Is there enough value for subscribers?
Nintendo really, really hopes that hardcore Animal Crossing players want some N64 and Sega Genesis games. That’s essentially the gist of the news regarding their Expansion Pack tier for the Nintendo Switch Online service.
The top level tier will include two new console collections: N64 games like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and Winback, and Sega Genesis games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe, with more games to be added as the days, months, and years progress. The tier will also include a newly announced piece of paid Animal Crossing: New Horizons DLC, Happy Home Paradise.
The price, though, is on a whole other level of expansion. While the current NSO yearly cost is $19.99 ($34.99 for family accounts), the new tier comes in at $49.99 ($79.99 for family accounts). That’s a chunky $30 price bump for a piece of DLC and some older games.
The Animal Crossing DLC is $24.99 on its own, so five bucks more for N64 and Genesis games is a relative value for the Animal Crossing fans who are looking at the DLC, and of whom many were already NSO subscribers. But even at that math-appropriate pricing, that leaves out a lot of people who aren’t necessarily fans of the series, or who don’t see themselves interested enough to grab the DLC. Essentially, for the non-Animal Crossing fan this is an unnecessary tier option. It’s *A LOT* of money to pay if you just want a few rounds of Mario Tennis on the N64.
Now, if Nintendo is offering the Switch Online service as sort of a subscription funnel for their first party DLC, that could actually be a compelling product. I know that I’ve already purchased far more than $30/year for DLC, and often return to games when there is something new to play. If Nintendo offered all of their DLC going forward (and perhaps some legacy DLC, like Smash Bros or Fire Emblem) then this keeps games rotating within their walled garden. And, if this tier were to include a 5% or 10% discount off of digital purchases of first party games, then the ability to quickly shift players over towards a digital-only future becomes even more possible.
Until then, this is hella expensive, and really only serves the Venn diagram of hardcore Animal Crossing users who want to dip back into the N64 and Genesis games.
The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack launches on October 25th. The Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise expansion lands on November 5th.
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