On Friday morning, Nintendo announced its official release plans for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription. Nintendo Switch Online combined with the Expansion Pack will cost a substantial $49.99 a year, up from $19.99 for the standard subscription. The Expansion Pack will include access to a library of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games, as well as DLC like Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Happy Home Paradise. That may seem like a significant price increase for the included content, but there may be a good reason why.
Emily Rogers, an industry insider that often shares information about Nintendo and Nintendo-related projects, discussed something she'd heard following Friday's Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct. Rogers says that she'd heard Sega is being paid "very, very well" for licensing the Sega Genesis games including in Nintendo's Expansion Pack subscription. Rogers speculates that it's these licensing costs that have led to the $30 price increase for the Expansion Pack.
It isn't just Sega's licensing costs that would be raising the Expansion Pack's price, however. Rogers notes that there are third-party games being licensed for the service, too. For example, Konami's Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps, as well as Capcom's Strider and possibly Rare for Banjo-Kazooie. These additional licensing costs are certain to add up, especially given that they'll be available on the service all year long for subscribers to play at their leisure.
Whether those licensing costs add up to a staggering $30 price increase is another matter entirely, however. If the subscription wasn't lucrative for Nintendo, then it wouldn't be offering the Expansion Pack at all. There's also the fact that Nintendo will be wanting to expand the content available on the Expansion Pack over time, but won't want to adjust the price. As such, there has to be room within the price to increase third-party licensing, unless Nintendo has no plans to add other Sega Genesis games.
While it may seem prudent to try and understand and explain the reason why Nintendo is charging an additional $30 a year for its Expansion Pack, the reasons why are ultimately less important than if it's worth it to individual Switch gamers. Less than $3 more a month for access to over a dozen classic games, including Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is certain to appeal to a number of Nintendo fans.
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack is slated to release on October 25. It'll raise the annual price of a Nintendo Switch Online subscription from $20 a year to $50, or from $35 to $80 for a Family Membership. There are no current options to pay for the Expansion Pack on a monthly or 3-month schedule.