Gaming giant Nintendo recently announced one of the most significant shake-ups in their history with the launch of their highly anticipated subscription service, Nintendo Switch Online. The move comes as a first for Nintendo, which has never offered an online service like this along the lines of those already offered by Xbox and PlayStation.

The Switch Online system allows subscribers to enjoy unlimited online access to some of Nintendo’s most popular titles, including Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. The kicker, however, is the new feature that will allow subscribers to enjoy online multiplayer gaming on the likes of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon. The service starts at only $3.99 a month and allows wide-ranging access to a huge amount of Nintendo games, goodies, and exclusive bonus features.

While non-subscribers will still be able to access certain services such as the Nintendo Switch eShop, the move has drawn criticism over fears that non-subscribers will be locked out of services they have previously enjoyed for free, such as cloud-backing of games, although IGN recently got the scoop that players will still have access to cloud saves for up to six months after your Switch Online subscription lapses.

Despite these drawbacks, the new subscription service is the kind of all-in-one, immersive gaming experience that will launch Nintendo back to the top of the console league table, following years of being outshone by the likes of Sony and Microsoft. Let’s take a quick look at Nintendo’s tortured recent history, to see if Nintendo Switch Online really is enough to revitalize this cultural legend.

After the Wii: A Difficult Decade

Only ten years ago, Nintendo looked unstoppable. The game-changing Nintendo Wii and of course, the DS Lite, were revolutionary consoles that completely changed the way people approach video games. However, the novelty appeared to wear off fast, as the company suffered a seemingly irreversible decline in sales and share value in the years following the successful release of the Wii. Such troubles were compounded by a series of poor strategic decisions made by the various people at the helm of the company during this period.

The company quickly went from being THE console supplier for the world to falling far behind the ranks of the other leading console makers, with sales of the PlayStation 4 alone being almost double all Nintendo console sales in 2013. Such a watermark was undoubtedly a painful moment for the Nintendo team, given their long and colorful rivalry with Sony, which began in earnest way back in 1998, following the collapse of a deal which would have seen Nintendo produce a PlayStation in collaboration with Sony, believe it or not. In what has long been considered a major strategic error on Nintendo’s part on par with CBS and NBC passing up on Monday Night Football (costing the networks billions of dollars in lost revenue), Nintendo terminated the partnership with Sony and the hybrid console never came to be. In terms of potential profits and brand damage resulting from this, it’s likely that Nintendo has lost out on tens of billions as a result, similar to the catastrophic decision made by Blockbuster in 2000 to not join up with Netflix, a billion-dollar blunder which earned Blockbuster a place in Betway’s “worst business decisions ever” hall of fame. Like Blockbuster, Nintendo’s poor judgment sowed the seeds for later failure.

Perhaps just as bad was the 2012 release of the Wii U, which to many looked like an attempt to repeat past successes by re-hashing an old hit. The Wii U was not the commercial success that Nintendo hoped for, as lukewarm sales prompted game developers such as EA to cut all ties with the console, resulting in Nintendo slashing prices for the Wii U within just over a year of the initial release. To many, it looked like Nintendo was in terminal decline; that was until the Nintendo Switch changed the game.

Things Are Looking Up

The Nintendo Switch proved to everybody that Nintendo has still got it. It’s an innovative gaming experience that works so well because it capitalizes on the collective nostalgia we all feel for Nintendo titles, whilst still managing to bring something fresh to the table. The release of the Switch was a mammoth success that promptly reversed the previous decline, boosting Nintendo back into the ranks of the gaming titans. The new subscription service feels like a consolidation of everything Nintendo has been doing successfully in the past couple of years; bringing together its most beloved titles while providing fresh new content, improving user experience and most importantly, fostering a genuine gaming community of Nintendo fans. Nintendo enjoyed its strongest showing at the 2018 E3 than it has in many years, and for most of us, it feels as if Nintendo is well and truly back with a bang. We look forward to seeing what exciting releases will follow in the year ahead.

Carl Williams

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