Nintendo Switch Online, let's analyze the add-on package

Nintendo Switch Online

The trailer for the Nintendo Switch Online add-on package quickly became the video with the most "dislikes" of the usually very benevolent YouTube channel of Nintendo: it succeeded in the enterprise to overcome the presentation of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which we imagined would hold the lead for a long time. Nintendo users have long been accustomed to the fact that the Kyotese company has its own economic policies, not in the sense of absurdity, but detached from those of its competitors and, in general, of the other players in the market. So why take it so hard?

There are, we assume, three main reasons. The first is that online services, however unique your games may be, however unique your ideas may be, are - from a certain point of view - directly comparable from one competitor to another. And there is no doubt that Nintendo, in this area, and in particular in online gaming, is generations back: there are still friend codes, which should belong to videogame archeology, and voice chat (when there is ) is managed through an external app and we could continue for a long time. Secondly, all this was accepted with a fair degree of serenity, or at least with a certain indifference, precisely because of the low cost of the service: 19.99 euros per year for a single registration, 34.99 euros for a family member (up to eight account). Perhaps a too expensive price for what is offered, but still an acceptable cost to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and many other exceptional titles online, as well as to have cloud saves.

The third reason is that for years many fans have wanted to be able to replay Nintendo 64 titles: there is no Nintendo 64 Classic Mini, after all. Well, the hope - extremely optimistic - was that the games on the platform would be loaded like the NES and SNES ones, so as to incentivize the registration of those who, yet, were not subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online. On the contrary, Nintendo has ventured an economic request that no one expected: the registration of a single account (including the additional package) is 39.99 euros, that of a family member 69.99 euros. Literally double the basic service.

Present offer

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise: the DLC will be included in the add-on package There is only one type of user to whom the The price of the additional package may seem favorable and that is someone who is interested in Happy Home Paradise, the first (and only) paid DLC of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The latter, which is included in the Nintendo Switch Online add-on package, costs 24.99 euros if purchased individually. In short, if you were really eager to download Happy Home Paradise, the add-on package would probably be the best option.

For everyone else, the content on offer is probably not worth the money. And in general, the economic demand seems excessive to us, even if we are madly in love with Nintendo 64 or Mega Drive (or both). In particular, the first Nintendo polygonal console, which this year turned twenty-five, presents several critical issues. First of all, an input lag problem was highlighted - and confirmed by some speedrunners, whose obsession makes the comment credible: a problem that would not depend on the TV or the pad used, but on the emulator itself. In addition, some critical issues emerged from a technical point of view, actually quite strange (such as the fog of the Water Temple of Ocarina of Time). Finally, but here it was difficult to find an ideal solution, the setting of the control system: the pad of the Nintendo 64 is very particular (we talked about it weeks ago in this special), and it was not possible to perfectly superimpose it on that (indeed, a those) of Nintendo Switch. So X and Y emulate two of the C keys, while if you want to access all four you have to hold down ZR (in that case, A, B, X and Y take the place of the four yellow buttons). It is not an ideal approach, but - we repeat - it was difficult to find a solution that would please everyone. It seems that the service is not even able to emulate the Nintendo 64 Controller Pack, with related more or less annoying consequences (for example, the inability to memorize the record laps in Mario Kart 64).

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: a big incentive, alas, to shell out the required amount There is no shortage of positive aspects: the titles included are not in PAL version, but NTSC. Considering that the games translated into Italian at the time were very few (on Nintendo 64, at least), the exchange is greatly advantageous: the 60hz make the experience much better. Furthermore, the color tones are good: we don't know if they are perfect, but they are certainly close to those of the original games. Didn't you remember, in the titles inserted into the Virtual Console for Wii U, the color values ​​were incredibly altered: getting darker, a lot darker, than the original versions. Finally, playing Mario Kart 64 online - even with a netcode that is anything but exciting - is a dream come true for anyone who loved it at the time.

Future offer

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: you can also play Sonic with Nintendo Switch Online It is difficult to imagine how Nintendo can improve the offer, so as to make the economic request, which is substantially equivalent to that of PlayStation Plus, more reasonable and sensible. In the first place it must continue to update the Nintendo 64 and Mega Drive catalog often: we already know that more titles will arrive, but the expansion must remain constant over time.

It would be appreciable instead if the add-on package included any Nintendo DLC , not only Happy Home Paradise: do you buy Splatoon 2 and have the new subscription? Well, you should be able to play the DLC (Octo Expansion) without having to buy it separately. Given that this will not be the case, in the sense that the service will not be retroactive, the hope is that any future DLC will receive the Happy Home Paradise treatment and that is that it will be purchased individually, but also included in the add-on package (yes, Breath of the Wild 2 , we're thinking of you).

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Will it have DLC? And will they possibly be included in the additional package? These assumptions not only seem reasonable to us, but represent the least that Nintendo can do to make the asking price sensible. For the rest, we could draw up lists and lists of services and features that we would like to have for the add-on package, but they would probably be illusory. We must accept the fact that even for this generation the online game will remain at a much lower level than the competition, that the friend codes will remain, that you will not be able to talk to friends without using an app external to the console. Without even bringing up streaming gaming, cross-platform bailouts, achievements, remote gaming and everything else that has formed the Xbox and PlayStation offer over the years.

It would be nice if other old ones were included console, such as the GameCube. That would be great, but we doubt it will happen.

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