Online Subscription and VR Details for Nintendo Switch Revealed

Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima recently did an in-depth interview with Japanese business newspaper the Nikkei, and to no one’s surprise the topic of conversation centered on the ol’ Switch. They spoke a lot, on many topics, but there were two big ones that warrant discussion, particularly as those are the only two topics that Nikkei have published in English so far: namely, the future of VR on the console, and more details on the online services the console is offering.

So here’s what we’ve got: while going online with the Switch will be free for the first couple of months, until fall, afterwards you’ll have to pay to play online: however, it’s not a monthly fee, like Microsoft and Sony use: rather, it’s an annual fee between 2,000 and 3,000 yen, which translates to about $17.60 to $26.40. So, it’s actually fairly cheap.

In addition to the right to play “most” online games (yes, they say “most”), you’ll also get that one free NES or SNES game per month, although it’s worth remembering you’ll lose access to them at the end of the month. You’ll also get “special offers” and sales, which is something PSN and Xbox Gold users are familiar with. And, of course, most online communication will be handled by that awful mobile phone app, which will be free to download but ‘limited’ without the subscription.

As far as VR is concerned, President Tatsumi Kimishima said the company would be keeping a close eye on it, and might consider adopting it for the Switch if the technology improves.

"If we are able to resolve the issues with playing [VR] comfortably for long hours, we will support it in one form or another.”

So don’t expect to be taking your switch in VR anytime soon, but it may happen once Nintendo understands it. Or maybe they’re just bitter there was an innovation in gaming they didn’t pioneer themselves. That’s always possible.