Nintendo Switch paid online coming 2018

[Hero-of-Time]

7 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

 

Also do people really use messaging on consoles these days? What with Whatsapp, and texting, twitter, facebook etc. It's the same as wanting a web browser, I never understood that either when people have access to web browsers everywhere.

I'm not saying I don't think it should be there, it absolutely should, but I just don't think it's that big a deal. Maybe I'm wrong.

I know I use it a lot. Myself and Lostmario use the PS4 messaging system for random banter.

Ive been playing Monster Hunter on the Switch and there's been times when I could have jumped into a town with N-E people but didn't have any way of communicating to them that I would like to play, so they could open up a spot. You've essentially gotta post on here and hope others are also browsing.

[Hero-of-Time]

6 minutes ago, Mr-Paul said:

They should have the subscription for NES games. Online play should be separate, and free while it doesn't offer features which have been standard for years, even regressing from the Wii U.

That's what's crazy about all this. They've actually went backwards but are now charging for it.  

[Mr-Paul]

Personally, even the NES games aren't tempting me into subscribing. Surely most people have played most of them they've wanted to play before? Sure, you might get the occasional one you haven't, but realistically, it's not going to be something you're going to spend a ton of time on. There's a reason they're giving it away so cheap (although I welcome that it's a much better proposition than them charging £3.50+ per NES game on Wii/Wii U!). If it had a wider span of their library, for example each month they added one NES game, one SNES game, one N64 game and one GC game, I'd be much more tempted to subscribe.

Another thing: If it worked like PS+, and you had to be subscribed that month to get that month's games, there would be a much bigger incentive to subscribe straight away. As it is, I'm more than happy to wait until there's a game that i'm desperate to play online, or the free game library has expanded so much that it's a no-brainer to have it. This is actually a very consumer friendly thing from Nintendo - but not a decision of theirs which is going to make me pay them £18 right now!

[Sheikah]

I can't speak for [mention=830]Kaxxx[/mention] but I really don't think he was saying "the gaming community are being unrealistic expecting basic things like a messaging feature". I think he was speaking more broadly. Also do people really use messaging on consoles these days? What with Whatsapp, and texting, twitter, facebook etc. It's the same as wanting a web browser, I never understood that either when people have access to web browsers everywhere. I'm not saying I don't think it should be there, it absolutely should, but I just don't think it's that big a deal. Maybe I'm wrong.  

 

 

But the things people expect of an online service are totally reasonable asks - messaging, voice chat (cross game), universal cloud saving. That's why I do not agree with Kaxxx's comment in the slightest.  

As for "is messaging useful", of course, I use it all the time. Also, when you select a friend and click "invite to game" this is done via a message notification. If they're playing a different game (or even the same game but different lobby) at the time they get alerted and can choose to play with you instead.

 

Without this you have to hope that you have the friend on WhatsApp or something (which I'm sure is not necessarily the case for N-E friends or other gaming acquaintances) and that they're checking their phone and not totally engrossed in the game. It's a very poor alternative to in-game messaging.  

You also have to ask yourself what you're paying for if you can't message people or voice chat with them. Right now it's just a readout of what game people are currently playing.

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Someone over on Era has pointed out that the online subscription can be paid for with any gold points/coins you have earned on your My Nintendo account. That's a nice way to able able to pay for it. If you buy enough games, especially digitally, then you will be getting it for free.

[Hero-of-Time]

Wow. Switching between games and loading them up is super fast! 

[Blade]

I'll be buying this primarily for the cloud saves and NES games. I lost all of my data on the Wii U once so I don't want to take the risk. Also, I want SMB3 on my Switch 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Blade said:

I'll be buying this primarily for the cloud saves and NES games. I lost all of my data on the Wii U once so I don't want to take the risk. Also, I want SMB3 on my Switch 

*pours one out for your Monster Hunter data*  

[ArtMediocre]

Glad to see that the suspend point is back. 

[Charlie]

On 9/14/2018 at 11:59 PM, Sméagol said:

So a simple tally.. Who's getting it, regardless of complaints or praises? I want to know who's left to play Splatoon with after the cataclysm.

/raises hand (begrudgingly)

Since I've learned Fortnite doesn't need it I'm not going to bother. At one point (before Fortnite) I was playing a lot of Rocket League but I haven't touched that in months.

[Jimbob]

I'm going for the 7 day trial thing, and i'll decide at the end of that if i'll invest in the online.  For £17.99, it's not a bad price. But honestly, Nintendo should offer more for what you're paying for.  Voice chat via an app on mobile isn't what people want, they want it on the Switch itself (and as Fortnite proved, it's possible).  People want cloud saves for all games as standard, not a selection.

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Wow. Switching between games and loading them up is super fast! 

