Nintendo Online Discussion

CiDeRmAn · 08-05-2018 11:38am

Corholio wrote: »

Virtual Console, or the form it was in on past Nintendo systems, won't be coming. It will be a different way of doing it, as yet pretty much unknown.

Yes... and no....

They will be bringing their legacy of games to the Switch but the branding "Virtual Console" will cease to be used.

Will it be individual purchases, I don't know.

Will it be subscription? At least in part some will be.

Will purchases follow the user from device to device? As long as we are talking about the Switch it seems likely that they will, though I wouldn't be surprised if there are limits to how many consoles one account can be active on.

I think the Sony model is the best one to follow, but they didn't get it right first time, with the PS3 service being a lousy second to the 360.
That seems to have flipped with the current gen, I much prefer the experience and content on the PS4 than the XB1 effort.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 11:41am

Virtual Console Is Not Coming To Switch, Nintendo Says

https://kotaku.com/virtual-console-is-not-coming-to-switch-nintendo-says-1825848253

Corholio · 08-05-2018 11:48am

Good ol Kotaku (and Schreier) with their misleading headline.

The quote from Nintendo:

“There are currently no plans to bring classic games together under the Virtual Console banner as has been done on other Nintendo systems,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Kotaku in an e-mail late last night.

With stuff like Hamster and the SEGA Ages collection announced recently, it's been going the way that publishers will be releasing a lot of their own games themselves. Hopefully Nintendo can offer a decent selection access to their own catalogue as Nintendo Online develops.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 11:52am

I said all along that they'd do the Virtual Console differently this time. Can't have all those Wii U/3DS owners transferring their VC games over, all that lost potential revenue. Nintendo needed a new way to milk people for the umpteenth time on these old games.

Mr E · 08-05-2018 11:57am

:rolleyes:

They were never going to allow transfer anyway.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 12:00pm

Nintendo have also hinted that not all game saves can use the cloud service or that all online games will come under Nintendo's Online subscription. Maybe it'll be for Nintendo only games, that would be a bit stingy but then it is Nintendo. Anyway, a lot of online games are p2p which doesn't cost Nintendo or other companies anything.

CiDeRmAn · 08-05-2018 12:01pm

Damn it I want to be offended by Nintendo!!!

Let me be offended by them charlatans!!!!

I'm not happy until I'm offended by Nintendo!!!

CiDeRmAn · 08-05-2018 12:01pm

That's bold type for emphasis, not as a mod...

Banjo · 08-05-2018 12:15pm

Well, they allowed you to "upgrade" your license at a reduced cost moving Wii to WiiU, albeit with no recognition for the existence of 3DS owners who also had a Wii/WiiU; this would seem to preclude that for this Gen, and contributes to the ongoing precedent they're setting : When we cater for our existing player base, as we did with the WiiU, we fail. When we pretend they don't exist, we succeed.
(not looking to reignite the "they owe us something" argument, we're all firmly and comfortably entrenched where we are)

So the question is, are they doing a Netflix service where buying for example buying your first sub in 2020 gives you access to all titles currently on the service until your sub expires, or something more like the PS+ model (as I understand it) where if you're a member in Month X, you get the games that are made available in Month X in perpetuity. The former does not reward early adopters and represents a poor investment till the service finds it's feet. Also, it gives them the freedom to take games down as well as put them up as they curate the "experience", which I wouldn't put past them - "this month the only game available is Urban Champion because we feel you need reminding that it was awesome".

Looking forward though, if they go with the Netflix model hopefully they'll have a platform-agnostic means of playing those games that will work well on whatever follows the Switch and beyond, which would give us something closer to the utopian ideals of never needing to buy SMW and OoT again!

sligeach · 08-05-2018 12:24pm

Q. If I purchase an Individual Membership, can other users playing on the same Nintendo Switch also use the Nintendo Switch Online service?

A. No, this is not possible. If you make use of the Individual Membership, only the Nintendo Account with an active Nintendo Switch Online membership can use Nintendo Switch Online services on that device.

If family members playing on the same Nintendo Switch also want to use the service, a Family Group could be set up in the Nintendo Account settings, and the Family Membership for Nintendo Switch Online could be purchased to enjoy the service (up to eight Nintendo Accounts).

