Phil takes a look at the good and the bad of Switch Online, what other games are likely to be included with the initial 20 NES titles, and laments the fact that voice chat will still be practically non-existent.
Script
C1: Hi guys, welcome back to P Myth Gaming. We’ve finally been given some info on Nintendo Switch online, aaand, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.
Let’s kick off with the good stuff, it’s incredibly well priced. Only £18 for the year here in the UK
C2: $20 for those of you who live stateside
C1: Which is an absolute bargain compared to the cost of Xbox Live or PS Plus.
For that, as well as access to online multiplayer, you’ll also be getting discounts and 20 NES games off the bat.
Nintendo have confirmed that this essentially means Virtual Console is dead, as I’ve been saying it would be for ages
C2: Not that I’m one to gloat
C1: People seem to be rather upset about this, but I’m not entirely sure why. You’ll still get access to your classic games, and there’s nothing stopping Nintendo releasing N64 games and the like on the eShop anyway
C2: And we all Nintendo aren’t likely to pass up the opportunity to flog us the same games we’ve been buying constantly since Virtual Console first became a thing
C1: They just won’t be under the Virtual Console umbrella anymore. That’s fine by me, just stick a classics tab in the eShop and let the good nostalgia-fuelled times roll.
Anyway, they’ve only announced 10 of the initial 20, with the usual suspects included – Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda etc. I daresay the other 10 will be games that also featured on the NES Classic Mini, stuff like Metroid, Punch Out!! and Excitebike.
C1: Those last two in particular would be great to see, given that these NES games will feature added online multiplayer. Competing in Excitebike races or PunchOut fights over the web would be pretty sweet.
C2: Oh and given they’ve announced Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3, I’d be very surprised if 2 isn’t included as well.
Frankly, this batch of games is worth the price of entry alone, so Nintendo aren’t ripping us off with it. Throw in the discounts and Cloud saves
C2: Finally
and it’s a pretty decent package.
On the downside, it appears voice chat is still tied to the smartphone app. As I’ve mentioned previously, I can live with that, but what I can’t live with is the insanely convoluted set up of invitations and device switching that’s needed to use it.
VO: Worryingly, the info on Nintendo’s site says the app is “designed to enhance your online experience for compatible games on Nintendo Switch.”
C1: That ‘compatible games’ is rather disheartening, because it insinuates that if I want to talk to my mates whilst playing games that aren’t specifically featured on the app, than I’m out of luck.
I was seriously hoping that they were going to revamp the app to enable general text and non-game lobby chat a la Discord when this service launched. But bar a minor tweak or two, it seems that’s not the case.
VO: The Nintendo.com site even says that you can only voice chat during gameplay “On specific games”
C2: That’s just shocking.
It’s a real shame because the Switch is killing it elsewhere, and they had a real opportunity with the delay to rolling out their online service to really get this right, but by and large, it looks like it’s going to be the same beast it was when they first announced it.
This is a real shame, because for all the flack it gets around COD children allegedly fornicating with people’s mothers, voice chatting with randoms can really enhance a games experience.
I’ve recently been playing Sea of Thieves on Xbox, and the way chat is implemented in that game really enhances the experience. You can barter with other crews, or try and stay as quiet as you can so that they don’t hear you sneaking around. That’s a game that just couldn’t exist on Switch.
And even games that do exist on Switch are missing out. Splatoon 2 would be a much different, and arguably superior, game if you could co-ordinate with your fellow Inklings, whether they’re on your friend list or not.
Still, I’m happy with the retro offerings, it’s very reasonably priced, I guess we’ll just have to stick with Discord if we want to talk to our mates.
Thanks a bunch for watching everyone, feel free to vent your feelings on Switch online down in the comments. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, check out all the other content, and I’ll catch you next time!
Phil Myth 