StarTopic Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack |ST| New 2024 Poll Up

[Robert]

Flipping heck, $50?!? Get bent, Nintendo.
TBH, with how bad most of Nintendo's online services are (looking at you Animal Crossing, Pokémon, and Smash!), $20 was already a bit of a ripoff. Asking $50 for more retro games that will probably be drip fed again, plus an expansion for a specific game that is cheaper to buy on its own is a bit much. And still asking for $50 even if you buy said expansion seperately is absurd.

 

[DAC Returns]

The price is high, but once the N64 library has roughly tripled in size and they offer a healthy number of Gameboy Advance games, it will be worth the asking price. Having said that, no plans to buy in until it earns the membership fee.

 

[Byakuya]

That's a bit steep yeah. I do want the AC expansion though.

 

[fguzramm]

Would the price be better if they added more recent games? Like PS Plus?....seems like the big problem is paying almost the same as other services for games that are WAY too old (don't get me wrong...I have so much nostalgia for those games... I was so HYPED to start playing Starfox 64 and BK again...) while other consoles get pretty recent games .... someone commented on the VALUE of the service being bigger as time goes on...which is absolutely true... NSO costs the same as when it launched and yet i has like double the NES games plus a lot of SNES games....so yeah... while I'm still not sure if it's worth right now...maybe down the line....seeing how often they will add games....it will seem less expensive...

Still, maybe adding one or two "modern" games would make it look a lot better...

 

[Magic-Man]

I might get this if I had the year plan, but I pay monthly so I would have to pay 45 bucks out of pocket. It's baffling how you have to buy the year long plan to get this.

 

[astrogamer]

If they do a rolling plan for the expansion pack a la Games with Gold, it might work out better. Say like every 3 months, a new dlc or game is added but only for 3 months like the Pokemon Expansion Pass or Snipperclips. Probably time NSO Game Trials with the associated game when the new dlc is added. Happy Home Paradise should probably stay on until the Switch is retired since it would be a decent value add since so many people have Animal Crossing

 

[nenned]

The price is high, but once the N64 library has roughly tripled in size and they offer a healthy number of Gameboy Advance games, it will be worth the asking price. Having said that, no plans to buy in until it earns the membership fee.

This is where I'm at. Use that money to get good 3rd party support for SNES and NES. The selection feels so incomplete without MegaMan, Castlevania, Contra, or Final Fantasy on the service. I'll be there when:

• better selection of 3rd party titles for NES & SNES
• Increased library of N64 and Genesis titles
• Addition of GB/GBA

The last two bullets should be easy, let's see if they can tackle the first.

 

[Mekanos]

Would the price be better if they added more recent games? Like PS Plus?....seems like the big problem is paying almost the same as other services for games that are WAY too old (don't get me wrong...I have so much nostalgia for those games... I was so HYPED to start playing Starfox 64 and BK again...) while other consoles get pretty recent games .... someone commented on the VALUE of the service being bigger as time goes on...which is absolutely true... NSO costs the same as when it launched and yet i has like double the NES games plus a lot of SNES games....so yeah... while I'm still not sure if it's worth right now...maybe down the line....seeing how often they will add games....it will seem less expensive...

Still, maybe adding one or two "modern" games would make it look a lot better...

For me 50 is just a lot when I'm unsure that I'll get the Animal Crossing DLC and I have no interest in the Genesis titles. Swap Genesis for Game Boy and add like, a 10 dollar discount to the next first party Nintendo game you buy and I'd be all in.

 

[Xenoblade 3]

That's too expensive for me right now. If it had more games from more systems, it would be worth.

 

[dpt120]

Oof, that's a lot. I'll stick with the base plan

 

[Miraj]

$50 a year? $80 if you're on a family plan?! PS Plus and Xbox Gold are $60 a year. Holy hell.

 

[Elven_Star]

I wish they had a cheaper plan without the Animal Crossing DLC. Oh well, it’s not the end of the world. The base plan is serving me just fine.

 

[Matt]

For the price I should be getting one of those controllers for free. Will not upgrade.

 

[BassForever]

Feels like a price point to future proof the price. I wouldn't be surprised if two things happen

1) Switch 2 only has a $50 tier

2) More expansions get added to the service going for essentially making it Nintendo's "dlcs pass". This will go full on it for the sunk cost marketing. People will either go "well I'm already planning to get (insert game here)'s dlc for $25-30, I might as well just get the expansion pass" and then "well I have nso+ep and have access to (insert game here)'s dlc, I guess I'll just buy the game".