Please note: some titles, such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, allow an additional player to join an online session as a guest. This functionality will still be available if the first player has an active Nintendo Switch Online membership.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Nintendo-Switch/Nintendo-Switch-Online/FAQ-1374625.html

sligeach · 08-05-2018 12:32pm

So let's get this straight. People have been setting up different accounts on their Switch to buy digital games from different regions of the world because they're cheaper? So doesn't that mean, even though they may be just a single person, that if these games have online, that they'll have to buy family membership? That's f***ed up if that's the case.

Mr E · 08-05-2018 12:36pm

I don't think so at all. Only if you play games on the other profiles (which I don't)

My main switch account is the only one I use (even though I have others for discounts).
I do have accounts for my niece and nephew, though (for whenever they're visiting) so I have to decide if I want to get a family membership to cover them...

Bob24 · 08-05-2018 12:42pm

sligeach wrote: »

So let's get this straight. People have been setting up different accounts on their Switch to buy digital games from different regions of the world because they're cheaper? So doesn't that mean, even though they may be just a single person, that if these games have online, that they'll have to buy family membership? That's f***ed up if that's the case.

Not necessarily as presumably if the account you used to purchase a game doesn’t have access to the online service, as long as the game is installed on the Switch you can play it with another account which has online service access.

*but* on previous threads about having multiple accounts in different regions I have a few times said I don’t think it’s a good idea as it could cause issues in the future. This might be coming now and to be honest Nintendo can’t be blame for it - it was always clear that doing it was risky.

CiDeRmAn · 08-05-2018 12:48pm

sligeach wrote: »

So let's get this straight. People have been setting up different accounts on their Switch to buy digital games from different regions of the world because they're cheaper? So doesn't that mean, even though they may be just a single person, that if these games have online, that they'll have to buy family membership? That's f***ed up if that's the case.

Are suggesting that those people who create alt accounts in order to subvert the local prices as set by Nintendo, as well as the sellers of the games, are being hard done by because the method they use, to create alt accounts on their Switch, is going to mean that they will be billed for these alt accounts?
So you know how ridiculous your statement sounds?

I have alternative identities on my Switch, to avail of cheaper games in other territories.
These alternative accounts rely on alternative email accounts for registration and are treated as different users.
If you want to use the new online system you will have to have either one payment system for one user, or the family account for more than one user or account identity on your Switch.
And Nintendo are somehow being mean?

For goodness sake.

Just write a letter to Nintendo, tell them you set up alternative accounts with location details different, they'll happily delete them, possibly ban them and you can continue on with your primary account, that is if they don't ban you as well.
Or, you can just admit that the cunning plan to have alt accounts/users on your system was going to incur a cost somewhere along the way and pay the incredible €15 a year to keep dipping in and out of Mexico, Russia and South Africa to bag a couple of bargains a month.

Or, better still, keep your powder dry until you actually own a Switch and then express your opinion about how offended you are, despite that position being untenable, for the reasons detailed above.

chrislad · 08-05-2018 12:55pm

Here's hoping the family plan allows my son to play my digital games.

earthwormjack · 08-05-2018 12:58pm

Not disastrous but nothing to get overly excited about just yet either. I think they value their Nes games a bit too highly. A mixture of SNES/NES would have been nice from the start. Obviously SNES games will be added in the future.

The phone app for chat is still nonsense though. As a companion app it would be cool, tracking stats, map info, leader boards etc. But for voice chat they're just trying to solve a problem that was figured out 15 years ago.

Price is good and I'm looking forward to seeing what the members special offers are.

Inviere · 08-05-2018 1:29pm

earthwormjack wrote: »

Not disastrous but nothing to get overly excited about just yet either.

Pretty much exactly how I feel.

I think they value their Nes games a bit too highly.

Pretty much exactly how I feel.

The phone app for chat is still nonsense though. As a companion app it would be cool, tracking stats, map info, leader boards etc. But for voice chat they're just trying to solve a problem that was figured out 15 years ago.

Are you me??

All in all, for €20, it's not too bad really. My only gripe is you're forced to pay it if you want to back up your saves, and that's an issue.

keane2097 · 08-05-2018 2:25pm

A very watery offering despite the hostility to people not thinking much of this announcement here in the thread.

OK, it's €20 quid a year so I'll probably pay for it but my heart is not exactly racing. Fairly mind-boggling that this is all they are managing to trot out after a year or more.

Phone app for chat is lolbad, 20 NES games in a Netflix type arrangement also lolbad.

TitianGerm · 08-05-2018 2:47pm

keane2097 wrote: »

A very watery offering despite the hostility to people not thinking much of this announcement here in the thread.

