News NSO and Expansion Pack Pricing- $49.99/Individual $79.99/Family (Annually) Available in US October 25th

[Jersh]

Maybe confusing at first, but I think having three tiers would be better for what people want.

Base NSO: $20
With Expansion Pack: $30
With DLC: $50

I think this has it backwards. The DLC is there to help (obviously it's not enough based on the reactions) justify the price tag to consumers at little cost to Nintendo; it was always going to be $50 with or without it. Expansion Pack itself is the expensive item.

If some were willing to upgrade just to play N64 games, I can only imagine they feel burned by the extra features.

I can't help but feel they're intentionally leveraging the N64 to specifically sell the Genesis. Exactly why and who pushed for this between Nintendo and Sega, I can only guess. But that's how it looks.

 

[LoneRanger]

I would pay 50 without doubts if they include:

• GBA and Turbograx 16 platafforms (GB/C for normal NSO owners)
• A good variety of first/third party games of N64, Genesis, GBA and TG16. Between these four they must sum up + 200 games (even +250 if they go for different third party publishers). They have the enough games to do it.
• First Party paid DLC from future Switch games like Splatoon 3, Xeno 3, Zelda BOTW2, etc.

 

[karmitt]

I’m not really interested in the AC DLC but it would cool if other DLC packs get included.

Yeah, this is where I'm at. They could absolutely save the value by coming out and saying hey you'll get more game DLC as part of the expansion pass. But they need to say that upfront.

 

[carlosfilho]

40€ is an ok price for me, though i can see why many people, especially americans, are angry. If Sega's demands were really the major reason behind the pricing, Nintendo should've just given them the finger. Put N64 and GBA on the service, charge 30 bucks and this discussion would be totally different.

 

[Clix]

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...

They have more than a minor stake. And while true, outside of Japan they publish the games, the fully own the names I believe. So while I understand the importance in the TPC independent amongst the three companies, I feel Nintendo should add some leeway here.

 

[Matt]

I wish they had a schedule on when they would release new N64 updates or maybe I would do it.

 

[Terraforce]

If I'm paying $30 extra dollars to rent games over two decades old, at the very least there better be monthly updates.

 

[Gartooth]

Reading up on how licensing may have driven the high cost, I'd rather Nintendo had done a system other than Genesis/Mega Drive like GBA if it would've lowered the cost of the service. My interest was entirely due to the N64 games with Genesis just being a glancing interest, so the price has filtered me out of the service.

 

[Mr Game AND Watch]

It remains to be seen if this will be the case exactly, but I would expect that licensing to go across the board; like it’s not just paying to get Konami’s Genesis library but their library for all consoles on NSO. It feels like the cost is necessary for greater third party support.

 

[MinionZero]

If Nintendo were up front about "hey lots of DLC coming in the future are given for free with the Expansion Pack" or even including older game paid DLCs with it, it would probably be seen even better.

On the other hand, I'll probably prefer buying the content anyways - depending on the game. Animal Crossing I'm into getting the DLC, but maybe down the line a game's DLC will be added that I didn't buy I might be surprised to get.

 

[Serif]

I could stomach the extra 30 if they let me disable the border lmfao

 

[Mandos]

Hunh that’s curious the nes and Snes NSO pages no longer have more being added in the description(unlike the N64’s more on the way, which is different from the old periodically added)

 

[Hocot8]

Hunh that’s curious the nes and Snes NSO pages no longer have more being added in the description(unlike the N64’s more on the way, which is different from the old periodically added)

I'm pretty sure it was confirmed that more nes and snes games were coming.

 

[GJ]

I could stomach the extra 30 if they let me disable the border lmfao

I’m not even mad about the border, but please, let me turn off the avatar in the corner. It’s a burn-in hazard on my OLED tv and it serves no purpose other than showing me I’m a lonely man who’s playing games by himself.

 

[Slash]

Oof, the dislike ratio on that trailer...

