Nintendo's Big Online Problems

In the very near future, Nintendo Switch users will have to spend some amount of money in order to play most games online. Some games like Fortnite will allow you to play completely free, but games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Minecraft, and Rocket League will require the paid service. Many Switch owners have voiced their concerns and criticisms about the service, and I wanted to explain some of theirs along with some of my own.

Not Enough Games:

Nintendo systems frequently have a problem getting third party developers, but that isn't a huge issue this time. I think the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era started the trend of making every game have heavy multiplayer features, which continued with the Xbox One/PlayStation 4 era. However, I feel like single player games have started making a major comeback lately, especially Nintendo made games.

My biggest issue with the paid online service is how few games will benefit from the service. I frequently read people talk about Rocket League and Splatoon 2, but it sounds like those are the only games people are really concerned about losing. The Switch is really lacking in online multiplayer games, or at least online multiplayer that's well implemented into the games. Super Mario Party is an example of a game that features online multiplayer in some modes, but doesn't go far enough.

Making Niche Games Almost Impossible to Play Online:

While it isn't a game I can judge personally, I've heard that Mario Tennis Aces has issues with certain modes being unpopulated online. If it's hard to find people online now, I can't imagine it will be any better once it has a paywall.

While it isn't a Switch game, TriForce Heroes is a game that almost requires multiplayer to be fun, and yet it's almost impossible to find anyone online. This is a 3DS game, and doesn't require you to pay for the online, yet it's almost barren. I'm certain that Nintendo will make games similar to TriForce Heroes in the future, and it will be a nightmare to play with others.

Locking Out Your Games:

While I haven't played Splatoon 2 yet, I have played the first one, and it has an excellent story mode for a shooting game. From hearing other people's opinions, Splatoon 2 does as well. I bring this up to say that without the online subscription, you won't be able to do anything but story mode.

I don't have a huge problem with a lot of the service, but this is where I get angry. A $60 game requires you to spend an addition $20 more per year just to be able to play the majority of the game's content. Splatoon 2 shouldn't require the service. Other games like ARMS and Pokken are in a similar situation, and it honestly just makes me mad.

Cloud Backups Aren't Rated E:

It was announced that Splatoon 2 and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee (among other games) won't be compatible with cloud backups. The reasoning behind Pokemon's exclusion is understandable to me. There's a lot of places where save data backing up could lead to Pokemon and items being duplicated.

Splatoon 2 is almost acceptable, but falls into unacceptable for the same reason it's almost acceptable. Nintendo doesn't want people to use the feature to make their rank unfairly higher or to get multiple chances at better weapons. This sounds excusable until you look at Fortnite, which stores all of your information online, and lets you use it on almost any system. Splatoon 2 shouldn't be storing this information on the system, since it only needs that information in online matches anyway.

My issue isn't that games are allowed to be omitted from save data backing up. My issue is that Nintendo is too lazy to store information online when that information should already be stored online. If I spend as much time in Splatoon 2 as I did in the first game, I'd be incredibly mad to lose all that data because of Nintendo's laziness.

NES Games Also Aren't for Everyone:

The NES is a very old system, and while many NES fans will point to good games like Super Mario Bros 3, it's far easier to point at the bad games. The NES does have games that are still enjoyable, but their inclusion makes another Nintendo product look questionable.

The NES Classic contains quite a few of the same games as the Switch's online subscription, but on the Switch it's portable and comes with a second controller. It honestly makes the NES Classic a far less appealing product for people who already own a Switch.

Many people want to see Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 games come to the service, but I think Nintendo 64 games are about as likely as PlayStation 1 games coming to PlayStation Plus. Super Nintendo is far more likely, but I think it's a year or two away.

I personally am excited to have access to many NES games whenever I want. I've never had a chance to play some of these games, and it will be nice to try out some games that I'll probably hate without spending money on that specific game.

Conclusion:

The online service doesn't look as bad to me as it does to many others. I think it will be an okay service for the price, as long as games perform well online. I hope that Nintendo will consider making changes to it, especially as far as Splatoon 2 is concerned.

I also think that people who expect something on par with PlayStation Plus need to realize that PlayStation Plus is twice as expensive, and I've had numerous headaches with it recognising that I was allowed to play the "free" games. No company is perfect, but Nintendo isn't charging enough to make you think they will be.