The original Switch Online membership was reasonably priced, at $19.99 USD per year, for online Switch gaming and access to NES and Super Nintendo classics, and its low price point helped avoid any direct value comparisons to services like Game Pass or PlayStation Now. As more information has been revealed regarding the Switch Online + Expansion Pack, the addition of N64 and Sega Genesis games may not justify the annual price increase to $49.99, but the inclusion of otherwise paid DLC for Animal Crossing suggests a different value model that Nintendo’s subscription service could leverage. If the Switch Online subscription adds DLC for all first-party Switch games, then the Expansion Pack can justify its price point, and offer a different approach to video game subscription plans.
Nintendo recently confirmed details on the Switch Online + Expansion Pack, which will debut on October 26, 2021. Adding a selection of games from two additional consoles continues the precedents of the original Switch Online model, but the addition of the Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a new approach for Switch Online, and for gaming subscription services as a whole. The Animal Crossing expansion will sell for $24.99 on its own, so for players who were eager to try the New Horizons DLC, it might be worth considering a subscription to a year of Switch Online instead. The more promising idea is that Nintendo might improve the Expansion Pass value by adding DLC access for additional Nintendo titles in the future.
The price of the Expansion Pack shocked some Nintendo fans, as $49.99 for online play (as well as a curated selection of retro titles) does not hold up by most consumer standards in 2021. Adding one otherwise paid DLC helps justify the cost for some players, but the concept of all Nintendo DLCs being included presents an interesting picture for the Expansion Pack. Services like PlayStation Now and Game Pass provide access to games, but typically the DLC is still sold separately. Nintendo has taken a different approach from its competitors in the Switch generation, maintaining $60 MSRP values in first-party titles long after their launch, which makes it unlikely they would include this library of games in a subscription plan. Including DLCs, however, could make the Expansion Pass valuable for Switch owners, while also promoting more software sales for Nintendo.
The YouTube trailer for the Expansion Pass received over 50,000 dislikes, but fans might have been more receptive if the Expansion Pass also included access to DLC from games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Pokémon: Sword and Shield. These, and other first-party Nintendo titles, have paid expansions, usually priced between $20 and $30. If the expansion pass had included all Nintendo DLC, Switch owners have had less reason to complain. Including DLC in an Expansion Pass may make gamers less likely to buy that DLC, but it also might incentivize them to purchase Nintendo games they might have otherwise waited on in order to take advantage of DLC the subscription affords them access to.
In its current form, with a selection of classics from two more legacy consoles, and only one game’s DLC, the Switch Online + Expansion Pack seems too expensive. Nintendo may intend to establish DLC access as the new value model for the subscription plan, but it is understandable why having all DLC accessible from the start might be complicated. The Animal Crossing paid DLC is launching shortly after the Expansion Pack subscription, on November 5, 2021. This means Happy Home Paradise’s launch, nearly concurrent with the Expansion Pass, factors in the service, allowing the DLC to be “turned off” when a subscription lapses. Other existing DLC was not designed this way: It was either “owned” or not, so creating a way to provide DLC access that can be removed with an expired subscription could require additional work for Nintendo.
Nintendo has already confirmed exactly what a subscriber retains from the Happy Home Paradise DLC for use in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, when a Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscription expires. The company will have to prepare for similar scenarios if the service adds DLC access for other games. If the Expansion Pass included Breath of the Wild’s expansion, would they retain the DLC-specific equipment, and lose access to the additional trials? Would players retain Pokémon caught in the expansion to Pokémon: Sword and Shield, and simply be unable to go to the new regions? These are questions Nintendo would need to address, but a DLC-based subscription service would be very in-character for the company, as it tends to take a different approach to competition in the gaming world.
Microsoft’s Game Pass has established itself as the leader in the gaming subscriptions space due to its near-constant influx of new and recently released games, including first-party titles added on day one. PlayStation Now is a worthwhile Game Pass competitor, with hundreds of games at a low price point, and more recent Sony hits being added, like The Last Of Us 2. Offering a subscription that includes classics from the consoles of yesteryear, and otherwise paid expansions for current-gen games, is a different value paradigm from these services, but it could be perfect for Switch Online’s Expansion Pass.
Gamers who have purchased Nintendo titles for the Switch but did not see the expansions for those games as worth buying might consider subscribing to a service that gives access to all Nintendo expansions. Instead of a subscription service that provides games and incentivizes DLC sales, a plan that provides DLC and incentivizes game sales could be the best fit for the Switch Online + Expansion Pack, both for Nintendo and its fans. While this may not be Nintendo’s plan for the service, leaving Happy Home Paradise as the lone added expansion included would be an odd choice. Adding more DLC access makes sense for the service, though given the staggered release dates of games added to Switch Online in the past, it is likely these expansions would be added slowly, meaning it would still be some time before the Expansion Pass is worth the asking price.
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