

@Richnj I think that depends on how investors and the trade commissions define "lying"

Rip off though

Not spending money for things I have bought separately gang

For me its still that im not into the whole games tied to a service thing.

With something like the wii and wiiu eshop closures theres still that "safety net" of being able to still play the games you downloaded wheres here being able to access them is entirely dependant on the service.

i feel its a nice option to have but wish it wasnt the only way to play the games on switch, would be happy if it had a "buy and keep" option like gamepass.

I’m not a part of “most”, and never will be. Absolute ripoff in it’s current state. I’m a Nintendo fan going back to the mid-80s, and they’re so regularly disappointing to me in 2022. 😔

@d-slice,

So true, the people being negative about the service are just far more vocal about it, Most Switch owners will never go on a forum to discuss video games, or be even aware they are being discussed in the first place.

Guarantee you it's all content creators. Because as a normal ass human being I can say I will never make enough money in my life for that to be worth it. And I wish we could all just band together and not buy the expansion so Nintendo is forced to do something about it.

@Ralizah Family plan needs work. I have a "family plan" with 2 people (plus a third for my Splatoon alt.) So it's about the same price as 2 single accounts which is crazy overpriced for what you get. The people using 8 accounts are getting a bargain, but that's just an awkward system.

Edit: That's for normal NSO, I won't buy Plus because that pricing just doesn't work out as a reasonable value. I could buy all the expansions for less than what a few years cost.

I'm fine with games as a service... but in order for that to work you, ya know, need games for the service. There's not a lack of good N64 games, but they're not even done drip feeding the ones they announced at launch. It's not that I or a lot of people are completely disinterested in the concept, but rather what it is right now. If/When they add more N64 games (though a good number would require licensing) & GBA games if the rumors are true, that'd be a massive boon for the service. But as of now, it's not worth it.

If they added Pilotwings 64 and Waverace 64, I'd upgrade to the Expansion Pack. Those are two of my favourite n64 games, but are sadly still missing.

Ah yes, wonderful metrics. "How many people have upgraded?"

"Most"

"How much is that?"

"More than a lot"

Some comments in here are trying too hard to cope with a difference of opinion. Value is subjective people, it's fine if you don't find value in the service, but others do. As for myself, I think it's worth it.

For me, I don't find a PS5 worth it(even if they were readily available), but clearly I'm in the minority there.

@KryptoniteKrunch Most of the comments on this site are like that sadly. But its because its the most outspoken fans that come here and complain when something doesn't go their way, even though ultimately they are just wasting their energy. This is Nintendo saying that the expansion pass was a success for them and they are moving forward with it so complaining won't do anything, unless of course the majority complain and stop buying, which won't happen

Hard numbers and figures would be nice to see. 51% is still considered "most" users

I have a VERY hard time believing that. It's such a scam.

I upgraded and cancelled my Xbox subscription. There's more on NSO +Expansion I want than on any other game subscription. Definitely more worth it as a family pack deal with friends. There's some games to still be added to make the N64 expansion completely worth it. I haven't really wanted to use the Genesis expansion as I already had the cartridge collection.

This isn’t surprising at all. I’ve seen most of my Switch friend list playing N64 games.

I've spent more money on Nintendo stuff in my life than I care to admit, and I'm a sucker for their retro games as I grew up with them. Even WITH all that, I have no desire for the expanded plan. Renting my content has never been part of my gaming hobby. I buy or I don't buy. I bought the MK8 expansion because I love Mario Kart and $25 was worth it to me to 'permanently' own. (* until they shut the servers down in 2028 of course)

I would love the convenience of N64 games on the Switch. I don't value that convenience enough to pay for it at the current rates, however. I can play most of them on the Wii U if I really want, and when that system dies it will be emulation. The only way I would be a subscriber to the expansion pass would be if I was included on someone else's plan that paid for it.

I'm glad 'most' find value in the service, but I sure am not one of them. Basic NSO for me, and that's really only for online access.

Good that "most" players are subscribed, but for me and most players it's still not worth it.

This isn't surprising at all. Vocal minorities love to comment on websites and forums like here, but most players don't even known that Nintendolife exists.

In any case, I upgraded immediately, for what it's worth. I'm all-in for games as a service. And the expansion passes for Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Splatoon 2, with the likelihood of them adding it for all future games - those just seal the deal.

Am I REALLY going to be playing Happy Home Resort in 10 years if they discontinued the Pack?

I also doubt they'll discontinue the service. More likely, they just upgrade it to serve Nintendo Switch 2 or whatever as well. Games as a service mean they don't have to keep selling us new versions of the same ROMS generation after generation - they can just make the game compatible with whatever comes next and we're paying for it monthly rather than buying it outright. And heck, I bought these games outright like a dozen times already by now. I'd gladly pay monthly to play them on the most recent device with all its QoL.

