By Alex Daud Briggs and Mike OÔÇÖBrien |
After a year of waiting, Nintendo has finally released their online service for the Switch – and fans are less than pleased. Anyone familiar with Nintendo will know that their online track record is comprised of a series of poor and perplexing decisions. But in the days of the Wii, the Wii U, and the 3DS, NintendoÔÇÖs questionable online philosophy was at least free if vexing and inconvenient. Now, Nintendo are asking fans to pay for the privilege ÔÇô and whilst Nintendo Switch Online is serviceable, reception has been lukewarm at best.
┬ú18.00 per year may be notably cheaper than its major competitors, but Nintendo Switch Online still feels barebones and underwhelming for the cost. For one, Nintendo do not provide dedicated servers on any of their first-party titles. Given that the SwitchÔÇÖs hardware is already lacking when it comes to WiFi strength and range, peer-to-peer matchmaking can severely damage the experience in games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, where players may cross the line first only to find that desync issues place them fourth on the leaderboard. But the worst part is that not only is Nintendo Switch Online worse than its competitors ÔÇô itÔÇÖs worse than its predecessor. The original Splatoon for Wii U had a tickrate of 25hz ÔÇô 30% higher than Splatoon 2 for the Nintendo Switch ÔÇô and online matchmaking was free. ItÔÇÖs one thing to erect a paywall for a service, but another thing altogether to charge for an inferior one.
Another complaint is that the Switch has no internal voice chat, and NintendoÔÇÖs solution is the use of a smartphone app. The Switch itself is capable of voice chat, so restricting its use to a cumbersome smartphone app – especially when far superior alternatives like Discord exist ÔÇô is simply maddening. It’s a rushed answer to a problem theyÔÇÖve had over a decade to solve.
Cloud storage is another point of contention. Once again, the service itself works fine for the most part, automatically saving when connected to Wi-Fi efficiently and without intrusion. Unfortunately, certain games including Splatoon 2 and Pokemon Lets Go! cannot use take advantage. Nintendo has stated this was done to ÔÇÿprevent cheatingÔÇÖ – but you would think a billion-dollar company like Nintendo could find a way to allow cloud saves whilst also deploying anti-cheat measures, something that services like Steam and PlayStation Plus managed years ago. This wouldnÔÇÖt be as big an issue if not for the fact the Switch does not support the option to backup saves on an external hard drive, meaning that if something happens to your Switch, you can kiss all of your game progress goodbye.
The final new feature is the NES game selection. This concept has serious potential: a retro gaming Netflix with a wide range of NintendoÔÇÖs historic catalogue as part of the service ÔÇô but this promise is the greatest waste of potential of all. The games on offer are just NES titles, the same ones that have been around for the last thirty years ÔÇô and, as of launch, the selection is not exhaustive, with only a handful of mostly negligible games added each month. At this point, Nintendo should at least be offering SNES titles, for which there is still no confirmation. Rereleasing classics from the SNES, N64, GBA, DS, and even the GameCube for a portable system would be a worthy and attractive application of the service, and we know the system is technically capable of providing it ÔÇô but as of now, itÔÇÖs hard to recommend the service for its current offerings.
Nintendo Switch Online has potential, but it lacks basic necessities and variety. ┬áThere is voice chat, but only through a ham-fisted phone app. You have cloud saves, but with bizarre exceptions. Classic games, but only NES titles are available. The online might be cheaper than PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live, but itÔÇÖs inferior in just about every way. And most inexcusably, the Wii UÔÇÖs online service was not only superior in some facets, but it was free. If Nintendo iron out these glaring issues, then thereÔÇÖs a potentially amazing service with more than enough bang for your buck here ÔÇô but itÔÇÖs a long way from achieving that promise, and few in good conscience can say that its current form is worth the (albeit low) cost.