Brewster's coffee goes cold on Expansion Pack price reveal

Hey, Chris back in your inbox again, this time with issue #253 of Switch Weekly. Hope you're doing well.

I'm still chipping away at Metroid Dread — I've seen a lot of folks that I talk to / follow that have now finished it. I'm playing at something of a leisurely pace by comparison, squeezing in the odd hour or so when I get chance. I'm loving it, but the longer it takes me, the more likely I am to stumble across end-game spoilers online. Also, it's really tempting to start watching some of the insane speedruns of this game that are starting to emerge. Anyway, that light blue EMMI sure is a pain in the ass huh? 😅 How far along are you? Have you finished it? I'd love to know what you think — hit reply and share.

Anyway, everyone expected the big news this week to be whatever came out of the Animal Crossing Direct (which aired Friday) — and well, true enough it was — but not for the reasons we were expecting. To the surprise of many, this Direct ended up announcing the price points for the imminent Switch Online 'Expansion Pack'. Many, myself included, expected Nintendo to pop ten bucks on the existing asking price of $20 and that would be that, but they threw something of a curveball, announcing that the new tier would also get the new 25 dollar Animal Crossing DLC thrown in — at a cost. As such, the Expansion Pack tier (which also gets you access to a library of Genesis and N64 titles) will set you back $50 a year. That's a 150% difference over the original twenty dollar NSO tier, which is proving a bit rich for some and a rather unpopular move generally. In the UK the jump isn't quiet so dramatic at 95%, with prices now set at £17.99 and £34.99 annually for each respective tier. These things vary from market to market. 

My take on this is, no matter what you perceive the value of the original Nintendo Switch Online service to be, Nintendo really did underprice it. This new tier feels like a course correction, getting them to where they now think they should be. 

One respected commenter theorized that pricey licensing costs may be behind the higher than expected price point. 

The reality is this, I understand all the frustrations, but personally in a world of Netflix, Disney+, and countless other subs I'm happy to pay a few bucks a month to get access to something that's so near and dear to me (N64 titles say hi). Playing Mario Kart 64 online is a real draw for me. Yup, nostalgia is quite the money maker. I'm also in a family plan which makes this really afforable - I'll get everything for like £7.50 a year — it really is worth getting together with a group of seven others to get this as cheap as possible. Nintendo don't seem to mind that it ain't your actual family. I'd love to know your thoughts on this as it seems to have sparked quite the conversation. Hit reply. 

Anyway, another big slew of games hitting the Switch next week, with just under 30 games on the way — a varied bunch, not many heavy hitters like the last few weeks though.

Finally, for the Twitter users out there — I've been kicking the tires on a new communities feature Twitter are trying out. Naturally I've set up a Nintendo community. Drop me a DM if you want in. 🤙

Thanks for reading, catch you next time.  
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing — Metroid Dread

Monday, October 18

• Angry Alligator — Grow into a big gator by eating everything in sight.
• Youtubers Life 2 — It's a YouTuber sim/adventure. You can meet PewDiePie if you so wish...

Tuesday, October 19

• BATS: Bloodsucker Anti-Terror Squad — Arcade vampire 2D platforming.
• Duo Zombies — Help zombies escape a series of maze like puzzle levels in this co-op game.
• Regency Solitaire — Solitaire with a touch of English victorian fancy.
• Spectacular Sparky — Quite the homage to 90s action platformers / shooters. (Oct 20 in U.S.)

Wednesday, October 20

• Corpse Party — Creepy Japanese horror adventure/RPG. (EU Release)
• Crazy Gravity — Side-scrolling platformer where gravity plays a key role in how you play.
• JARS — Destroy jars in this strategy game (with plenty of puzzles and tower defense bits). Interesting visual style.
• Sheepo — Traverse an uncharted planet as a...shape-shifting sheep-thing in this Metroidvania.
• Tandem: A Tale of Shadows — A French puzzle platformer set in Victorian London. (Oct 21 in U.S.)

Thursday, October 21

• Cards of the Dead — Zombie apocalypse survival card game telling 3 interconnected stories.
• Evertried — Looks like a fairly deep turn-based strategy puzzle game.
• 🎮 Howling Village: Echoes — Based on the Japanese horror movie.
• Monomals — Animals DJs go fishing in this colourful action platformer.
• Murder Diaries 2 — Murder mystery thriller.
• Sakura Nova — Japanese visual novel.
• Skul: The Hero Slayer — Indie fast-paced action roguelite.
• Yumeiri — A difficult story-focused RPG that dices into 'sensitive areas'. M for Mature.

Friday, October 22

• City Stunt Driver — Drive ten different vehicles around the city.
• Demon Hunter: Riddles of Light — Ancient Egypt hidden object adventure.
• Minigolf Adventure — Over 50 holes of 3D minigolf.
• 📦 My friend Peppa Pig — Become Peppa's pal in this kids adventure.
• Pro Flight Simulator — A rather straightforward looking flight sim.
• 📦 Raiden IV x MIKADO remix — This shoot 'em up makes its Switch debut with new music.
• Reminiscence in the Night — Visual novel adventure exploring your memories.
• 📦 The Caligula Effect 2 — Persona fans may want to take a look at this RPG. (Oct 19 in U.S.)