OK, it's €20 quid a year so I'll probably pay for it but my heart is not exactly racing. Fairly mind-boggling that this is all they are managing to trot out after a year or more.

Phone app for chat is lolbad, 20 NES games in a Netflix type arrangement also lolbad.

I'm sorry but the opinion of anyone who says lolbad should be discarded immediately :pac:

CiDeRmAn · 08-05-2018 2:59pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

I'm sorry but the opinion of anyone who says lolbad should be discarded immediately :pac:

keane2097 · 08-05-2018 3:05pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

I'm sorry but the opinion of anyone who says lolbad should be discarded immediately :pac:

Pick your term as you please, they are poor offerings.

TitianGerm · 08-05-2018 3:13pm

keane2097 wrote: »

Pick your term as you please, they are poor offerings.

They are not poor offerings to me and €20 is feck all. This is my first Nintendo console so the ability to play some older games is very nice.

ThunbergsAreGo · 08-05-2018 3:18pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

They are not poor offerings to me and €20 is feck all. This is my first Nintendo console so the ability to play some older games is very nice.

€20 euro is feck all

But I will wait until I see what (if any) discounts you get with it before going for it - I don't really play online at all

I guess people are disappointed after over a year of no service (and months still to go) there is nothing innovative about the offering at all

TitianGerm · 08-05-2018 3:22pm

naughtb4 wrote: »

€20 euro is feck all

But I will wait until I see what (if any) discounts you get with it before going for it - I don't really play online at all

I guess people are disappointed after over a year of no service (and months still to go) there is nothing innovative about the offering at all

I pay around €35 for Xbox Live, €50ish for PS+ and I'll pay €20 for Nintendo Online. That's three services that I'll use on a weekly basis for just over €100 a year.

Yes Nintendos offering is below that of the other two but it's also by far the cheapest.

The way I look at them is I need the membership to play online and the discounts/free games I get are an added bonus.

keane2097 · 08-05-2018 3:26pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

They are not poor offerings to me and €20 is feck all. This is my first Nintendo console so the ability to play some older games is very nice.

In the context of it being a year later and many (most?) of us having been playing NES games for nearly 30 years I think it's fair enough to call this 'underwhelming'.

I mean, is there any possible spin for this where we could argue it's overwhelming? I think that's a hard sell and it's fairly telling.

TitianGerm · 08-05-2018 3:30pm

keane2097 wrote: »

In the context of it being a year later and many (most?) of us having been playing NES games for nearly 30 years I think it's fair enough to call this 'underwhelming'.

I mean, is there any possible spin for this where we could argue it's overwhelming? I think that's a hard sell and it's fairly telling.

Why does it need to be overwhelming? It's adaquate as is and I'm sure it will develop over time.

Live and PS4 were fairly skimpy when they launched as well.

I don't think anything is a hard sell for €20. Most of us in here would blow that going to the cinema for one movie, getting a Chinese takeaway or going for a drink over the weekend.

Inviere · 08-05-2018 3:30pm

keane2097 wrote: »

I mean, is there any possible spin for this where we could argue it's overwhelming?

The price. Ok it's not overwhelming, but in contrast to XBL & PS+, it's quite attractively priced. The chat app was a bad way to go though.

ERG89 · 08-05-2018 3:58pm

TitianGerm wrote:

Why does it need to be overwhelming? It's adaquate as is and I'm sure it will develop over time.

(deep breath)
Paying for a service which isn't as smooth or reliable as PSN or Live, chatting through a total mess of an app(instead of a headset like every other system the last 12 years) is not good enough in 2018 & saying there is sales isn't going to set tongues wagging as normally compared to every platform the sales are crap & question marks about what game saves you can back up online.
It's needlessly confusing as Nintendo always have been when dealing with online services whereas it took forever for Sony to grasp it they are still fumbling it.

madmoe · 08-05-2018 4:01pm

ERG89 wrote: »

(deep breath)
Paying for a service which isn't as smooth or reliable as PSN or Live, chatting through a total mess of an app(instead of a headset like every other system the last 12 years) is not good enough in 2018 & saying there is sales isn't going to set tongues wagging as normally compared to every platform the sales are crap & question marks about what game saves you can back up online.
It's needlessly confusing as Nintendo always have been when dealing with online services whereas it took forever for Sony to grasp it they are still fumbling it.

