Nintendo Service Online Is a Big Hit With High Subscriber Count

While not everyone has been crazy about the Nintendo Switch Online service when it was introduced back in September, it's gained enough traction for Nintendo to consider it a success. And today, during its reveal of its quarterly earnings report, it explained just how well it was doing.

In that report, it announced that Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have reached over eight million accounts, including those with Family Memberships. What's even more interesting, however, is that those are all paid accounts- they don't include downloads for free trials.

The company noted, "Last September, we launched Nintendo Switch Online, a paid service that expands the online functionality of Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Online has had a good start, with the number of subscribers surpassing 8 million accounts not including free trials.

"In keeping with our goal of providing Nintendo Switch owners with 'More Games. More Features. More Fun.,' we are working on continuing to expand the service offerings."

It spoke earlier today about opening up features with Nintendo Switch Online to bring in more "core gamers," suggesting possible microtransactions or other features, like built-in chat with games like Fortnite, to make the experience more worthwhile. But with the word "expand" thrown in there, we can't help but wonder if the company may finally be looking to introduce new games to its classic line-up.

Thus far, only NES games have been offered for online cloud-based play on the service. But a lot of talk has been making the rounds about Nintendo including Super Nintendo games on the service; and there's a good chance it could look at Nintendo 64 and possibly even GameCube down the road, making the service even more valuable, even at its low price point.

We'll have to see just how well the service does this year. But hopefully Nintendo will keep improving upon it and making it a value to consumers.

Nintendo Switch is available now.

Are you happy with the Nintendo Switch Online service? If not, what would you like to see change? Let me know on Twitter at @TheDCD!