Nintendo president on future direction for Nintendo Switch Online
Subscription services and all the rage these days, and for Nintendo, that means it needs to encourage as many people to sign up for Switch Online.
Nintendo has gradually added more to the service over the past several years. It started out with elements such as online play and access to classic games, but more recently, we’ve seen Nintendo Music and the upcoming inclusion of GameChat on Switch 2.
What’s Nintendo’s mid- to long-term direction for Nintendo Switch Online? During a financial results briefing Q&A, president Shuntaro Furukawa weighed in.
Furukawa shared the following with investors:
“The number of Nintendo Switch Online members varies depending on the sales situation of the hardware and the trends in the release of titles that utilize online play, but since the number of members was disclosed at the last management policy briefing, the number of subscribers has remained stable without any significant increase or decrease.
Looking ahead, we will release titles that utilize online play, such as Mario Kart World, for Nintendo Switch 2. In addition to releasing these new titles, we aim to maintain and increase the number of members in the mid- to long-term by further expanding the service of Nintendo Switch Online itself. On Nintendo Switch 2, members of “Nintendo Switch Online + Additional Pack” will be able to play GameCube titles as classic titles. In addition, we will introduce a game chat communication function for all members. Game Chat will be available for free until March 2026, but after that, you can use it by subscribing to the paid Nintendo Switch Online service.
GameChat was developed with the aim of recreating the experience of playing games together as a child in the current environment. Until now, you have not only played the same game by bringing it together, but also played different games while in the same place. By using the functions of Nintendo Switch 2, you can recreate this experience not only in offline local multiplayer, but also online. GameChat can be enjoyed not only with Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive titles, but also with Nintendo Switch titles. We hope that GameChat will add new added value to software and even allow customers to create ways of playing games that we have never imagined.
Nintendo Switch Online also offers Nintendo Music. This service is based on music, one of the attractive elements of games, and is provided with the aim of allowing customers to remember Nintendo characters, games, and IP even when they are away from their game consoles. In this way, we believe that Nintendo Switch Online can be used from the perspective of expanding the points of contact with Nintendo IP in familiar places for customers.
We want to grow Nintendo Switch Online in the medium to long term as a service that consumers can enjoy and subscribe to for a long time. To achieve this, we need to continue to create attractive elements that will make people really want to join this service.”
You can keep track of all the happenings with Nintendo Switch Online here.
