The US is mentioned as a strong supporter of the new subscription tier
Nintendo Switch Online value has been a contentious element of the service from the start, but the low price of entry helped assuage some of those fears. Well, we’re right back where we started from with the price hike of the Expansion Pack, and Nintendo president Shuntaro Furkawa had to address the situation yet again in a recent investor Q&A session [as translated by VGC].
Following Nintendo’s recent fiscal year 2022 report, Furukawa was quizzed on how Switch Online was progressing as a service, and had mostly vague answers. After noting that it was “important to continue to add value,” Furukawa cited that the number of subscribers has not grown significantly in the last six months (32 million is once again provided as the main metric), but it is growing, and the conversation rate for Expansion Pack upgrades can be considered a win for the company.
The most interesting kernel of info from the Q&A is the fact that Furukawa notes that “most” US subscribers have converted to the Expansion Pack since it launched in October of 2021. No figures were cited at all, but a “gradual increase” is mentioned, and the US is specifically called out as one of the more fervent adopters of the Expansion Pack. Heavy nostalgia for the Nintendo 64 from a generation with money to burn is one obvious phenomenon to cite for the disparity between the US and the rest of the world.
But back to Switch Online value: having covered and followed a lot of these types of corporate statements on Switch Online, I’m feeling like we’re stuck in a time loop. Investors and fans constantly ask how Nintendo is going to make Switch Online more enticing, and we keep getting circular responses. It’s reminiscent of the “drip feed” Virtual Console strategy that likely left a lot of money on the table, dating all the way back to previous generations. So far, Expansion Pack value has been mostly mired in a slow release of N64 and Genesis games, as well as a mix of new and old expansion packs.
Will the rumored handheld additions coming this year be enough for some people? Maybe! It depends on how subdued the rollout is.
