After it was announced at a Nintendo Direct in September, the price for the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service was revealed at the more recent Animal Crossing Direct. The upcoming Animal Crossing DLC is being offered as part of the Expansion Pack, sweetening the proverbial pot, but Nintendo's new subscription tier is still too expensive.
The Nintendo Switch has long had its dedicated online service, Nintendo Switch Online. It allows Switch owners to play games online and also grants access to a handful of emulated retro games from Nintendo's older systems, the NES and Super Nintendo. NSO + Expansion Pack is much the same - allowing for online multiplayer and the opportunity to play retro titles - but is also offering something new with the inclusion of DLC. In addition to the NES and SNES games, Expansion Pack subscribers will be able to play a selection of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games. It should also be noted that the included Animal Crossing DLC is not exclusive to the service and can be purchased separately from the eShop.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, which launches on October 26, will cost $50 per year for an individual, or $80 per year for a family plan that includes access for up to eight people. This new tier is more than double the price of the base Nintendo Switch Online subscription (both individual and family), without delivering much more to consumers. The Expansion Pack is an unnecessary and anti-consumer addition to an online service that is already lacking in features. NSO still uses archaic friend codes, has no party chat system, doesn't offer free games like similar services, and is now gating more of the same content behind a price that is too expensive.
Nintendo Switch Online Is Trending In The Right Direction
The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription is unnecessary and too expensive, and the N64 and Genesis games shouldn't be extra, but the inclusion of Animal Crossing DLC is a step in the right direction. This new subscription is now only $10 less per year than both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, the two comparable services offered on other platforms. A key feature to both PS+ and Live Gold is the inclusion of additional content for subscribers. Each service gives away a few games every month and frequently has in-game content (usually cosmetic items) exclusively downloadable by subscribers.
Better online functionality like dedicated usernames and party chat would help close the gap between NSO and its competitors, but the inclusion of more actual game content could help it be worthy of its price. Hopefully, the Happy Home Paradise expansion for Animal Crossing isn't the last DLC added to the expansion pack. NSO + Expansion Pack promising all first-party game DLC included in the subscription would go a long way in making it a respectable subscription. As it stands right now, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is far too expensive for what it offers, but Nintendo could easily add more content to make it worthwhile.