 

[fguzramm]

For me 50 is just a lot when I'm unsure that I'll get the Animal Crossing DLC and I have no interest in the Genesis titles. Swap Genesis for Game Boy and add like, a 10 dollar discount to the next first party Nintendo game you buy and I'd be all in.

Yeah, no disrespect to Sega o Sega fans, but I don't care about that console at all...and since this is a Nintendo Service for a Nintendo Console.... swapping Genesis for GBA would definitely make it better... I know I won't play any of the Sega games at all... GBA on the other hand would mean Metroid Zero Mission, Fusion, some zeldas, mario games.....THAT I would be interested in...

 

[totofogo]

64 VC games used to be $10 each. Everyone take a breath.

 

[fguzramm]

Feels like a price point to future proof the price. I wouldn't be surprised if two things happen

1) Switch 2 only has a $50 tier

2) More expansions get added to the service going for essentially making it Nintendo's "dlcs pass". This will go full on it for the sunk cost marketing. People will either go "well I'm already planning to get (insert game here)'s dlc for $25-30, I might as well just get the expansion pass" and then "well I have nso+ep and have access to (insert game here)'s dlc, I guess I'll just buy the game".

I feel like that is what we as consumers want .... like everyone thinking the Expansion Pass would be 10 or 15 extra dollars....I can absolutely see nintendo expanding even more on the service... adding GameCube and/or Gamboy Advance..... for another additional 30 or 40 dollars XD

 

[Mekanos]

64 VC games used to be $10 each. Everyone take a breath.

I mean that's the thing right? 20 bucks a year for access to the vast majority of first party titles on NES and SNES was honestly a really good deal. This doesn't come close to that value.

 

[Emily]

If this is the case (and I trust Emily here) then at the very least the nes and snes should get some of the more iconic third party games from that era. I'd be ok with the pricing if SNES and NES got Square, Capcom and Konami games. If Nintendo starts putting Contra, Final Fantasy, Megaman and Castlevania into NSO now we're talking. Right now with no sense of what the future holds I'm hesitant to dive in. I really feel like they needed a third console here and GBA seemed like the obvious choice.

For what it's worth, Nintendo is licensing third party Genesis games from Capcom, Konami.

• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami)
• Contra Hard Corps (Konami)
• I even heard Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Capcom) may eventually come too.

Third party genesis games also add to NSO's licensing costs.

 

[totofogo]

I mean that's the thing right? 20 bucks a year for access to the vast majority of first party titles on NES and SNES was honestly a really good deal. This doesn't come close to that value.

Sure, but you're comparing the original plan 3 years in versus day 1 of the new plan, it will grow in time too.

Originally it was a small selection of NES titles, no SNES, no bonuses.

 

[Beard]

For what it's worth, Nintendo is licensing third party Genesis games from Capcom, Konami.

• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami)
• Contra Hard Corps (Konami)
• I even heard Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Capcom) may eventually come too.

Third party genesis games also add to NSO's licensing costs.

It'd be great to see more Capcom and Konami content on NES and SNES as well (Mega Man, Castlevania, etc.), but Nintendo might not be willing to fork out the extra licensing costs for base tier NSO platforms. Here's hoping, though!

Having The Wily Wars on Genesis would be great. That's a neat package worth checking out for any Mega Man fans.

 

[BassForever]

For what it's worth, Nintendo is licensing third party Genesis games from Capcom, Konami.

• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami)
• Contra Hard Corps (Konami)
• I even heard Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Capcom) may eventually come too.

Third party genesis games also add to NSO's licensing costs.

We did have some Capcom games on SNES online like Demon's Crest and Breath of Fire 1-2 ie the games Capcom isn't selling in some kind of collection. Konami and Rare are the two bigger names that we haven't gotten before that are now on NSO with this higher price. Wouldn't be surprised if the lower price was making it harder to negotiate games on NES and SNES online hence why we got the games anyone can license for a dollar like data east stuff.

 

[Heron]

The fact that Pokemon Home is an extra $16 on top of this really grinds my gears.