 

[DecoReturns]

Oof, the dislike ratio on that trailer...

Tradition for NSO trailers honestly lol

 

[VHS]

The pricing is really wack especially how poor the online services for Nintendo games are, imo. It feels like the PS3 had better online and that was free...

 

[Mandos]

I'm pretty sure it was confirmed that more nes and snes games were coming.

By leakers, no word from Nintendo themselves

 

[Mr Game AND Watch]

By leakers, no word from Nintendo themselves

I think they are referring to this:

 

[fiendcode]

I think they are referring to this:

Hopefully they can use some of that increased Expansion Pack revenue to swing some of the big Capcom and Konami IP they didn't want to license under the old model (Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra, Street Fighter, etc). And maybe also, dare to dream, Square Enix games.

 

[Ryosuke]

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.

After paying for years of Bank that led to nothing, I promised myself to never pay for these things ever again.

I'd rather do my storage locally.

 

[OpulentEmpress]

Are we sure you’re renting the dlc? I figured they would just let you own it and the subscription comes as a $5 bonus. I don’t see why not since you gotta pay up front for the full year.

It's a part of the subscription so it looks like a rental.

Maybe they threw the DLC to mask the high price they paid for the third party games, but still ridiculous to those that don't want anything but N64 and have to buy the full AC game to even use it.

 

[Benzychenz]

I’m probably not gonna sub yet for that price.

I imagine they’ll add more systems (or at least, more N64 games), so it only makes sense to sub for a single year when it’s all available and then go back to the base sub.

 

[Abzeronow]

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.

Mega Man Wily Wars would be a very nice get.

 

[Lozjam]

I'm getting it just for the Animal Crossing DLC. If it isn't good after a year, will just cancel and buy the DLC outright

 

[Clix]

They need to sweeten the pot.

Master System
GBA/GB
TG-16
Turbo CD
And yes, Sega CD

Bring back vouchers
Member only sales
Double gold points for all shop purchases

 

[Agnezenn]

As excited as I am for the N64 games, $50 is very steep. They could definitely make it worth it down the road with GB/GBC and GC, but right now it's hard to justify unless you were going to get the Animal Crossing DLC anyway (or are gonna subsidize the cost with a family sub). I don't think they're gonna add more DLC down the the line though. It just feels like something they're doing right now because they know asking for $50 is a lot.

The good thing is people can continue with the normal sub if they wanna wait and see what Nintendo adds while still playing games online.

 

[Eärendilus]

Can I subscribe for a month just to get the controller? Lol

I don’t think the price is worth what’s been offering currently tbh. $35 would have been a soft spot for me.

 

[Clix]

Can I subscribe for a month just to get the controller? Lol

I don’t think the price is worth what’s been offering currently tbh. $35 would have been a soft spot for me.

You could. The basic plan. I think it’s monthly or quarterly? Don’t remember.

 

[Illucio]

I bet this price hike could had gone over smoother if GameCube was in alongside Smash Bros Melee with online play and a wireless GameCube controller for the Switch.

 

[Eärendilus]

You could. The basic plan. I think it’s monthly or quarterly? Don’t remember.

Ah so I don’t need to upgrade to the $50 tier? Sweet.

 

[Ryosuke]

I bet this price hike could had gone over smoother if GameCube was in alongside Smash Bros Melee with online play and a wireless GameCube controller for the Switch.

I wonder how the reaction would be for a $70 plan (single account) with GC that had Melee day one.

 

[Timefire]

I know that it isn't that popular like other 16-bit consoles, but I'd be over the moon If they added the Neo Geo to the lineup. Metal Slug and fighting games up the wazoo? Hell yeah, sign me up!

 

[olobolger]

I was on the verge on this, but for a small price bump I might have bitten.

Double price is a no from me.

