After a Year of Its Release, Is the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Worth It?

Published 10/26/2022, 12:20 PM EDT

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In 2021, Nintendo launched its high-tier Expansion pack for Switch online. This expansion brought the classics from the vintage Nintendo exclusives to other classic third-party games from Sega and more. But after all this time, is the expansion still worth the price? 

Nintendo Switch Online expansion let users play games from previous generations like Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Sega Mega Drive, and more on the switch. This paid expansion also allowed the subscribers to get access to otherwise-paid DLCs of games, like the Happy Home Paradise DLC of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.  

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What does the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion offer to its subscribers?  

The expansion currently has a yearly subscription model. The users have to pay $49.99 once a year to enjoy the service. At the time of its launch, the service was faced with a lot of backlash from the community. The reason being the very limited number of games in the initial selection.

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The main selling point of the service was backlog support. But the library of classic games was very limited during the launch. However, Nintendo over the span of a year has greatly improved the game selections for the service and fixed many emulation-related issues on the Switch. This has greatly improved the common conscience about the pack’s value. 

But still, there are some big titles missing from the service. The main reason is the licensing issues with companies like Konami, Capcom, and so forth. But when it comes to the quality, and the variety of classic games from evergreen consoles like Sega Genesis, N64, the service doesn’t compromise much. 

Is the Expansion Pack still worth it? 

Currently, the Nintendo Switch Online expansion pack offers evergreen classics like Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Mushra, Contra: Hard Corps, Beyond Oasis, Gunstar Heroes, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and many more. Other than that, access to DLC contents of Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2, and New Horizons have joined the service. 

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But that’s not it, new content and titles like Goldeneye 007, and 1080° Snowboarding are also promised to be added to the library. So, in the end, comes the crucial question of, if this service is worth it or not.

If you are looking for a great classic selection and a variety of backlog support, then the expansion can be a great deal for you. And as Nintendo keeps on upgrading the pack with each passing day, the future of the Subscription service looks very bright.  

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Watch this story: Ranking the worst Nintendo Switch games of all time! 

What do you think about the current state of the Online Expansion pack? Do you think it is worth the upgrade? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Rituraj Halder

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Rituraj Halder is an eSports writer at Essentially sports. Residing from Kolkata, India, he holds a graduate degree in world literature. With 500+ hours in League of Legends, Rituraj claims to be a MOBA veteran.
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Edited by:

Jito Tenson