The Nintendo Switch Online release date is September 18 and with hours to go, Nintendo has finally confirmed when Nintendo Switch Online will finally start. After a three hour eShop maintenance period, Nintendo Switch Online will go live. The maintenance period follows the arrival of Nintendo Switch system update version 6.0.0. Nintendo says Nintendo Switch Online will be available after the scheduled maintenance time of 5pm to 8pm PST on September 18 (5:30am to 8:30am IST on September 19).
"Nintendo Switch Online will launch later this evening. In preparation, Nintendo Switch eShop is scheduled for maintenance starting at 5pm PT and will be unavailable for up to 3 hours. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding," reads a tweet from the official Nintendo account.
The Nintendo Switch Online service grants access to online multiplayer, cloud back ups for game save data, and classic games from Nintendo's past consoles such as the NES for $4 per month (around Rs. 280), $8 for three months (close to Rs. 560)and $20 for an entire year (nearly Rs. 1,400).
It will be interesting to see how Nintendo Switch Online is when it hits. The lack of options for voice chat would mean hardcore Switch fans would have to resort to the likes of Discord while its low price point seems too good to be true. We won't be surprised to see Nintendo ramp up the costs attached to its service over time much like PS Plus and Xbox Live have. Furthermore, the site teases exclusive deals for Nintendo Switch Online members, what these entail are yet to be known though we won't be surprised to see these operate similar to added discounts on games for PS Plus and Xbox Live subscribers.
Considering that the Nintendo Switch is not available in India officially, it's safe to say that we won't see any local pricing or availability for the Nintendo Switch Online service either. So if you own a Nintendo Switch and are residing in India, you'd probably be restricted to online subscription codes for the service or Nintendo eShop credit via the likes of Amazon US.
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