I would be impressed with this if the Nintendo Online sub numbers weren't so awful to begin with.

Pilot wings 64 then we can talk xx

Goldeneye then we can really talk xx

I get the feeling this is a classic PR line... "most" means 50.01% would qualify as it's "most" people versus the 49.99% that haven't.

Yet, when someone says "most" I think we all naturally think much higher, probably into the 80-90%.

50.01 versus 90 is a huge and significant difference.

@AndyC_MK111 I think maybe a bunch of people are just upset that they are in the minority. It’s alright though. Everything’s gonna be….alright.

@Mgalens For the Snes games, I know they came out with the Snes miniconsole that did not sell as well as one thinks. This probably prompted the creation of the Nintendo Switch online service. The amount of people that wanted a physical copy of things got what they wanted in my opinion. Ninty probably wants to keep most of the n64 games with themselves, but they plan to release more in their Expansion Pak bringing the value of it up even more!

I have a hard time believing "most” have upgraded. That sounds crazy. It’s not that great a deal- the fact that the dlc for animal crossing and Mario kart are only essentially rented don’t help

I still haven't upgraded, although their expansion is getting better (still isn't quite there for me yet). Although it's a fairly steep price increase, I'm glad they went this way - giving plenty of room to expand, rather than going up a little bit and eventually increasing the price anyways.

If they had brought out the entire mk8 DLC, instead of drip feeding it, I would have jumped on board already - I think it would take something very interesting to make me upgrade before then though (maybe a large DLC pack for new pokemon snap, maybe conkers bad fur day, or even GBC games - not really interested in gba ones).

There's still a lot of potential for their online service, and the fact that they've pumped so much money into it kind of reassures me that it will eventually be worth the price - but I guess it all depends on what they do next.

@NickDaddyCool a family plan for 8 costs $80. The mk8 DLC by itself costs $25. So 8 people can pay $25 * 8 (which is $200) or $80 and also get access to other DLC plus the n64 games. It's not a bad deal if you group up with others. But yeah, individually, you'd really need to want those n64 games.

@Arkay I jest. I say that mostly because of the fact that my country is sooo eff'ed up and the rest of the world seems to despise us, Lol.

@NickDaddyCool Yeah. That "most" statement is a bit vague and I don't buy it. In fact, I haven't bought the expansion upgrade. I'm still perfectly satisfied with the basic subscription. Also, Nintendo seems uninterested in manufacturing additional N64 controllers beyond the launch day batch. I might reconsider my holdout if they ever decide to make more or those things but, as usual, Nintendo is silent on updates.

Had the pass since day 1

Still need to hop on playing that Octo expansion

So, with no data shown we must believe him? Typical corporate bs to pressure people to pay more for the less than adequate service. I can backfire saying: I know NO ONE who has paid for the underwhelming "expansion" pass individually. Believe me guys!

@Bearzilla823 it's only the loud ones, most normal people just view the US as any other country. I for one love America.

Robert Sephazon's translation:
"By region, the subscription rate is particularly high in the United States. Immediately following the service launch, most people upgraded to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack."

Nintendo's official translation:
"By region, the ratio is especially high in the United States. When we first started Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, the majority of subscribers were those who migrated from the original Nintendo Switch Online membership plans."

Source:
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2022/220511_2e.pdf

edit: To me that reads less like "Most North American NSO subscribers upgraded to + EP," but more like "We did not get new NSO subscribers because of EP when it launched."
edit 2: @AlanaHagues How about an update to the article pointing out the differences in translation?

@NintendoEternity
Do you mind? I never bothered trying to insult you, so why are you going out of your way to try pissing people off like that?

Unless you can accept it, you should be respecting other people's opinions.

1. If NSO and the Expansion Pack were actually doing well, Nintendo would not withhold the numbers.
2. If N64 usage was significant, they would ramp up N64 controller production.

Personally I think the NSO Expansion is a bargain. The amount of content you get is great, for only a few £'s a month. For me personally as someone who doesn't have any other subscription services it's a no brainer. I've already got my moneys worth having spent 100's of hours playing NES/SNES/N64/MD games as well as Mario Kart.

I think the expansion pass is not a bad deal.

Many people will play the Animal Crossing or Splatoon DLC for just a couple of weeks or month and then go on with the next game. And if you do not care to “own“ the game, the price is fine. The Mega Drive library has some fantastic games, and so does the N64.

It’s not for me, though. I have all N64 games, I want to play either physically or on the VC. I have the Mega Drive Mini. But for the majority it’s a good way to play these games. I won’t buy it, but I am probably not the average gamer.