 

[SiG]

I wonder what will the response be for Nintendo if nobody bites on the new price tier. Would they be likely to backtrack, or would they "fix" that particular bracket with new incentives/features (i.e. subscribing gets you one free downloadable version of a full-priced 1st party Nintendo release annually, etc.)?

 

[Johnzyboi]

Oof, the dislike ratio on that trailer...

The Nintendo Japan ain’t much better which is surprising.

 

[Mbolibombo]

Monthly game updates to the subscription service - both retro systems and free trials: This needs to be a thing

Throwing a bone to the subscriber every third month or whatever.. it doesnt feel structured and it's dripfeeding at it's worst.
Subscription services today all have a constant flow of new content, NSO does not.

 

[eZipsis]

$60 AUD for the year. Bit of a bite, but I'll upgrade. Already ordered the controllers, will probably sit on the shelf next to the NES and SNES controllers and the Mini NES, SNES, Mega Drive and PSX though.
Good to have them there whenever I feel like playing them though.

 

[xsquiddox]

Can we atleast upgrade our base sub? If so its not too bad the first year a 20 euro upgrade. In my opinion the service will become worth it once they add gamecube games or gbc & gba games, but i think gbc games will be added to base and gba and gamecube to expansion.

But knowing Nintendoes usually 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards hidden policy, they probs will add a third tier.

 

[AndroidOS]

For 10 bucks more you can sub to PS+ or XBL Gold and get three modern games each month, better online infrastructure (you don't need a stupid app to voice chat, imagine that) AND exclusive discounts on digital games.

Is the expansion pass comparable by itself to PS+ or Gold though?

Yes, Nintendo‘s online infrastructure is rubbish, but it’s not locked behind the expansion pass - you can still get the base subscription for that.

PS+ still tends to get some decent monthly games, but personally I think the quality of the Gold monthly games has gone significantly downhill since Game Pass was released, as most of the games go there instead. And, as others have pointed out, with NSO you get all of the games no matter when you subscribe - with both PS+ and Gold you only get games that were released while you were subscribed.

I guess I can understand if people are saying the current library of N64 and Mega Drive games aren’t substantial enough yet to justify the cost, but if the NES and SNES libraries are anything to go by, that should change. If that’s how people feel, then really there is no need to subscribe until the libraries have more games in them because, as noted earlier, online functionality isn’t locked behind the expansion pass. As for me personally, that’s plenty of the N64 games in the first wave that I want to play, so to me it seems like decent value.

 

[Pineapple Pizza]

I'm disappointed with two things in particular:

That they didn't call the Expansion Pack the "Expansion Pak"--that would have been a very cool nod to the cartridges of old.

The price. Like many I expected an extra tenner on my Family sub. It's just me and my partner on ours and we pay £31.49 and being asked to stump up £59.99 does make you think twice. Partner got burned out from Animal Crossing a long time ago and I got bored quickly too. If all DLC gets included in the sub I'd be happy to try BOTW's. But I wouldn't want the sub to be an incentive for Nintendo not to provide big free updates to expensive first party titles.

Most of us know the value will get better with time but what a bitter pill to swallow for early adopters.

I ordered the N64 pad without even seeing the sub price as I was at work and knew it would sell out straight away. Weird that the Mega Drive controller wasn't available, even if I am not that interested in it.

 

[BassForever]

Yesterday my Switch family was just my sister (who won't even have her Switch until later today), my brother (who got his switch last month), and me. Within 12 hours of the price hike I now have a full 8 people going in on the family plan expansion plus. So in the end I'll be paying less for more which is pretty sweet.

 

[Panda]

So, currently I am paying for a Family Plan that includes my wife and I and a few other random friends and family members that hopped on and I don’t even bother having them pay me, it’s $35 a year for ALL of us, and I mean, that’s still cheaper for my wife and I combined alone, rather than doing separate subscriptions.

