The unreliability of Nintendo Switch Online seems to be catching up to the company, as an official event was recently ruined by it. In a competitive environment hosted by Nintendo itself, a reliable way to compete would be expected, but ultimately the Nintendo VS US Fall Open failed to deliver.
Nintendo Switch Online, the subscription online service for Nintendo Switch, is well known for being frustratingly unreliable in many first-party games like Super Mario Maker and Splatoon 2. The Super Smash Bros. series has suffered through its entire online life due to its barely functional networking, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is no exception.
Reddit user Taffarr posted a clip from the Nintendo VS US Fall Open 2021 event showing a match disconnecting during a pivotal moment. Players ToonFink and Aarow were battling to decide the winner of the second grand prize, but during the match the arena randomly shut down. Similar issues have existed since release, but seeing this happen during an official Nintendo event is bringing the topic back into popular discussion again. The clip acted as a catalyst for comments containing even more hate on the already much-maligned NSO expansion pack, which quickly gained a massive dislike ratio after its reveal.
The commentators immediately began to downplay the disconnect, understandably enough since at an official event the only option is to save face. They would likely have gotten in trouble if they commented on the unreliability, and as such remained professional. Sadly, this adherence to professionalism also represents Nintendo's approach to online services; even after five years of the Switch being available to the public, these issues still exist, but it does not seem to matter to some executives since Nintendo still makes massive amounts of money.
The lack of action from Nintendo on the issues with Nintendo Switch Online frustrates many fans, with many sounding off in the replies to Taffarr's clip to express frustration with the audacity of releasing an expansion pack with such basic issues still present. While Nintendo languishes in fan frustration, other developers are earning praise for implementing innovative networking solutions like rollback netcode.
It is unlikely that Nintendo's executives see any reason to change the situation. Even after five years of online issues, Nintendo Switch remains a major force in the game industry as both software and hardware developers. Despite the lackluster benefits and plentiful disconnects of Nintendo Switch Online, the company's unique approach to game design, hardware exclusivity, and a library of classic Nintendo games keeps fans coming back.