Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Has A Surprising Price Tag
Today, Nintendo finally revealed the release date and price tag for their Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, which includes the ability to play N64 games. Unfortunately, it’s expensive.
After today’s Animal Crossing Direct, Nintendo also announced the release date and price tag for the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) expansion pack. This expansion pack, which includes all of the basic NSO features, will also include the ability to play a select few Nintendo 64 games, like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, along with a few Sega Genesis titles, like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Streets of Rage 2. The expansion pack, strangely, also seems to include the Animal Crossing: New Horizons paid DLC, Happy Home Paradise. The expansion will be available on October 25th, with the Animal Crossing content available on November 5th.
The Nintendo Switch Online service currently costs $20 USD per year, and it includes the ability to play online with friends, cloud saving, as well as a collection of games from the NES and SNES consoles. Compared to other online gaming services, which can cost much more, this is a good deal. Many players have also been excited to get their hands on some more classic collections of N64 and Sega Genesis games as well. Nintendo had previously revealed that these collections would come at an extra cost, but not what that cost would be.
In a short video outlining the new additions, Nintendo revealed that the NSO Expansion Pack would not only include the new collections of classic titles but also the Animal Crossing: New Horizons paid DLC, Happy Home Paradise at “no extra cost.” Unfortunately for fans, the cost of the expansion was revealed to be $30 USD extra per year, making the total cost $50 USD, more than doubling the cost of the basic NSO subscription.
This is especially strange considering not everyone who uses NSO also owns Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For those who don’t own the base Animal Crossing game, it seems ridiculous to pay an extra $30 USD annually for two small collections of old games. It makes the phrase “no extra cost” sound hollow when it only applies to select NSO subscribers.
Only time will tell how willing fans are to pay to play Nintendo 64 games on the Switch. The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack releases on October 25th.
