A few weeks ago, Nintendo surprised some fans when they revealed at their Nintendo Switch presentation that they will be offering a paid online service to go with the Switch, a first for the company, who has predominantly stayed away from offering paid services in the past.
This morning, in an interview with The Nikkei, a Japanese publication, Tatsumi Kimishima, President of Nintendo, said that the online service would cost approximately $17–$26USD a year. This puts the price point at a much cheaper rate than its competitors, Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. At the Nintendo Switch presentation, the company said that the service will cover multiplayer gaming as well as offering users a free classic game download each month.
“With paid [services], we will be able to fully commit to customers,” Kimishima said of the decision to offer a paid online service.
The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3rd this year.