How long have you been subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online?

[~Kilza~]

The Nintendo Switch has been available worldwide for almost 7 years now, while Nintendo Switch Online was launched over 5 years ago (September 18, 2018). That made me wonder, how long has everyone here been subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online? If you do have it, do you have the basic tier or the Expansion Pack tier? Do you have an individual membership or share it on a family membership?

I've been subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online for just under 4 years now, roughly around the end of March 2020! Originally I just used the free trial to play with my friends in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but I ended up deciding to go ahead and actually buy a subscription to it for a year so I could keep playing New Horizons online with other people, and definitely haven't regretted it since! While I don't quite play Switch games online as often as I did in the early days of using it, it's still been worthwhile for me to keep subscribing to for the odd time I do play something online. I also ended up upgrading to the Expansion Pack tier close to 2 years ago so I could play the Nintendo 64 (and later Game Boy Advance) games that were added, on top of being able to enjoy the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC without having to pay to outright own it. I don't have anybody to share the subscription with, so I just have an individual membership, lol.

Note: If you have forgotten how long you've been subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online for, you can check by just going to the "Nintendo Switch Online" icon on the Switch menu, then looking at the option at the top left after opening it.

 

[Halloqueen]

As of today, I've been subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online for 5 years and 21 days.

I've only ever had the basic individual tier. The Expansion Pass has never swayed me because it bugs me that these games are locked behind a subscription paywall when we could just buy them individually via the Virtual Console on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. I also don't really like the idea of getting game DLC as part of the subscription, because eventually they'll discontinue the online functionality like they have for their prior consoles, so I prefer to just buy the DLC outright.

 

[Paperboy012305]

For 5 years. I haven't really touched the expansion pack part of the online service, mostly because 1: It's expensive and 2: I don't really play any of the NES, SNES and Gameboy games that you get when you are subbed to the switch online anyway so I wouldn't see a point.

 

[Xara]

I’ve been subscribed to NSO for 3 years, 10 months and 26 days as of today! It’ll be 4 years next month on the 26th. I thought I had gotten it earlier in March 2020, like on New Horizons’ release date or maybe even a day or two before, but I guess I didn’t get it until almost a week later.

I‘ve always had a basic tier individual membership. None of my family members own a Switch or want to play any Switch games, all of my friends have and pay for their own memberships, and I only have and want to play on one Nintendo account, so there’s no point in me having a family plan membership. I’d probably only get one if I decided to get a second Switch and copy of New Horizons, but that’s pretty unlikely right now. Nothing included in the Expansion Pack entices me, and it’s more expensive, so I didn’t see a point in getting that, either. I’m perfectly happy with my basic individual membership.

 

[Croconaw]

I’m not sure of the exact amount of time, but it couldn’t have been more than two years. I only recently got WiFi and didn’t have the means to subscribe before that.

 

[oak]

My online membership expired last year and I never got it again cause I was barely using it. I only really used it with animal crossing and pokemon.

 

[S.J.]

I've been subscribed for 3 years, 8 months, and 26 days! I currently have a family membership. I haven't considered getting the Expansion Pack, as I can't see myself using any of the current features.

 

[BetsySundrop]

Over 3 years... I got nso (and the switch tbh) specifically for acnh. Almost 4 years, but not quite.

I got the individual nso, and got the hhp outright i think. I figured if I canceled nso, I'd still have hhp.

I think the other person sharing the switch got the individual nso with the expansion pack? It's a little weird, how each profile has to have nso (and yet still shares only the one island, ahem). I don't remember why we didn't do the family thing...

 

[daringred_]

i've had it for as long as new horizons has been out. i bought a switch specifically for that game, and the online with it. i don't really play on my switch that much anymore, but i watch youtube on it while playing games on my pc -- and occasionally still hop into MK8 online -- so i'm still subbed to the online service.

 

[deana]

I've had my online membership for 3 years, 7 months, and 25 days as of today. I've always just had the basic individual plan. New Horizons was the only game I had that used online for while (bought the Switch for AC) but now I have a few other online games that I play sometimes. I don't even use the online a whole ton but I just like having the option there incase the mood strikes.

 

[stitchmaker]

Main Switch -5 Years 1 month 4 days. 2nd Switch- Not sure how long 2nd console has
Both Consoles started with basic individual memberships. As I added more profiles I switched to Family Plans for each Consoles. Two individual One Year memberships cost more than a Family Membership for 8 Profiles.
Last October I upgraded to the Expansion Pass for my main Switch. Adult daughter bought a Nintendo Switch so I upgraded.

 

[Midoriya]

In-between 4 and 5 years I'm pretty sure. Too lazy to go look at the actual number right now, but it seems about right.

I don't ever plan on touching ANY of the expansion stuff though, lmaoooo.

Although I do appreciate the icons we get for being subscribed. That's probably my favorite feature, haha.

 

[-Mars-]

I had Nintendo Switch Online for one single year before it expired (Dec 25th 2021- Dec 25th 2022) I bought a family gift card but due to technical difficulties I could only get it for my account and not my siblings. I've never had the expansion pack(I just got Happy Home Paradise individually, pretty sure I'll never buy the MK8D Booster Courses) I don't think I'll be purchasing NSO ever again due to horrible Joy-con drift and me being burnt out/unhappy with the Switch since last year or so.

 

[SkyKnight03]

I subscribed to the base plan when it was introduced. I had the Expansion Pass for a couple years and feels like I've gotten what I wanted out of it. I have no plans to renew.

 

[Cress]

I grabbed it the day it launched and haven't dropped it since then, so over 5 years for me. Just the basic plan, the expansion pack feels like a massive rip-off.
Although I am on a family plan! And by that I mean I'm in a group with 7 friends and we're all in completely different countries and have never actually lived as a family before. But hey $35 divided by 8 people comes out to be about $4.37 per person per year, definitely a win over paying $20 per year.

 

[Coach]

Currently I haven't got NSO, as it ran out a while ago. Normally I have it run out and then renew it for events on here or it a new game comes out that I want to play online with

 

[Mairmalade]

I've been on an individual membership since September 2020, and was previously on someone else's family plan for one year prior to that.

No expansion pass for me! I can barely justify a normal membership.

 

[Cheremtasy]

I've been on a family plan for 3 years and 11 months, so just under 4 years! I remember a few of my friends and I all wanted to get NSO once ACNH released. I took the initiative of being the host, so iirc I had been trying to gather a group of people in advance so I could get online for us not long after ACNH dropped. We also ended up upgrading to the expansion pack in 2021 after the HHP DLC was released! Luckily everyone was on board with the upgrade and we've been renewing the expansion pack ever since. I will say that the members of my group have changed over time and it's a little nerve wracking to find new people to join once someone leaves, but if not for the family plan, me and my friends definitely wouldn't have online because the individual price isn't really something we can justify unfortunately, so we're super grateful that the family plan is a thing.

 

[NebulaNights]

I’ve had it since I got my first Switch back in 2018 or 17. I’ve had it since launch basically. Also, I just have the regular one, as I don’t really have a need for the more expensive one. Just having the basic is more than enough for me.

 

[Yoshi155]

I only just got it last June, so it’s not even a year old yet. I didn’t think my dad would ever get it, so I didn’t ask at first. I don’t remember what happened, but eventually I did decide to ask him and I actually got it. It’s only going to last for a year, so I have no idea if he’ll even renew it after it expires.