I agree 100%, especially about the chat part! I adore Splatoon 2 and will pay the €20 just to play that online but I am majorly bummed with the way they have set up the chat in that game :-( Is one to assume it's going to be the same for future game releases that will have chat??

sligeach · 08-05-2018 4:39pm

Paying to gain access to discounts isn't great. They're currently free but will put them behind a paywall come September.

The voice chat is a joke, probably used partly because the battery is already short enough on Switch without an extra drain and Nintendo distancing themselves a little from potential controversy and well kids.

They're also making people pay for backup save files. They could easily let people use micro SD cards... but... no. I've cloud storage on my phone and guess what, it's free.

30 year old NES games aren't very enticing. Which you will never own, when your subscription is cancelled or when the servers are closed, they'll be gone, unlike previous consoles and handhelds.

Sure it can get better with time but it certainly doesn't sound brilliant so far. I'm fairly sure the price will go up in time as well. This is Nintendo just getting their foot in the door. As I said earlier, a lot of these online games don't cost Nintendo and others any money as they're p2p.

maximoose · 08-05-2018 4:41pm

sligeach wrote: »

Paying to gain access to discounts isn't great. They're currently free but will put them behind a paywall come September.

Is that completely confirmed?

I assumed it would be like PSN/XBL, if you have a subscription you get an extra discount on the sale price.

TitianGerm · 08-05-2018 4:41pm

sligeach wrote: »

Paying to gain access to discounts isn't great. They're currently free but will put them behind a paywall come September.

The voice chat is a joke, probably used partly because the battery is already short enough on Switch without an extra drain and Nintendo distancing themselves a little from potential controversy and well kids.

They're also making people pay for backup save files. They could easily let people use micro SD cards... but... no.

30 year old NES games aren't very enticing. Which you will never own, when your subscription is cancelled or when the servers are closed, they'll be gone, unlike previous consoles and handhelds.

Sure it can get better with time but it certainly doesn't sound brilliant so far. I'm fairly sure the price will go up in time as well. This is Nintendo just getting their foot in the door. As I said earlier, a lot of these online games don't cost Nintendo and others any money as they're p2p.

You are not paying to get discounts, the discounts are an added bonus. On Xbox or PlayStation a game may be on sale for 40% off, if you have a Live or Plus subscription you'll get another 10% or so off.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 4:44pm

maximoose wrote: »

Is that completely confirmed?

I assumed it would be like PSN/XBL, if you have a subscription you get an extra discount on the sale price.

They might do that, I hope that's what they do. Nintendo themselves are the stingiest when it comes to sales.

Inviere · 08-05-2018 4:46pm

sligeach wrote: »

They're also making people pay for backup save files.

That's really the biggest issue with all of this. If you don't pay & subscribe, you risk losing all of your saves if your Switch develops a problem, as there's no other way to back saves up. I don't think it's fair to only have those two choices, not with a €300 console. There definitely should be a way to back your saves up via sd/usb.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 5:17pm

Nintendo's game size files are typically very small, maybe a few hundred MB's, in some cases even KB's. But there are quite a few 3rd party guzzlers out there, with 5GB save files. Are Nintendo going to store their data?

Mr E · 08-05-2018 5:18pm

sligeach wrote: »

They might do that, I hope that's what they do. Nintendo themselves are the stingiest when it comes to sales.

For first party stuff, sure. I've gotten some great discounts on third party games though (which forms the VAST majority of the Switch's library).

Ol' Donie · 08-05-2018 5:31pm

TitianGerm wrote: »

I'm sorry but the opinion of anyone who says lolbad should be discarded immediately :pac:

They should all be destroyed, as yer man from Jurassic Park would say.

sligeach · 08-05-2018 5:40pm

Is Lolbad any relation to Sinbad?

keane2097 · 08-05-2018 7:11pm

Classic

Riesen_Meal · 08-05-2018 7:23pm

Very disappointing, I thought we would at least get some kind of VC, 20 quid is cheap enough but I don't really play the Switch online so not sure if it's worth my while...

Cloud saves are great but I'd prefer backup to my USB HDD if I'm honest...

Using an app on a phone/tablet for voice chat in 2018 is insane IMO

super_furry · 08-05-2018 7:36pm

I mean €20 for a year isn't exactly going to break the bank but I wish they were sweetening the deal with bit more than a few scabby NES ROMS.

hiphophead2003 · 08-05-2018 8:30pm

Nintendo just went full Nintendo, bloody bastards. Called cloud saves being with the online service months ago. Roll on the homebrew, hacker dudes.

