Nintendo Switch Online Service To Launch Second Half Of September

Nintendo is a master of the no specific launch date, launch date. The gaming company has announced that the Switch Online Service that gamers have been waiting on will launch in the second half of September. That's not a specific launch date, but at least we have a roughly two-week window for when the service will land.

We already know what the Switch Online service will bring us. The big feature will be access to online play for supported game titles. Another big feature that Switch gamers have wanted since the console launched is cloud saves. Those cloud saves will allow your game data to be backed up online so if your console is broken or stolen you can continue your games where you left off.

Nintendo also plans to add a "growing library" of NES titles that retro gamers will be able to enjoy. Nintendo had said in the past that access to its back catalog of games via this online service would be limited. So far there has been no official indication of exactly how many games the service will launch with. In May, the number of NES launch titles was tipped to be 20.

Pricing for Nintendo's online service is very affordable at $19.99 for an entire year. A three-month membership was tipped at $7.99, and a monthly membership at $3.99. That puts Nintendo's offering at a significantly lower cost that Sony or Microsoft's online play services. A companion app will provide the online chat service.