The Nintendo Swit🍌ch is the first Nintendo system to require a paid subscription in order to play online games. The service is now over a year old and the question that many fans have asked is if it has improved since launch?

The first time the Nintendo Switch Online service was mentioned was during the initial presentation for the system in January 2017, but it didn't launch until September 2018. The Nintendo Switch Online service is cheaper than the competition, but there are many who believe that it doesn't offer🍬 the same value for money as PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold in terms of ꧒the quality of the online. So, what has changed over the past year to make the Nintendo Switch Online service worth the subscription cost?

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The New Additions

Nintendo Snes Online
via gamestop.com

The Nintendo Switch Online service launched with twenty Nintendo Entertainment System games and slowly added more each month until August 2019. The majority of these games were subpar in the way that many 8-bit games are by today's standards. There were a few awesome first-party Nintendo titles in there that still hold up, like Super Mario Bros. 3, but there wasn't much tꦚhat made the service worth the price of admission.

The Nintendo Switch Online service received a huge boost in February 2019 when Tetris 99 was released. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tetris 99 took the classic puzzle formula and added a battle royale twist, where ninety-nine players competed against each other at once. Tetris 99 might be one of the best games of 2019 and the fact that the online version of the game is only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers is a huge boon to the service. It's not an exaggeration to say that Nintendo Switch Online is worth it for Tetris 99 alone.

The one year anniversary of Nintendo Switch Online was marked with the addition of twenty Super Nintendo games, which included classics like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. These are games that Nintendo still charges eight dollars each for on the Nintendo Wii U eShop, which means that the entire collection (plus the NES games and Tetris 99) is a huge bargain.

The only downside to the Nintendo Switch Online's past year has been some of the Nintendo Switch games running poorly. Super Mario Maker 2 is practically unplayable in its online modes, while Super Smash Bros. Ultimate generally has problems in matches with more than two players. The addition of a paywall also means that some games lost a portion of their player base, as was the case with Super Mario Tennis Aces. 

The Deals

Nintendo has offered several deals that have made it more enticing to purchase a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, the biggest of which was a free year for people with a Twitch Prime subscription. Nintendo has also offered several months of service to people who purchase specific games, such as Overwatch and Super Mario Maker 2. 

Nintendo Switch Online is the cheapest service out of its contemporaries, costing just $19.99 a year (compared to $59.99 for PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold), and the various deals have made it even less of an expense. Annual subscriptions for Nintendo Switch Online have also gone on sale, with the price going as low as £14 in the United Kingdom. The price is much less than that of a full-price game, yet Tetris 99 and the older Nintendo games are worth much more than✅ that.

The Future

Pokemon Sword & Shield Girl Cover
via.YouTube

PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold keep ꦦthemselves relevant by offering new games every month, so what can Nintendo Switch Online do to compete?

The obvious answer seems to be to keep adding retro games. The addition of a Netfl🍎ix-like service with every classic Nintendo game from the NES to GameCube era would make Nintendo Switch Online a mandatory purchase. If the Nintendo Switch Online had Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and GameCube games, then it could have the best first-party titles from several generations of systems on one system for one price.

The upcoming release of Pokémon Sword & Shield also marks a turning point for Nintendo Switch Online, as the multiplayer modes in the Pokémon games have been a huge draw for the series since Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. A regular influx of Pokémon games throughout the Nintendo Switch generation will keep the Nintendo Switch Online service relevant to fans of the series, especially if subscribers receive in-game benefits. There is also the future release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons to consider📖, as that is another series with a popular online mode that fans have been chomping at the bit to get their hands on.

Nintendo needs to sort out the issues with the quality of Nintendo Switch Online, but there is no denying that it's a far ಌmore 💯valuable service than it was back in 2018.

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