@kerplunk So did I. Ocarina was more involved than I remember it being on the 3DS. I'm happy to be finally completing Majora's Mask. What fun!

I'm not renting my DLC (especially since I don't play ACNH). Take that our and lower the price accordingly and then I'll get it. Until then, I have a Raspberry Pi.

@ModdedInkling sorry, my bad, read it wrong....

@Edu23XWiiU
an issue i often see is that people will accuse others of "whining" or being "haters" but at the same time not actually engage with or refute anything that people are saying, for example, you mention that you will keep playing Star fox 64 on the switch but that will not be possible once the NSO service ends, which is my personal issue with the service when compared to the virtual console, if you are fine with that then thats perfectly okay, its up to you what you enjoy and if you dont mind how aspects of the service works then more power to you, no shame in enjoying it as many others are also. Its more when people dismiss others issues as whining.

@marandahir
In regards to the roms aspect i feel like a better solution to avoid selling people the same games again each generation is digital backwards compatibility, as much as im not really into the xbox library i do like that someone could for example have bought banjo Kazooie on xbox live back on the 360 and still be able to redownload and play it on the series X 2 generations later.

@moodycat Game boy and Game Boy Advance has been leaked and will probably be officially revealed soon. So Nintendo is already improving the service despite it being so successful. So maybe you should stop wishing failure on Nintendo just because you personally don’t like one of their successes that they’re already improving. Jeez. 😒

If the original Japanese had been posted, the mistake in the unofficial translation would have been obvious.

「Nintendo Switch Online + 追加パック」の加⼊者数は順調に増加しており、Nintendo Switch Online の加⼊者全体に占める割合も徐々に⾼まってきています。地域別では、特に⽶国での加⼊割合が⾼くなっています。同サービス開始直後は、既存のプランから乗り換えられる⽅が⼤半でしたが、昨年末以降、ニンテンドウ 64 の⼈気タイトルの配信や、『マリオカート８ デラックス』、『あつまれ どうぶつの森』の追加コンテンツ配信をきっかけに、新規で加⼊されるお客様も増えてきています。

The official translation is spot on, a fairly direct & literal translation.

I was going to say that even Google Translate could have told you the mistake, but it appears the original text has mixed in "radicals that look like kanji" that confuses the translator. Not sure if that's on purpose or just a mistake, but definitely weird.

Like, Google Translator fails to translate "⽶国" (found in original text), but can translate "米国" just fine (don't try to find the visual difference in the characters, they're exactly the same).

I am not one of those people. It's just not worth it. I get expansions for games I don't play (MK8, I do, but I just bought the tracks) and emulation that's far inferior to whats been available for free for years (I'm speaking of the emaultors available which are legal, not the ROMs themselves).
There's just no value in it at all for me. The basic online still lacks even basic functionality, so why would I get this?
I love Nintendo and the Switch....but they are woefully behind in online services, in my opinion.

@Yosher The same thing sort of happened to me, I was thinking it over than a friend of offered me a place in his family plan and I said yes because it was only 10 dollars over my current price.

@Dragoduval What? What you said didn't make sense. If most players have it then logically most players would think it's worth it.

@Itakiteacher from the quotations @Dragoduval put around “most,” I would assume the comment was questioning the statement

"most" Nintendo Switch Online users in North America have already upgraded to the Expansion Pack.

Nintendo has since released the actual Japanese, and an official English translation of the Q&A, and we know for a fact now VGC published a misleading translation.

As for:

If most players have it then logically most players would think it's worth it.

Disregarding the debunked “most” claim, the logic in this statement is flawed. One can't conclude that subscription customers are satisfied with the value they receive till they renew the subscription. Furukawa said, in the same Q&A, that “not all consumers renew their subscriptions after the expiration of their membership periods.“ Nintendo Switch Online is not worth it to every customer after their first year and/or a free trial, and there is currently no way to get the Expansion Pack without NSO.

Nintendo's NSO+EP customers are not able to make an informed decision, though reviews are helpful, as are discussions like the one we are having right now. Since we are on a website dedicated to Nintendo, frequented by Nintendo fans, I believe commentators criticising Nintendo's services want them to do better.

@r0mer0 lmao I think you way over though response, but I appreciate effort. I see the part where the mistranslation was corrected by Nintendo and that he meant the North America region had the highest percentage of expansion pass adoption. Also, him saying not all renew it doesn't really say much beyond some unknown percentage didn't keep the NSO service/expansion pass the expiration date. I also never said my opinion on it and I wasn't trying to tbh; it just seems like some people are trying to put a negative spin on this, and I don't mean that you are by any means If that wasn't your intent. Btw, this is what I get for replying to a two line comment that said nothing of substance, I get reply with substance.

