Nintendo Switch paid online service costs $26 a year

Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima has confirmed the Nintendo Switch's paid online subscription service will be quite inexpensive.

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Starting in Fall 2017 Nintendo will charge owners of its new Nintendo Switch console a subscription fee to play online. This move was quite controversial when it was announced, however, thanks to analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, we know now the fee will be extremely competitively priced at just 2-3,000 yen ($17.50 - $26.50) a year. Compared to Microsoft and Sony, who both charge $59.99 a year for their online service, this could end up being a huge boon for Nintendo.

Unlike PlayStation Plus and Xbox LIVE Gold, Nintendo's paid online service won't give subscribers access to an incremental free games library. Instead Nintendo will grant subscribers limited access to a single NES or SNES Virtual Console game for a month, and then revoke access after the month is over. The selection will rotate from month-to-month and subscribers will get a discount on that period's game should they want to buy it from the eShop.

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Kimishima didn't confirm any other specific details on the subscription service, but we do know that online chatting on the Nintendo Switch is exclusively available on a smartphone app.

The Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, 2017 for $299. Check below for a list of everything we know about the console so far:

Everything we know about the Nintendo Switch:

• Nintendo Switch paid online service only costs $26 a year
• Nintendo Switch appeals to Japanese smartphone gamers

• New Zelda is based on three words 'climb, live, protect'
• EA: Nintendo listening to third-party Switch game devs
• First footage of Nintendo Switch's touchscreen in action
• Nintendo Switch games lineup: a visual guide
• Nintendo Switch replaces Wii U on Nintendo homesite
• Nintendo Switch battery life analysis
• Resident Evil 7 isn't coming to Nintendo Switch
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Hyrule is bigger than Skyrim
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild has an awesome physics engine
• Switch's 4310mAh battery takes 3 hours to fully recharge

• Could the Nintendo Switch's add-on processor box be the key to unlocking its full potential and boost CPU/GPU power via NVIDIA's cloud servers?
• Nintendo Switch will have 'steady pacing of content'
• Nintendo Switch's paid online subscription is specifically made to attract third-party devs
• Switch is all about 'playing games anywhere with anyone'
• Nintendo Switch will have 'steady pacing of content'
• Putting Nintendo Switch launch games into perspective
• Stock Nintendo Switch JoyConGrip won't recharge JoyCons
• The new Zelda game takes up nearly half Switch's storage
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs at 900p 30FPS docked, 720p 30FPS undocked
• Nintendo Switch supports 2TB Micro SDXC cards
• Nintendo Switch online chat requires smartphone app
• Here's why Nintendo Switch doesn't come with any games
• Nintendo will soon charging gamers to play online multiplayer via subscription service
• Nintendo Switch UI revealed, let's take a closer look
• Nintendo Switch touchscreen has haptic feedback tech
• Nintendo stock drops after Switch unveil event
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch runs at 1080p when docked
• Nintendo Switch hardware specs revealed
• Nintendo Switch costs $299, coming March 3
• Nintendo Switch battery life is 2.5 hours to 6 hours
• New Mario: Odyssey game won't be Nintendo Switch launch title
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Switch launch game