When Nintendo‘s Online service launches for the Nintendo Switch next month, it’ll allow players to partake in sessions of their favorite games and play classics through the Cloud for a pretty low yearly membership fee of $20. But there are some questions that come with the launch of said service. And this includes how it will affect free-to-play games.
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There has been a question as to whether players would need to register for a Nintendo Online membership in order to continue playing with friends in games like Paladins and Fortnite. Nintendo hasn’t said a word, but Nintendo Everything recently did some research based on listings in the company’s Nintendo Switch eShop and found something rather interesting.
Some listings for games like Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have featured the following context on the description page:
“To use online services you must have access to a wireless internet connection. Some online services may not be available in all countries. From the full launch of the Nintendo Switch Online membership service in 2018, online play requires a paid membership.”
Now, the interesting part is that this text actually can’t be found on games that qualify in the free-to-play department. This includes such games as Fortnite, Paladins, Pokemon Quest and Galak-Z: Variant S, as well as games that offer trials on content before it can be bought, including The Pinball Arcade, Pinball FX3 and Zaccaria Pinball.
Again, the company hasn’t said anything, although it should be dropping a Nintendo Direct any day now to fill us in on more information about the service before it officially goes online. When that’ll air is beyond us. But it sounds like Nintendo is aware that games like the ones mentioned above shouldn’t be constrained by some kind of online membership, as that would likely result in a number of complaints from fans.
We’ll let you know once Nintendo is ready to break down the plans for its service, which, again, will hopefully happen sometime this month. At the very least, it’s affordable. It’s hard to beat $20 a year, especially since the competition is going for three times that with their membership rates.
(Hat tip to Nintendo Everything for the scoop!)
