Nintendo says that classic NES games with online multiplayer will be a part of the Switch’s upcoming premium online service.
A total of 20 NES games will be available at launch with more to be added on a regular basis. Ten of those NES games were announced in the press release on Monday.
- Balloon Fight
- Donkey Kong
- Dr. Mario
- Ice Climber
- The Legend of Zelda
- Mario Bros.
- Soccer
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Tennis
The NES games will be available for offline use and will feature voice chat via the free Nintendo smartphone app. Switch owners on your friends list can also watch you stream single player NES games. If your friends are laughing at how bad at Soccer you are, you can make them prove their worth with the option to “pass the controller” to their Switch console mid-play.
Nintendo says the service is coming in September. Switch owners who don’t sign up will no longer be able to play multiplayer games online such as ARMS, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2 and the soon to be released Mario Tennis Aces. At least Nintendo is following suit with competitors Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus by offering free games with their multiplayer service to sweeten the price tag a bit. That price tag was also announced on Monday.
- One month: $3.99
- Three months: $7.99
- 12 months: $19.99
- “Family membership” (up to eight accounts for 12 months): $34.99
If they can get Duck Hunt to work with the Switch controllers, I will buy the family membership for myself out of respect.