Wow.

Also, I love the UI, NES covers are great

[bob]

Wow. Switching between games and loading them up is super fast! 

Considering these games are a few hundred kilobytes each, I'd be disappointed if it wasn't!

[Ronnie]

Turns out you can use your My Nintendo Gold Points to pay for part (or all) of the Online plan. Makes it even cheaper now.

Quote

Can I use My Nintendo Gold Points to purchase the Nintendo Switch Online membership?

Gold Points can be used when purchasing a membership in the Nintendo eShop. They cannot be used for auto-renewal.

stolen from ResetEra

Quote

So with this conversion, in US, you earn an additional 1-month Switch Online plan for free for every 2 purchases of a $60 digital game.

I think digital purchases net you more gold points than retail ones, but I could be wrong.

[Hero-of-Time]

18 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Turns out you can use your My Nintendo Gold Points to pay for part (or all) of the Online plan. Makes it even cheaper now.

Really?

5 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Someone over on Era has pointed out that the online subscription can be paid for with any gold points/coins you have earned on your My Nintendo account. That's a nice way to able able to pay for it. If you buy enough games, especially digitally, then you will be getting it for free.

 

[Ronnie]

D'oh!! Sorry

[BowserBasher]

Gonna be getting it mainly for Mario Kart league on here, but I do feel that the price is more than reasonable for my needs. 

[Space]

I'd happily pay yearly for cloud saves alone but I'm disappointed this will not backup saves for Pokemon, FIFA, Splatoon and some other titles. I really don't feel this is acceptable and will lead to customer confusion. Surely there's a technical solution to this they could adopt in time.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Space

[Hero-of-Time]

 

 

[Nicktendo]

 

[Hero-of-Time]

16 minutes ago, Nicktendo said:

 

I know he jokingly says if it was 2007 you may be impressed but I don't think we would have been even back then. This evening I watched the Digital Foundry video about the Xbox 360 reveal back in 2005  ( posted it in the Retro thread ) and even they commented how rough it is that Nintendo have still yet to manage to match something that was shown off so long ago.

[Ronnie]

If Nintendo cared about online gaming, they would be up to the standard of Playstation and Xbox. They've long been the pioneers of the industry, are copied by competitors most generations and are constantly pushing innovation, so of course if they really put their minds to it they could be up to scratch. Onine isn't some mystery beyond the realm of understanding. The point is, they don't care. At least not that much. Whether they should or not is up for debate obviously, but they don't see it as a top priority and never have. People need to accept that.

[Helmsly]

If they care enough to charge for it, then they should be offering something comparable to the standards the other consoles have been doing over a decade.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Helmsly

[Sheikah]

If they care enough to charge for it, then they should be offering something comparable to the standards the other consoles have been doing over a decade.

Absolutely, if they're charging for it then you can't claim they don't (or shouldn't) care much about it.

 

It's a bit mad to say people should accept it too. People have bought a console long back and only now are we learning the many caveats to the service that will launch. Like not all games supporting cloud saving for totally unconvincing reasons. People complaining about things in large enough numbers has also been shown time and time again to have results (see Star Wars Battlefront 2).

[Julius]

15 hours ago, Ronnie said:

If Nintendo cared about online gaming, they would be up to the standard of Playstation and Xbox. They've long been the pioneers of the industry, are copied by competitors most generations and are constantly pushing innovation, so of course if they really put their minds to it they could be up to scratch. Onine isn't some mystery beyond the realm of understanding. The point is, they don't care. At least not that much. Whether they should or not is up for debate obviously, but they don't see it as a top priority and never have. People need to accept that.

I get where you’re coming from, I really do, and of course I agree that Nintendo’s innovation is great for improving the industry, and one of the main ways they do this is by making gaming feel accessible to everyone (and now, with the Switch, pretty much anywhere).

However, I agree with @Helmsly and @Sheikah: I do think that it is unacceptable to have a relatively poor online infrastructure (relative to that of their competitors), especially when they themselves are churning out games centred around an online multiplayer experience, such as Splatoon 2 and ARMS. Like with their often inconsistent quality of communication to their consumers, I feel like this is one of Nintendo’s greatest areas of weakness.

Everyone here wants Nintendo to succeed, which I think is made evident by the frustration shared by many of us in this thread; even if you’re not a Nintendo fan, and even if you don’t own a Switch, I think we can agree that competition in this industry only benefits all of us. Does a relatively poor online infrastructure destroy Nintendo’s reputation, and mean people will stop buying their hardware and software? Absolutely not. But on the flip side, could Nintendo stand to gain (even) better footing with third parties and consumers if their online infrastructure was just as good as everyone else’s? Of course. So why shouldn’t they strive do that? 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Julius Caesar