Nintendo Dropped the Ball with Nintendo Switch Online

The 9/13 Nintendo Direct presentation has come and gone, and we finally have most of the details for the Nintendo Switch Online service ahead of its launch. As of September 18th, Nintendo Switch owners will no longer be able to play games online for free, and will have to subscribe to a paid membership. Along with access to online play, subscribers will get a variety of other features, including voice chat, cloud saves, and access to a growing selection of NES games.

As a Switch owner who purchased the console the day it came out, I’ve been very curious to see how this service would pan out. But after reviewing the majority of features that will be offered to customers(the “special offers” are still a mystery), it seems very uninspired. Nintendo didn’t stick the landing with Nintendo Switch Online, and made it clear that it doesn’t understand what gamers want(or expect) from a premium online service. I feel that most aspects of the service have flaws, so let’s discuss them.

Voice Chat Is Inconvenient and Inadequate

Nintendo Switch Online requires subscribers to use a smartphone app (available on iOS and Android devices) to voice chat with other players online. The reaction to this was overwhelmingly negative when we learned about it last year, but unfortunately, things didn’t change before launch. Gamers who play Switch online will now have to drain their phone’s battery life to voice chat and can only use headsets that are compatible with their particular smart device.

This setup, in its current state, presents another major pitfall: not all games support the app. As of this writing, a page on Nintendo’s website mentions that the app works with “compatible games,” including Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, Mario Tennis Aces, and NES games through Nintendo Switch Online. Diablo III will apparently use it, but I couldn’t find any information to confirm compatibility with other upcoming games, such as FIFA 19. It goes without saying that voice chat should be a feature in every online game, and Nintendo is doing a disservice to its customers by not providing it.

The most baffling aspect of the Switch smartphone app is that it’s apparently unnecessary from a technical standpoint, but we’re still required to use it. Fortnite, which is the world’s biggest game right now, supports native voice chat on Switch through the headphone jack. If Fortnite can do it, why can’t other games?

Cloud Saves are an Incomplete Backup Solution

The Switch is finally getting a way to back up save games nearly 18 months after launch. Nintendo Switch Online will include cloud save functionality, which will automatically back up save games to the cloud when the system is connected to the internet. The current implementation of the feature has some issues, though.

Not all games will support cloud saves, and the ones that don’t are pretty notable. CNET is reporting that Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu!, Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee!, and Dark Souls Remastered won’t utilize the cloud for save backups. Nintendo later clarified that the feature is disabled on certain games to prevent item duplication, and “ensure fair play.” The explanation seems reasonable enough on its own, but something tells me that little kids won’t accept that when they leave their Switch on the bus and lose all of their progress in a Pokémon game.

Another glaring issue with Switch cloud saves is that they are erased if your Nintendo Switch Online membership lapses or is cancelled. Forbes found this wording in the Nintendo Switch Online FAQ: “Save data stored with Save Data Cloud cannot be kept outside of the duration of your Nintendo Switch Online membership.” Not having any type of grace period puts Nintendo’s solution behind both of its competitors. Sony will store your saves for six months if your PlayStation Plus subscription ends, while Microsoft keeps saves on Xbox Live indefinitely, regardless of a user’s  subscription status.

The drawbacks of cloud saves through Nintendo Switch Online wouldn’t sting so much if Nintendo gave its customers another save backup solution, but there are none. In addition to the cloud, the PS4 and Xbox One both allow users to back up their saves to an external hard drive or USB flash drive. The Switch doesn’t support either of those options. It doesn’t even support backups through MicroSD cards, which many Switch owners already purchased to expand the limited storage space of the system.

Classic Software Support Takes a Major Step Backward

Nintendo fans weren’t very happy when it was announced that the Switch wouldn’t have a Virtual Console-esque service at launch. The Wii, Wii U, and 3DS all have storefronts that where users can buy games from a variety of older platforms, so it seemed inexplicable that Nintendo’s newest device wouldn’t have something similar. Nintendo Switch Online will allow users to play some classic games, but its nowhere near an acceptable solution.

As part of the service’s subscription cost, Switch Online users will have access to a variety of NES games that have been enhanced with save states and online play. 20 games will be available at launch, and three will be added every month. It sounds like this will be an ever-growing library of games, as I couldn’t find any language to indicate that games will cycle out of the selection, like content often does on Netflix. We’ll have to see what kind of games get added in the future, but there are some truly excellent games in the initial lineup, including Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda.

The interest in this feature is going to vary from person to person(especially if they have an NES Classic), but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that this it’s pretty underwhelming. In an interview with IGN, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé says that Nintendo Switch Online is the “successor” to Virtual Console, but it’s hard to see it as such. The selection is much smaller than previous Virtual Console storefronts, and we’re limited to NES games. Where are the SNES, N64, and GameCube games? To make matters worse, we don’t have the ability to buy games, and are limited to whatever Nintendo adds each month. I think Switch owners would buy a lot of classic games from the eShop if the selection were larger and included more of Nintendo’s classic systems. The NES catalog that we have with Nintendo Switch Online should act as a supplemental option for playing classic Nintendo games on the Switch, not the only one.

An Underwhelming First Attempt

As it stands, Nintendo Switch Online is a disappointment. It has an extremely limited selection of classic games, kneecapped voice chat, and puts the Switch’s only (and limited) save backup system behind a paywall. Online gamers have no choice but to subscribe, so it’s a good thing that the pricing structure is relatively cheap. It’s a far cry from what people get with Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, but to be fair, those services didn’t get where they are overnight. We’ll just have to wait and see if Nintendo listens to any of the widespread criticism, or even bothers to look at what its direct competition is doing.