Hallelujah!
$20 for a year of Nintendo Switch Online isn’t the worst price around, but the value isn’t really there. All of the features are years behind the competition and the selection of free titles is incredibly lackluster. I suppose the family plan option might make it more palatable for customers, but there seems to be a silver lining here that we didn’t notice before. In thenewly updated FAQfor Nintendo’s online service (which is separate from the one I had used formy last articleabout Switch Online), it states that users can use My Nintendo Gold Coins to pay for their subscriptions to Nintendo’s service.
For a lot of users, that could mean the service ends up being free. Surprisingly, you’re able to use Gold Coins for discounts on eShop purchases, but I don’t believe many people are even aware of that functionality. I could see a lot of people having a small stockpile of coins and being all set for this Tuesday when the service launches (provided theircoins haven’t expired, because of course, that is a thing).
As for me, I haven’t really used my coins on anything. The Switch’s digital storefront has fewer restrictions than past Nintendo consoles, but I’m still not entirely comfortable with the way Nintendo handles DRM. At least now, my coins can be put to some use, even if it is just to restore features I’ve previously had for months now.
