Brewster's coffee goes cold on Expansion Pack price reveal

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending October 17.

Brewin up some DLC

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Switch Weekly

Issue 253 — October 17, 2021

Brewster in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

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

▶ Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct — October 2021 — A surprising amount to unpack here. Plenty for fans to get their teeth stuck into when the update drops in early November. Paid DLC adds a new gameplay mode ala Happy Home Designer. 

Nintendo // YouTube

REVIEW Disco Elysium: Final Cut — This "above all memorable" RPG is a "truly individual gaming experience" but one that currently has plenty of technical issues on Switch. I've seen a handful of folks I follow on Twitter have similar technical issues (crashes/bugs) too. A shame, as the game seems to be super engaging. I'd wait for fixes.

Georgina Young // NME

REVIEW Jackbox Party Pack 8 is a solid take on the fantastic formula — Eight party games here and "no games that feel like filler".

Cass Marshall // Polygon

▶ REVIEW Mon Amour — A quirky arcade game about flying through the sky, kissing people. "I brushed my lips against this title and had a fun time".

Joshua Goldie // Source Gaming (YouTube)

REVIEW A Little Golf Journey — "is actually much larger and content-full than its name would imply [...] If you’re looking for a peaceful and zen-inducing golf experience, there might not be any better than A Little Golf Journey".

Jordan Rudek // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Bonito Days — "If you’re looking for a quick and simple multiplayer game on the cheap, you can definitely get by on what you get here".

Aaron Botts // Gamer Escape

 REVIEW Gleylancer 

Miguel Moran // Nintendo Enthusiast

▶ REVIEW Tetris Effect: Connected 

Switch Corner // YouTube

What does gaming's all-digital future mean for the climate crisis?

Chris Tapsell and Robert Purchese // Eurogamer

Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t just a haunted mansion ride, it’s the whole damn park — Ok, this article is from two years back, but with Halloween approaching it feels like an apt time to revisit. 

Ed Nightingale // Uppercut

PREVIEW What's new in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl? — These upcoming reimagined versions "aren’t going to be completely faithful to the originals" as the remakes bring in "some well-tested features from the most recent mainline games". John gets an early look in this preview.

John Carson // Game Informer

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🎮 Upcoming Releases


All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated. 
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.
⭐️ = Ones to Watch | 📦 = Physical release | 🎮 = Demo available

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

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

Friday, October 22

 

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Chris Brandrick

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Older messages

Dreadful emulation, Sora in Smash, and OLED envy

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending October 10. #ThankYouSakurai Web version | Unsubscribe Switch Weekly Issue 252 — October 10, 2021 Metroid Dread Hello, Chris here with issue #252 of Switch

Nintendo's 4K problem, OLED and Dread imminent

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending October 03. 11 devs, 4k res, 1 rebuttal. Web version | Unsubscribe Switch Weekly Issue 251 — October 03, 2021 Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Hey, here's

So, how about that Nintendo Direct...

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending September 26. Leaky Kirb. Web version | Unsubscribe Switch Weekly Issue 250 — September 26, 2021 Kirby for Nintendo Switch Hi, Chris here with issue #250 (250!)

I'm still legit shocked at the Bluetooth audio news

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending September 19. Switching to wireless. Web version | Unsubscribe Switch Weekly Issue 249 — September 19, 2021 Splatoon 2 AirPods Hey, Chris here with issue #249

back with some Wario reviews and Nintendo news

Sunday, September 12, 2021

Your Nintendo digest for the week ending September 12. WAH. Web version | Unsubscribe Switch Weekly Issue 248 — September 12, 2021 WarioWare: Get It Together Hi, here's issue #248 of Switch Weekly

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