Don't Buy The Switch Online Expansion Pack

Channel:

chownk

Subscribers:

3,440

Published on December 31, 2021 8:47:41 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ATETMOlGI

Game:

Super Mario 64 (1996)

Category:

Review

Duration: 6:02

3,579 views

78

It’s been a year since we last looked at Nintendo Switch Online and did a deep dive into the features that it offered. A lot has changed since then. Nintendo has since added Nintendo 64 and Sega games to the service, but before you get out your wallet, there are some caveats as well.

Without further ado, let’s jump in.

Originally, when Nintendo’s online service first began offering a library of classic games, the only systems available were the NES and the SNES. This last year, during 2021, Nintendo added some more systems to the mix. At the time of this video, the N64 app is relatively lacking in titles available. Sure, you have your classic hits such as Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, Starfox 64, Ocarina of Time, etc, but in total there are only 10 games available on the N64 app. Nintendo has announced that they plan to bring additional titles to the service in the future, and thats great, but many players may find that paying the extra price tag for just 10 N64 games is a bit lackluster.

Since we mentioned the increased price, The Expansion pack is going to run you $49.99 a year. For reference, the base Nintendo Switch Online subscription is less than half of that price at $19.99 per year. If you’re on the fence about the price and aren’t sure, waiting a bit until Nintendo releases more games onto the service might be your best bet. The pricing for the service hasn’t gone over too well, with many people not seeing the justification considering the quality that you get along with the amount of games available.

While playing online, there is a noticeable amount of input lag in certain titles. Do keep this in mind if your main driving factor to get the expansion pass is online play. To be fair, in games like Mario Tennis I didn’t really notice much lag if any at all, but while playing Paper Mario and having a friend watch the online session, certain mechanics like consecutive jump attacks felt substantially off timing wise. I would have to remind myself to press the jump button nearly a bit early so that it would be executed properly on time. Not the most ideal situation.

In terms of games available, it’s not entirely clear what timeframe we should be expecting for Nintendo to continue pushing out new N64 games, but if the NES and SNES apps are anything to consider, it is likely to be a very slow and tedious trickle at best.

We’ve mostly covered N64 so far, but Nintendo did also include Sega Genesis games in the expansion pass as well. The reason this isn’t as big of a deal as the N64 is that many if not all of the Genesis games that are available are already on the Switch in the form of the “Sega Genesis Classics” collection, which also includes online play and is currently retailing for a one time payment of $29.99. You have your sega classics like Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Gunstar Heroes, and a few more.

The inclusion of Sega games on Nintendo Switch Online did come out of left field, surprising almost everyone. While it’s cool to see Nintendo and Sega working together these days on things like this, these same sega games have been published and re-released on many different systems over the years so their inclusion in the service isn’t quite as exciting as that of the Nintendo 64.

If you already have a base Nintendo Switch Online subscription, Nintendo will prorate your fees, meaning that they will only charge you for the remaining time left before your subscription is set to be renewed. Honestly, at $50 a year, it’s not breaking the bank to upgrade to the expansion pass, but for a lot of Switch players, it’s the overall precedent that Nintendo is setting by raising the price so significantly for what appears to be somewhat limited in scope.

Nintendo Switch Online still doesn’t have native voice chat on the console despite a resounding response from the Switch community to not use Nintendo’s smartphone app. The Switch still doesn’t have the ability to message friends. The online infrastructure still has room for a lot of improvements in terms of lag and online gameplay. Games like Smash Ultimate and Mario Mario 2 still suffer from this on a regular consistent basis.

And so the title of this video asked the question “Is Nintendo Switch Online Worth It In 2022”. The answer may not be as clear cut and dry as you’d have hoped because it’s subjective and depends on personal preference. What I will say though is that if you are a major fan of Nintendo 64 games, have that sense of nostalgia for playing them, don’t want to mess with emulation and roms, and want simple ease of access and availability for playing them online with friends…then the expansion pass might be something to look into and try out for yourself.

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