08-05-2018 10:39pm

So having read (and re-read) a lot of the information for Nintendo Switch Online, I can't help but feel that Nintendo are missing the mark somehow. I've alternated between "they've no idea what they're doing" and "they know exactly what they're doing". It's as if they looked at what MicroSoft and Sony are doing, and tried to pull out the bits that would make them the most money.

Case in point here is paying for game save backups... that's just ludicrous. I can't think of any other system in this generation or last generation that mandated paying to backup saves; there was always a free alternative. They really need to allow local/offline backups, charging for something so basic is just greedy. I realise that it's "just" €20, but save backups isn't something I should have to pay for at all. I hate to say it, but it almost feels like extortion. It almost feels like they're holding my save data to ransom.

The next thing is the NES games as part of the subscription. I think this is Nintendo's attempt at Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation PSNow, so their attempt at "games as a service". And I can't help but feel they missed the mark here also. It's neither the Virtual Console we're clamouring for, nor a subscription service to access more modern/recent games. It just feels like they're trying to shoehorn some value in there after charging me to backup my saves; it's the easiest (read: cheapest) path for them to take so they can say "look, we give you free games".

Even their approach to online gaming is confusing. Check this out from their own FAQ:

Which games require Nintendo Switch Online to access online play?

Nintendo Switch games such Splatoon™ 2, ARMS™, Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis™ Aces, and Sushi Striker™: The Way of Sushido, will require a Nintendo Switch Online membership, but other games will vary.

So does that mean I need Nintendo Switch Online to play (for example) FIFA online? Either I need to pay for online gaming, or I don't. But don't confuse the situation with vagueness like this.

I could go on (I haven't even touched the ridiculous chat setup), but I'm tired. Overall, I am glad there is some kind of an online service; however in typical Nintendo fashion, they've bungled it a little. I think the service will mature, but right now Nintendo are providing the service they want to provide, instead of the service that consumers were looking for. I really think they've stumbled with their first step into Switch Online.

Mr Bloat · 08-05-2018 11:04pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Case in point here is paying for game save backups... that's just ludicrous. I can't think of any other system in this generation or last generation that mandated paying to backup saves; there was always a free alternative. They really need to allow local/offline backups, charging for something so basic is just greedy. I realise that it's "just" €20, but save backups isn't something I should have to pay for at all. I hate to say it, but it almost feels like extortion. It almost feels like they're holding my save data to ransom.

Paying for save backups is ludicrous, you're right but what makes it worse is that they know the Switch is used by many families or at least, shared amongst some brothers and sisters if the parents aren't using it. Nintendo are forcing these families into paying €35 for the family pass to back up some saves. Presumably, the €20 online pass will only back up the saves of the paying user?
I have four profiles on my Switch, me and the three kids. Each one of us values our saves but none of us play Switch games online. I have many (unused) emulators set up on different devices capable of playing the offered NES games. I don't want or need more NES games, I don't want or need to play online (well, until Dark Souls comes out and that may not even need the online pass) but I do want and need to have my saves backed up, as do my kids. Presumably also, this will force me to create online capable accounts for my three kids, so that they can avail of the cloud saves? This is another thing I don't need nor want to do at the moment.

This is poor form from Nintendo. I love my Switch but this is leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

Corholio · 08-05-2018 11:19pm

There are quite a few things they should be doing better with definitely. The silly, confusing app, the access to cloud saves etc. The one thing I would say about the 'vagueness' thing is it is months away from launching yet and with E3 and the likely information drop that always brings, certain things should/will be known closer to that time. It could be bad, there could be good things as yet unknown who knows, but September is a fair bit off yet.

CiDeRmAn · 09-05-2018 10:12am

Definitely some mixed signals here.

A cheap online service is announced.
Cloud saves, specifically those, also announced which is what everyone wanted, and now it seems they would now prefer to put them to USB instead, or forget that you pay for the same cloud save service on other consoles.

And people are taking issue with the online component of certain games requiring a subscription, again forgetting that the same circumstance exists on other consoles where a plus or gold sub is needed for certain titles.
What, and there's more?
Why yes, because Nintendo haven't provided an exhaustive list of what will or will not require a sub for online play they are also a$$holes?

And, yes, they've announce 20 NES games for the new service too, but this is only the start, with the true extent of the games on offer yet to be declared, but somehow this is interpreted yet again as more a$$holery?

