NintendObs Thinks: Discussing the smooth strategy of Nintendo Switch Online.
How Nintendo got their own Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus.
I remember the times when playing console games online used to be free. We could play for free on Wii and PlayStation 3. Yes, on Wii, and I do have fond memories of that. Then only on Wii U. I assume Nintendo thought it could help them against PlayStation 4 but no, not even. Then only on Nintendo Switch for a year or two, with Nintendo initially delaying the launch of Nintendo Switch Online much to the reliefs of our wallets, so anyone who wanted could play Splatoon 2’s online multiplayer for free. Then starting September 2018, not anymore: Nintendo became the last console manufacturer to cave in to the temptation, after consumers on Xbox followed by PlayStation paved the way for the industry as a whole to consider charging subscriptions for what once was free of charge.
What differentiated Nintendo from Xbox and PlayStation in that department however — which still does by the way and will continue to do so even after the launch of the Expansion Pack this week — was the pricing. On Nintendo, with Nintendo Switch Online you can access online gaming (among a list of other features) for 19.99 a year. On Xbox, who initiated that subscription plan, with Xbox Live Gold you can play online for 99.96 a year. And on PlayStation, who followed suit first, that’s 59.99. Though the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack plan comes at $49.99 or €39.99, only Nintendo offers an objectively cheaper option to play online which makes it, on a yearly basis, five times less expensive than Xbox’s and three times less expensive than PlayStation’s.
I believe Nintendo planned to have the Expansion Pack from the very beginning. I believe Nintendo wanted to compete with Microsoft and Sony from the very start in this lucrative market that somehow successfully lead an indecent amount of consumers to spend at minimum the price of a brand-new videogame per year to be able to enjoy to the fullest the console they already had to purchase. It’s undeniable how much money, how much profits Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus (just to mention the most basic plans on offer) have generated to Microsoft and Sony, making their businesses flagrantly successful in spite of more expensive hardware and lesser first-party sales. Nintendo already addressed their console supremacy with Nintendo Switch, mission accomplished. Now they’re going after the bedrock of their competitors’ revenue.