Update: I mentioned in the article that the monthly cost of PS4 and Xbox One is around 9.99. While that's true you can also buy yearly subscriptions for around $59.99...which I don't do and maybe I should start. It's still cheaper.
Well here's a fair bit of good news for the Nintendo Switch. Game industry consultant Dr. Sekan Toto announced via Twitter that Nintendo's new online service is likely to be around $25 annually, and it could be even lower than that!
1) Just in: Nintendo president Kimishima tells the Nikkei Switch's online service will be priced at 2-3,000 yen ($17.50 - $26.50) *YEARLY*.
— Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) February 1, 2017
That's a drop in the pot considering the $9.99 monthly both Xbox and PS4 are now requiring for their subscriptions. $25 sounds like a good compromise in the face of an online service that will require the use of my smartphone to properly maintain. For those unaware, Nintendo's new online service will perform matchmaking and party chat via an app on your smartphone. It's still unclear as to whether this app will be available on the console itself.
Before, when I thought the price would be around $120 annually (which is the average if you pay month to month on PS4 or Xbox One), I was already mentally preparing myself to purchase a console that I would not be using for online connectivity!
While the news is promising, we still have software like Netflix and other apps that won't be available when the console launches, and no timeframe as to when they will be available. I would definitely like some more answers on that in the coming days, wouldn't you?
