Nintendo’s new Switch Online service launched on September 18, 2018. This is a paid service that includes online play, a selection of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games, and an online backup system.

Previously online play was free on the switch, and on other Nintendo consoles. Games will only have online play if the user has a membership. There are two types of memberships: individual and family. Individual Pricing starts at $3.99 a month, $7.99 for three months, and $19.99 for 12 months. Family memberships are $34.99 for 12 months, for up to eight accounts.

This is comparable to Sony’s PlayStation Plus and Microsoft’s Xbox Live service where you pay a monthly fee or pay an upfront cost for 3 or 12 months. According to Statista, a Market research company, in March Sony had 34.2 million Plus players, at the same time Microsoft had 59 million monthly Live users. This most likely pushed Nintendo to release Switch Online after having a decline of sale. As of March, Nintendo had sold 17.8 million Switch consoles compared to Sony’s 70 million Ps4 consoles sold.

Switch Online’s Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) virtual console is a unique feature that allows the user to play NES games on the Switch. The 20 games that come with the release of Switch Online include classics like The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Bros 3, however, it has already been hacked to be able to play any NES Rom as well as the 20 games that come with.

The online backup system will save your progress in games onto Nintendo servers, so users don’t have to worry about corrupted save files on their internal storage. Making it easier to transfer progress from console to console.

Having Switch Online membership will allow you to play great games and will provide what Nintendo has always provided, enjoyable games and great multiplayer.