A year and a half after launching, the Nintendo Switch is finally getting an official online service. Nintendo announced on Wednesday that Nintendo Switch Online memberships will kick off on September 18th, which is less than a week away. Switch owners will be able to take advantage of a 7-day free trial as well.
Nintendo Switch Online has been a long time coming. Originally set to launch in 2017, Nintendo ended up having to delay the service multiple times before eventually landing on the second half of September. The company then finally confirmed a specific launch date on Wednesday, stating in a tweet that more information about the online service will be revealed during a rescheduled Nintendo Direct stream on September 13th.
Nintendo has been drip-feeding details about the service for months, starting with confirmation that subscribers will have access to classic NES games with additional modern features such as online play and voice chat. Some of the games that will be available at launch include Dr. Mario, Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong, Ice Climber, and The Legend of Zelda. We might hear about more games during the Nintendo Direct on Thursday.
#NintendoSwitchOnline memberships will start on 9/18. You can sign-up for a 7-day free trial from Nintendo #eShop at launch! We will introduce more information during the Nintendo Direct on 9/13.https://t.co/74Hzxk9spt pic.twitter.com/EJVFJH6F4I
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 12, 2018
Nintendo Switch Online will also give subscribers the ability to back up their save data in the cloud. Not all games will support this feature, but it’s a relief to see Nintendo add a feature that should have been ready at launch.
As for the price, Nintendo Switch Online will cost $3.99 for one month, $7.99 for three months, $19.99 for a year and $34.99 for a family membership, which gives up to eight people to ability to use the service.
