Nintendo Online will be a required service for Nintendo Switch owners that wish to play games such as Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or ARMs online with their friends. However, the service has two major flaws Nintendo needs to reconsider before fans get disgruntled.
When it comes to online services, gamers have quite a few to use and a wide array that each of them offers. PlayStation Network and Xbox Live both offer a select few free games a month across their platforms, each even offering savings through their each of their shops such as “Deals with Gold” and “PlayStation Plus Discounts”.
Each of them even offers Cloud Storage with your membership, each of them also ensures that your data, your games, and the likes will remain as they are even if your subscription lapses. The only downside is that you can’t access your cloud storage or Games with Gold or PlayStation Plus Free Games.
For those wondering, the reason we aren’t mentioning Steam here is the fact it isn’t subscription based, but it does offer cloud storage free of charge and it does give you access to your games when you want, wherever you want as long as you log in to your account. Let’s just face it, companies such as Sony and Microsoft would actually benefit from taking the same approach as steam in the long run.
But what are the problems with Nintendo Online that users may be disgruntled with rather quickly? Let’s take a look.
Nintendo Online’s free game offers are DRM locked
When it comes to DRM, there are a few issues that gamers will face with their games. First off, you will need to check in once a week. If you’re constantly on the go, you may want to consider using a local WiFi or even logging in through your hotspot so that you can keep those very games.
Sadly, Nintendo hasn’t taken a note from Microsoft’s book and faced the facts that DRM is problematic. Within months of even announcing their (Microsoft’s) console would feature full-on DRM lock-down for games, fans of Microsoft’s hardware were outraged and a vocal bunch about one such problem
While the DRM isn’t as problematic with the Nintendo Switch, it does offer a look into if Nintendo will have face the facts if fans get upset and will need to do what they can to ensure this doesn’t become a problem. But this isn’t the only problem they have under their belt.
If you can’t afford Nintendo Online’s membership, you can’t play online – period.
While $20 USD isn’t much, some may or may not be able to pay the money for one such feature. For families with children and up to eight users. Nintendo has disclosed that the fact that you will be able to choose up to eight people you wish to have in your family group as part of your family membership.
While there will be a 7-Day trial, you can give the Nintendo Online service a whirl before breaking down and purchasing it if you so decide. However, unless you’re a fan of games like Splatoon 2 (you can read our review today), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, DOOM or the likes of Pokkén Tournament DX, you may not need to concern yourself with the Nintendo Online membership, however, if you do intend on getting your hands on one of these games, you’ll need to consider a membership later down the road.
But, there is good news when it comes to this matter – you won’t need a Nintendo Online Subscription in order to play Fortnite as announced by Nintendo in their official faq.
Your Cloud Saves will get deleted if you let your membership lapse
One downside here, unlike Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus, if you let your membership lapse, you will lose your cloud data, which is a downer if your switch breaks or is out for repair. Unfortunately, this is another poor design decision that Nintendo will need to address further down the road.
While this may not seem like a major drawback to some, Nintendo does have quite a bit to consider and if they do change things up, it could be for the better, especially if a subscriber decides to change to a new Nintendo Switch.
Oh and one last thing you should do
While Nintendo Online launches tomorrow, don’t forget to double check your account, make sure the email you want to use is linked to your account. This is your last chance to do it in order to make any changes you need to before the new system goes up Tuesday morning.
About the Writer(s):
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.