However - this price does intimidate me a little. I will absolutely have to do a Family Plan that way at least my wife and I both keep the benefits and access to N64 games, but…$80? Yeeesh. I talked to a couple family members already and we are thinking about getting at least a few of us together and seriously splitting the cost yearly.

The Family Plan let’s you do up to 8 members - so, by all means, if you all feel hesitant; getting 8 people in a Family Plan at $10 each per year is a sweet, sweet deal.

Just gotta find people who are willing to go through with it.

 

[kami_sama]

One question, is it confirmed that the AC dlc is like Plus or GP? As in you lose access once NSO+ lapses?

 

[dingbat]

One question, is it confirmed that the AC dlc is like Plus or GP? As in you lose access once NSO+ lapses?

 

[kami_sama]

As expected, I was hoping it wasn't the case lol

 

[Reinhard Schneider]

I gave this a good thought lastnight, and i have made peace with it.

Thinking about it calmly, it's not really a bad deal, the issue is the lack of a tiered offer (with or without DLCs) that would sweeten the deal.

I have the advantage that both my sis and i play Animal Crossing, so we will get the Happy Home Designer DLC by paying only 8 € a year. I have a full group and everyone has agreed to pay the expansion pack.

If Nintendo adds more DLCs through the expansion pack it will raise its value significantly, putting in for example the BotW DLC, or XB2's Torna or the Age of Calamity DLC... The potential is endless, and they are not so dumb to not realize it.

Now, regarding the business model talk... I'm more comfortable with this Netflix style model. I mean, sure, as much as i liked paying for my Virtual Console games, the whole SNES NSO library (58 games) amounts to 464 € not taking in account the heightened price of imported games (puyo puyo, panel de pon, picross, psycho dream) and unreleased games (Magical Drop translation, Starfox 2), NES games (58 games) amount to 290 € not taking in account, again, import and unreleased games.

Mega Drive/Genesis games on launch will amount to 112 € and N64 games to 90, all of this in Virtual Console prices and, once again, ignoring imports.

That's a whooping total of 956 € worth of retro games at my thumbs' reach, and i honestly prefer that to the old Virtual Console style. No, i don't like the price hike, no, i'm not justifying it, but this is the conclusion i have reached.

 

[Heruderu]

I’m really curious what the attach rate (is this the right term?) is gonna be. I’m guessing from the negative reactions that most people who upgrade are going to be Animal Crossing fans who were already interested in N64/Mega Drive games, and people in family plans dividing the costs.

Maybe Nintendo will feel the need to include another DLC (I would bet Splatoon 3’s DLC is going to be included someday) down the line, as well as GB and GBC games to sway more subscribers.

 

[Reinhard Schneider]

Maybe Nintendo will feel the need to include another DLC (I would bet Splatoon 3’s DLC is going to be included someday) down the line, as well as GB and GBC games to sway more subscribers.

I can see them adding new DLC releases down the line, yeah. In fact, i have finally decided to pay it with this in mind.

They have a relatively big library of beefy DLCs wich would give the expansion pack an insane value.

 

[Jersh]

I wonder how the reaction would be for a $70 plan (single account) with GC that had Melee day one.

Not much different; $70 is a lot.

Monthly game updates to the subscription service - both retro systems and free trials: This needs to be a thing

Throwing a bone to the subscriber every third month or whatever.. it doesnt feel structured and it's dripfeeding at it's worst.
Subscription services today all have a constant flow of new content, NSO does not.

Modern subscription services also tend to have a constant flow of content going away. NSO is in a unique position of seemingly trying to indefinitely maintain content the service provider doesn't actually own, to both new and existing subscribers. As of today, not a single third party title (or first party, but that's less significant to my point) has ever been removed from the service. Constantly adding new content is made more difficult if existing content has a cost to it you can't remove.

That's not to say NSO is comparatively a good value because of that fact; it's just something to consider. Perhaps things can be different now that the price is so high to start; IIRC, the first year of NES updates actually was monthly.