Following the company’s Q4 2021 financial report, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa provided a small update about the Switch’s online services, specifically regarding the success and future of the system’s paid subscription service.
When talking about Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) to investors during a Q&A, translated by VGC, Furukawa confirmed that the service has continued to grow with the Switch’s user base and the company plans to continue expanding it throughout the remainder of 2022.
Since launching NSO in September 2018, Nintendo has consistently added content to the service, including the Expansion Pack tier, a more expensive version of NSO that gives players access to Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games, along with DLC for certain titles like Mario Kart 8 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. And, according to Furukawa, additional content will expand the service again before the end of the year.
No specifics for new content were shared, but the executive did note that adding software and options has increased the number of subscribers. This includes most NSO users in the U.S. reportedly upgrading to the Expansion Pack.
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Around the same time Nintendo announced the NSO Expansion Pack last September, the company also revealed the service had around 32 million subscribers. No updated numbers have been provided, but Furukawa assured investors that the number is increasing as more Switch systems are sold, with the hybrid console just reaching 107.65 million units sold.
“The total subscribers of Nintendo Switch Online has not been updated from the 32 million subscribers we disclosed last September, but it is gradually increasing as the sales of Nintendo Switches increases,” Furukawa said, according to VGC. “Of course, there are customers who allow their subscribership to expire, and then they don’t renew, so we believe it is important to continue releasing software that allows players to continue enjoying, not only online play, but also enhances their overall experience. We will continue to expand our services and create new content for our customers throughout this year.”
Furukawa also added that Nintendo will “continue to consider the convenience for our customers as well as how well it would tie in with individual software.”
News about additional content being added to NSO, like the recent addition of the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC, will be shared as it becomes available. You can read the full translation and additional comments on VGC.