If there's any one perk that should be included in a $50 subscription, it's that.

 

[Mandos]

For what it's worth, Nintendo is licensing third party Genesis games from Capcom, Konami.

• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami)
• Contra Hard Corps (Konami)
• I even heard Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Capcom) may eventually come too.

Third party genesis games also add to NSO's licensing costs.

We already got Strider as well

 

[Christo750]

No clue on the cadence, but Nintendo did say they will keep adding games to those systems.

They did, I just hope it happens every few weeks now, instead of the 4-5 months it is now.

 

[Illucio]

I was not expecting that pricing.

Heck, I was expecting $5 on top the regular membership at most. and this was after my assumption they would eventually get to N64 games and make them free when they reached the console. How about letting me not play any of the NES and SNES games I have no interest in and just get N64 games?

Feels like a price point to future proof the price. I wouldn't be surprised if two things happen

1) Switch 2 only has a $50 tier

2) More expansions get added to the service going for essentially making it Nintendo's "dlcs pass". This will go full on it for the sunk cost marketing. People will either go "well I'm already planning to get (insert game here)'s dlc for $25-30, I might as well just get the expansion pass" and then "well I have nso+ep and have access to (insert game here)'s dlc, I guess I'll just buy the game".

If that's the case, they should had gone the streaming service model new services do by introducing much cheaper prices to sign people on board for the first year or two then go to the regular cost.

Imagine giving all existing members a free month, then a discount of only having to pay $10 for the first year as a thank you to get them on board for the next billing cycle.

 

[Barely Able]

They did, I just hope it happens every few weeks now, instead of the 4-5 months it is now.

I don’t expect anything on those apps for the rest of the year at least. Hope I’m wrong but will want to incentivize the upgrade based it being where the new content is.

 

[Beard]

We did have some Capcom games on SNES online like Demon's Crest and Breath of Fire 1-2 ie the games Capcom isn't selling in some kind of collection. Konami and Rare are the two bigger names that we haven't gotten before that are now on NSO with this higher price. Wouldn't be surprised if the lower price was making it harder to negotiate games on NES and SNES online hence why we got the games anyone can license for a dollar like data east stuff.

Konami is represented on both NES and SNES via NSO, but only with three titles between both systems (Gradius and two TwinBee games).

 

[Emily]

The high price tag also makes me believe more platforms are coming in the future. (Where are you, Game Boy?)

 

[Deleted member 1141]

The fact that Pokemon Home is an extra $16 on top of this really grinds my gears.

If there's any one perk that should be included in a $50 subscription, it's that.

I'm not even defending this, but The Pokemon Company and Nintendo completely act independent from each other, and while it's true Nintendo see's them as second party (and has a minor stake in the company), Nintendo only publishes Pokemon in territories outside of Japan. Ultimately at the end of the day, I feel if they'd included this, The Pokemon Company would've likely asked Nintendo for money to include it, and likely would've resulted in even more expensive plan...

 

[Kingpin722]

As of today that’s steep. But IF and only IF they are truly committed to really fleshing out the amount of games/systems on the service, it’s definitely a deal.

 

[Illucio]

The fact that Pokemon Home is an extra $16 on top of this really grinds my gears.

If there's any one perk that should be included in a $50 subscription, it's that.

This. This right here.

Have this included and I'm sold. It's a price difference of only $14 more after that and if they merge other things into it and do DLC as well expand the catalog to Gameboy, advance (with older pokemon games on it) and maybe even Gamecube games then we're talking.

 

[9-Volt]

For what it's worth, Nintendo is licensing third party Genesis games from Capcom, Konami.

• Castlevania: Bloodlines (Konami)
• Contra Hard Corps (Konami)
• I even heard Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Capcom) may eventually come too.

Third party genesis games also add to NSO's licensing costs.

If I were Nintendo, I'd license the Disney games on Mega Drive. They are the "banjo kazooie"s of MD, should be a nice incentive for people looking for them. There are several gems might worth the price like Quackshot and Illusion series.

 

[Leo]

... why?? The games are already on the eshop and 9/10 people are more excited for 64 or Gameboy lol

If they can't balance the licensing costs to deliver a good value for the price of admission, then the subscription model doesn't work for those particular games and it would be better to leave them out and sell them separately.

