One of the more interesting comments to come from Nintendo’s 81st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders was that of Shuntaro Furukawa answering a question about the Nintendo Switch Online service.
The president of Nintendo was asked numerous questions of interest during the meeting, but when asked if the Nintendo Switch Online service would have more membership options at a higher price for more content, he had a very interesting response. “Membership in this service exceeded 26 million paying accounts in September of last year and is still growing steadily, in step with the increase in Nintendo Switch system sales,” Furukawa explained. “For Nintendo Switch Online, it’s important not only to increase the number of new members, but also to encourage existing members to continue using the service, so we are working on increasing the appeal of the service to make it even more fun and convenient to play with Nintendo Switch.”
From Furakawa’s response, it seems clear that Nintendo is committed to growing the Nintendo Switch Online service for both new and existing members. What kind of content or features this would entail, Furakawa and the rest of the board of directors do not say during this meeting. But it is interesting to note that he did not mention any kind of tiered or premium service in response to the original question.
While we may not know what Nintendo has planned in order to encourage more usage of the Nintendo Switch Online service, the fact that it is not only trying to capture new subscribers but also looking to cater to those already subscribed is heartening.
What Nintendo will do remains to be seen, but the real suggestion here is added value rather than additional payment tiers. Will it mean more classic games, more player-versus-player, or something else entirely? Let’s hope we hear more soon!