I'm unsure what your expectations were, did you really want to be blown away so much that anything less than the sublime is not enough?

Nintendo have pretty much ticked every box and the service is at least worth watching, to see if it offers value for money.
With the slim announcement as made, it's surely far too early to jump to the conclusion that this is a travesty.

madmoe · 09-05-2018 10:15am

hiphophead2003 wrote: »

Nintendo just went full Nintendo, bloody bastards. Called cloud saves being with the online service months ago. Roll on the homebrew, hacker dudes.

Inviere · 09-05-2018 10:44am

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Definitely some mixed signals here.

A cheap online service is announced.
Cloud saves, specifically those, also announced which is what everyone wanted, and now it seems they would now prefer to put them to USB instead, or forget that you pay for the same cloud save service on other consoles.

To those objecting, it appears that to backup your saves (an important function it has to be said), it's now a premium feature. If you don't pay, in the absence of what should be a very simple sd card backup model, you risk losing everything. No matter what side of the debate your on, that's a pretty poor model. I don't think anyone is expecting to have cloud saves for free, that's an overhead we'd all be willing to concede it's fair to charge for. Whats poor, is its pay for the cloud or feck off.

And, yes, they've announce 20 NES games for the new service too, but this is only the start, with the true extent of the games on offer yet to be declared, but somehow this is interpreted yet again as more a$$holery?

As I understand it, they're offering multiplayer functionality with these NES roms. In that light, I can understand why it's a fairly minimal offering - it takes time to build and implement features like that. More will come, it's all good.

I'm unsure what your expectations were, did you really want to be blown away so much that anything less than the sublime is not enough?

Blown away? No. Impressed? Yes. Here's what I think should have happened:

VC announced. Everyone can access it, however those who subscribe get the multiplayer features that have been announced on the relevant games.
Firmware update to add offline backing up of userdata/saves to usb/sd.
A non joke of a chat system being implemented.

The above would be nice sway for €20.

Mr Bloat · 09-05-2018 10:46am

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Definitely some mixed signals here.

A cheap online service is announced.
Cloud saves, specifically those, also announced which is what everyone wanted, and now it seems they would now prefer to put them to USB instead, or forget that you pay for the same cloud save service on other consoles.

And people are taking issue with the online component of certain games requiring a subscription, again forgetting that the same circumstance exists on other consoles where a plus or gold sub is needed for certain titles.
What, and there's more?
Why yes, because Nintendo haven't provided an exhaustive list of what will or will not require a sub for online play they are also a$$holes?

And, yes, they've announce 20 NES games for the new service too, but this is only the start, with the true extent of the games on offer yet to be declared, but somehow this is interpreted yet again as more a$$holery?

I'm unsure what your expectations were, did you really want to be blown away so much that anything less than the sublime is not enough?

Nintendo have pretty much ticked every box and the service is at least worth watching, to see if it offers value for money.
With the slim announcement as made, it's surely far too early to jump to the conclusion that this is a travesty.

Isn't it also too early to jump to the conclusion that Nintendo will improve this service and give more value for money?

Nobody is saying that this is a wholly terrible offer. If you are the type of person that will take advantage of this by being the only user of the console, enjoying the NES games on offer, playing online with others and putting your saves in the cloud then €20 is a good price, especially when compared to the annual cost of PS+ or XBL. However, neither Sony nor Microsoft have an element to their subscription system that almost makes it compulsory to purchase it. If you don't want to play online on either of those consoles and if their monthly games don't interest you, you can happily ignore the service while still using an alternative method to back up your game saves. Nintendo don't offer this.

As I said above in another post, I'm not interested in NES games or online play on the Switch. I am interested in backing up my save games as I do on my other consoles. Backing up saves is even more important on a portable console than a stationary one but Nintendo are making it harder to do it!

If Nintendo had come out yesterday and said that they are sticking to their guns and not allowing USB backups but would allow backups to Dropbox (for example) for those who weren't interested in their subscription service, then that would probably have placated a lot of people but they didn't. Instead, they are saying that if I don't pay them €35 and I lose, break or have my console stolen (all easy things to happen to a portable console), then TS. Why is that right?

blockfighter · 09-05-2018 11:40am

I think it's great they're getting rid of virtual console. The Switch has turned into a great console for indie titles which probably wouldn't have gotten a look in if Nintendo was dropping old snes titles every week or two. People would buy those instead and these smaller companies would die off.
We've literally seen cases where the great sales of companies games on Switch has saved that company from collapse.

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