I have the impression Nintendo wants to avoid selling retro games like when we had VC though, because they've figured the industry is moving towards a model where if you buy a digital game, you expect to be able to play it on whichever systems it's available on.

Nintendo sold us Super Mario Bros multiple times across lots of platforms, but they can't really do that anymore. If I bought VC SMB on the Switch, I'd expect to have it accessible on the Switch 2 and so on. So the subscription model works better than VC now because they can keep charging us indefinitely to play those games, since we don't own them.

 

[DecoReturns]

I’ll accept that price if I can get the superior version of Rando of Blood

 

[Rainbow]

Lol, just no. Would pay that money if they add GameCube and Gameboy Advance Games to the mix. But not even N64 Rare Games could bring me to pay 50 for N64 Games

 

[Jersh]

$80 if you're on a family plan?!

You do realize the family plan is just a means of splitting the cost to multiple users with no downside, right? Why is this the one that earned more surprise?

I pay $10 a year as my share of the family plan.

 

[BassForever]

If they can't balance the licensing costs to deliver a good value for the price of admission, then the subscription model doesn't work for those particular games and it would be better to leave them out and sell them separately.

I have the impression Nintendo wants to avoid selling retro games like when we had VC though, because they've figured the industry is moving towards a model where if you buy a digital game, you expect to be able to play it on whichever systems it's available on.

Nintendo sold us Super Mario Bros multiple times across lots of platforms, but they can't really do that anymore. If I bought VC SMB on the Switch, I'd expect to have it accessible on the Switch 2 and so on. So the subscription model works better than VC now because they can keep charging us indefinitely to play those games, since we don't own them.

Subscription services are the future, I'm sure all 3 companies are trying to position themselves into the future to really push their paid subscription services for more content.

 

[Beard]

I’ll accept that price if I can get the superior version of Rando of Blood

Heck yeah. I'll upgrade instantly if PC Engine / TurboGrafx 16 games are added!

 

[lemonfresh]

The high price tag also makes me believe more platforms are coming in the future. (Where are you, Game Boy?)

Then it would be better to wait instead of jumping on this when its so expensive and so barebones

 

[Aigis]

I love N64, but that price is terrible

 

[DecoReturns]

Then it would be better to wait instead of jumping on this when its so expensive and so barebones

Precisely the reason why I don’t think Nintendo cares about it’s current pricing reaction. They’ll release it now, get a few people paying and eventually everything they add will just make people upgrade, it’s really doesn’t matter to them to get these immediately subs rather make sure they can convince folks later on to jump in.

Someone got that one game they want to play that’ll be in the expansion pack eventually. I know I’ll subscribe for Paper Mario 64. No Shame

 

[YoboD]

Yeah it’s a no from me. For that much I would need a much more robust list of retro titles for all their platforms than what’s currently available (including third party classics, not just Sega) or way better online services. Happy to stick with base tier until this is actually worth it.

 

[Milannoir]

Yeah this just went from « a day one sure thing » to a « maybe down the road if far more games I love release on the service ». Won’t upgrade from the base tier for the time being.

 

[Vantell]

Precisely the reason why I don’t think Nintendo cares about it’s current pricing reaction. They’ll release it now, get a few people paying and eventually everything they add will just make people upgrade, it’s really doesn’t matter to them to get these immediately subs rather make sure they can convince folks later on to jump in.

Someone got that one game they want to play that’ll be in the expansion pack eventually. I know I’ll subscribe for Paper Mario 64. No Shame

Agreed. Though I might already bite and get it sooner. I never played N64 games or Sega Genesis games so this might be a good opportunity for me . Plus the DLC of AC is just a welcoming gift with it by that time.

 

[Discokuningas]

Still dont't get it. I am not a Nintendo fanboy or a anything, but what I see is reasonable and still 90% of people here is against it.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I definitely expect GB/GBC to be added. The way Nintendo works they won’t announce it until next year.

 

[Gabev]

Are they going to get rid of the Base price for those that aren't ready to upgrade or do we have to upgrade?

 

[Dark Cloud]

Are they going to get rid of the Base price for those that aren't ready to upgrade or do we have to upgrade?

You don’t have to upgrade. You can stay with the base plan.

 

[Gabev]

You don’t have to upgrade. You can stay with the base plan.

Okay cool, I think I can wait until Paper Mario and Banjo are added.