@Mgalens

I wouldn't mind a system like in Xbox where you can "rent" the games for free as part of the subscription service, but then can pay a reduced price to buy the old game outright and it would be carried forward on your account to new consoles.

I just think that having a virtual console ONLY system is inherently more difficult of a sell for rare games than a game streaming service, since obscure games are hard to justify the work in porting/emulating if only a couple of us are buying them. But if they're part of a package deal, it's a lot easier for Nintendo to bite the bullet on them and include something interesting that would otherwise not get a lot of purchases. Since it's already a sunk cost, they'd be more likely to try it out. After that, they may be more willing to buy it outright, but they'd never know about it or risk paying the 5$ or whatnot for a game they'd never heard of.

@marandahir
Yeah the xbox style system is what i would have loved to have seen, basically handling the legacy games like they do the DLC, i feel the rental style system is great for people to discover games like with gamepass, i would just love to have a "buy and keep" option similar to that for the games i would like to buy.

i feel i may have worded my opinion poorly in this articles comment section but the first paragraph you mentioned is very much my ideal scenario, im not against NSO but rather against having the rental option be the only one. Sorry for any confusion.

@Mgalens I hear ya!

@Mgalens it's whining, because, how do you know it's going to end? Do you already have the date and time? If that's the case, I'd like to know, please.

@Edu23XWiiU
The issue is less about whether or no the service will end or not but rather about games as a service vs digital purchases.

While digital is far from perfect, after all theres the CMOS battery issue on ps3, however so far the wii seems to be fine,

however in general with digital purchases once you pay for it then the software is on your account this allows for a "safety net" if either the service is no longer supported or the software is delisted.

An example of the former would be if an online store such as the eshop no longer supports purchases

Regarding the latter, games can quite often end up delisted from the service meaning you can no longer purchase them but can often redownload them or play them if they are stored on your system. A game could be delisted for various reasons though it is often due to licencing issues.

The issue with games as a service is that the aforementioned "safety net" is removed so if either a service is discontinued or a game is delisted then there is no way to access the game.

Again the concern is more with the inherent flaws that come with the "service" model, and as mentioned prior it is fine for people to enjoy the service, however for others they would prefer an option to purchase the games similar to what gamepass offers (there is the option to "buy and keep" a game)

There are a large amount of people even in this very comment section who have articulated their issues with the service and why they personally dislike it, again, nothing wrong with enjoying the service, but dismissing others opinions as "whining" comes across as very reductive.

@Mgalens the people that complain about the service is "reductive", and they're the same people that didn't wanted to buy VC games on Wii U, complaining why Nintendo would "force them" to buy those games again. Since the VC didn't work on Wii U, and most third party publishers decided to release their games on their own collections, Nintendo reworked their way of giving legacy content, and it's great! You get access to all the games instead of just one, the service will carry over to the next console, which Nintendo has already confirmed, so there's no way in the near future, and I'm talking about at least the next 10 years, that neither of those games will be pulled off from the service. If your Switch save battery dies, you'll be able to download those legacy games for a new Switch or whatever the hell is their next console, by just logging in to your account. No games lost, you can still play them. I don't really think people pay to keep their games on Gamepass, they just play what they want, and move on to the next game.

@Edu23XWiiU
it feels like you are making the same mistake a lot of people do when trying to make this argument, you are taking a multitude of takes and attributing them to the same people.

an issue you often see attributed to the wiiu VC was that the library was separate to the wii one, alongside the wii lacking an account system and the wiiu not getting one until much later, there wasn't much in the way of digital backwards compatibility and publishers would likely have to go through the process of allowing the games to be sold again, the same thing happened with the 3ds VC.

In regards to the "buy and keep" option, the key point was it being an option, it does not mean that the service cannot exist but rather the flaws of the games being exclusively tied to the service. (though i feel that compared to something like the arcade archives the roms on the NSO service lack options)

A key point regarding how xbox are handling legacy content is the aforementioned digital backwards compatibility, as in if you bought a supported game in the past then it would show up in your digital library ready to be redownloaded, likewise whenever a game you bought is supported via an update then it will be added to said library. this is why despite not being interested in many of their games, i still appreciate what xbox is doing.

in terms of sony i feel while the ps4 kind of dropped the ball in regards to legacy content they did do well in regards to the ps3/psp/vita ecosystem, as in once you bought a psone game you could use it on any system your account is linked to, the same goes with digital psp games on vita, the main issue the ps3 has though is the CMOS issue which was updated to be fixed on ps4 but not ps3.

In general it feels like while nintendo did well with physical BC on wiiu they had the roughest transition into digital storefronts with the issues surrounding the late adoption of an account system.

my argument was not against the existence of a service but one about choice and the importance of digital backwards compatibility+futureproofing. at the same time neither was i arguing that people shouldn't be able to enjoy the service.