Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service offering gamers online play and other benefits. Essentially Nintendo’s take on Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, Nintendo Switch Online also features a bevy of classic games and benefits across its numerous plans. Since 2021, Nintendo has added to the subscription’s offerings with the addition of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, a higher-tier offer that adds even greater benefits.
Upon its announcement, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack was criticized for hiking the price of the service without offering enough content to justify the increase. The base Nintendo Switch Online subscription was $20 per year while the Expansion Pack upgraded the price to $50 annually, which despite its affordability compared to other online services still represents a massive jump. In the time since its announcement, though, Nintendo has made the service much more palatable, and the improvements it has seen seem to be just the beginning.
Nintendo Switch Online's Massive Switch 2 Upgrade Comes With One Big Downside
The Nintendo Switch 2 is getting an ostensibly major expansion to Nintendo Switch Online, but this could spell trouble for classic Nintendo fans.
Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Has Improved Since Its Rough Start
Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Keeps Adding New Systems
Perhaps the most notable part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is the classic games offered through the service, which are a major addition to what is offered in the base subscription tier. Certainly, it is unfortunate that classic games such as these are locked behind a subscription model and have served as a replacement to the Virtual Console service offered by Nintendo on the Wii and Wii U. Notwithstanding, Nintendo has done a solid job of upping the classic console offerings for gamers that subscribe to the service.
Upon its initial announcement, Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games were announced to be part of the Expansion Pack, adding to the NES and SNES games offered in the base subscription tier. Since then, Nintendo has added Game Boy Advance games to the Expansion Pack (and classic Game Boy/Game Boy Color games to the original tier), while also continuing to release titles for the other systems on a fairly consistent basis. The Switch 2 will also benefit big time from Nintendo Switch Online, as the long-awaited addition of Nintendo GameCube titles to the Expansion Pack will be a fantastic benefit for owners of Nintendo’s new system.
Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Offers Expansions For Free
Being that Nintendo Switch Online is Nintendo’s way of offering users online play, the publisher has already done a decent job of offering players games through the base tier of the subscription. Titles like Tetris 99, Super Mario Bros. 35, Pac-Man 99, and F-Zero 99 offered multiplayer takes on classic games. With the Expansion Pack, however, Nintendo did work to offer benefits for some of its modern releases.
Players who subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online also have access to several pieces of downloadable content from Nintendo’s first-party Switch games. This includes the Animal Crossing: New Horizon - Happy Home Paradise expansion, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, and the Splatoon 2: Octo-Expansion DLC. All of these releases are jam-packed with content for fans of these select games, and offering them as free content for the Expansion Pack is a great incentive for both those who already own the games, and newcomers looking for the biggest versions possible of Nintendo’s first-party titles.
The Switch 2 will also benefit big time from Nintendo Switch Online, as the long-awaited addition of Nintendo GameCube titles to the Expansion Pack will be a fantastic benefit for owners of Nintendo’s new system.
Nintendo Switch 2 Editions Will Hit The Expansion Pack
The Nintendo Switch 2 will also see a pretty significant addition to the Expansion Pack, as Nintendo will offer certain Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Packs on the service at no additional charge. Currently, the two confirmed Nintendo Switch 2 Editions coming to the service are The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Considering much of the controversy surrounding the prices of Nintendo Switch 2 games - which has bled into Nintendo Switch 2 Editions as well - offering these upgrade packs at no additional charge to two of the Switch’s most acclaimed games helps mitigate some of the sting a bit.
Of course, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack can still be improved, notably in its game emulation. Upon release, Nintendo 64 titles on Nintendo Switch Online had several performance issues, which Nintendo will need to iron out before it brings GameCube games back on the Nintendo Switch 2. Even so, Nintendo has done a nice job adding to the Expansion Pack, making it a much more palatable buy for longtime Nintendo fans and newcomers alike.
