Are you dying to play a great game in online multiplayer on Nintendo Switch but don’t know how to proceed? Have you heard that you need to activate a paid subscription but you don’t understand what it is? Don’t worry, if you want, I’ll be here to help you.
In the course of this tutorial, in fact, I will explain how to play online with Nintendo Switch by guiding you through the procedure to access the online multiplayer mode of the titles for the Nintendo hybrid console and activate the subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online platform, often necessary to achieve this goal. , but not always essential.
As I will explain, in fact, there are titles where you can play for free online without a subscription! How do you say? Would you like to know more? So let’s immediately ban the chatter and take action immediately. I wish you a good read and, above all, a lot of fun!
Index
- Preliminary information
- How to play online on Nintendo Switch
- Subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online
- Start an online game
Preliminary information
With your Nintendo Switch in your hands and your friends waiting for you online, perhaps for a battle royale in Fortnite or an exploration in Minecraft , you certainly can’t wait to start the procedure to play online. However, I think it is best to make a few premises before throwing yourself headlong into the action.
It may seem trivial to you, but the first thing I recommend is to make sure that the game has an online mode and if this is accessible through a Nintendo Switch Online subscription . In practice, it is possible that a game does not have an online mode at all or that it does but without being in multiplayer (as in the case of free-to-play or those in which the online is dedicated to downloading content only or single challenges).
In other cases, like that of Fortnite, the game is almost entirely online but does not require a subscription. In others, however, the subscription to the Nintendo online service is mandatory. How do you say? Still don’t know what Nintendo Switch Online means? Don’t worry, I’ll explain it to you immediately.
Put simply, by subscribing to the Nintendo Switch Online service, you will have guaranteed access to the online mode of any game that provides it. Plus, you’ll be able to access extra content, such as NES games.
Now that you know what the subscription is, all you have to do is check if the game you intend to start online includes this mode and requires it. This kind of information can be easily found by reading the back of the case (in the case of a physical game in cartridge format) or by checking directly from the online product page on the official Nintendo website . In fact, this site reports all the information on the methods supported by the games and on the request or not of the subscription.
For example, if you want to check if the online is supported by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe , from the main page of the site search for the game, typing its title in the search bar located at the top, distinguished by the logo of a magnifying glass, and then press the Enter key .
At the new page, browse the search results and locate the game, then click on its title to open the product page. Now just click on the Details item to open the summary of the requirements and supported modes, such as the number of players supported, the functionality with peripherals and the type of multiplayer expected.
How to play online on Nintendo Switch
I’m sure you will find it really easy to verify what I told you in the previous chapter . After these simple checks, you will be able to understand when a game features online multiplayer and requires a subscription.
Now you have nothing else to worry about. You are ready to find out in detail how to play online with Nintendo Switch . Stay comfortable with Nintendo Switch in your hands and within reach of Wi-Fi signal to start the subscription procedure and start an online game.
Subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online
As I told you, leaving out some exceptions, including the case of free-to-play , online gaming on Nintendo Switch requires a subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service .
Some examples of Nintendo games with online modes that require a subscription are, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , Splatoon 2 , FIFA 20 , Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield , but not only.
It’s safe to say that almost all the best Switch games require it. That said, it should be noted that there are various subscription “cuts” in both single and family mode: here they are in detail.
- Individual subscription– available in the format of 1 month (30 days) for € 3.99, 3 months (90 days) for € 7.99 and 12 months (365 days) for € 19.99.
- Family Membership– This is a membership valid for eight accounts that are part of a family group. This subscription is exclusively available in the 12-month format at the list price of 34.99 euros.
In any case, there is a 7-day free trial period for new subscribers.
The purchase of a subscription is possible from the Nintendo eShop of Nintendo Switch, from the dedicated site and from third-party retailers, both physical and online, such as Amazon (where there are often interesting discounts).
90 Days Switch Online Members (Individual) | Nintendo Switch – Code …
See offer on Amazon
365 Days Switch Online Members (Family) | Nintendo Switch – Code …
See offer on Amazon
90 Days Switch Online Members (Individual) | Nintendo Switch – Code …
See offer on Amazon
First, let me tell you how to shop through Nintendo eShop . Launch the Switch, open the eShop (the shopping bag icon), log in with your account (if you don’t have one yet, you can create it by going to System Settings> User> [your name]> Link a Nintendo Account> Create a new account ) and select Nintendo Switch Online from the left sidebar.
If before entering you see a warning that tells you to update the console , go ahead with a tap on the Update choice , and then make another one on the button with the same writing. Finally, start the automatic update procedure, with a tap on the OK button , and wait for it to finish. Please note that during the update the console may restart and interrupt all games left pending, so remember to save your game!
Once in the Nintendo Switch Online section of the eShop, click on Subscription Options and choose the plan you prefer ( free trial may also be available , if this is your first time to register), choose my payment method you prefer to use (the available ones are, Credit Card , PayPal , or Funds Only if you have previously loaded money into the virtual wallet of your Nintendo Account) and complete the transaction by following the instructions on the screen.
Now let’s move on to the procedure from the Nintendo website: once you have opened the Nintendo website page in your browser, you can click directly on the Subscription Options item and, having made your decision on the type of subscription to subscribe, press the red button Choose a subscription .
Then click on the Proceed to Purchase button corresponding to the subscription you prefer (or the button for the free trial , if available) and log in to your Nintendo Online account, by entering Email Address / Login ID and Password in the respective boxes .
If you don’t have a Nintendo Account yet, click the white button below Create a Nintendo Account or log in with your Facebook , Google , Twitter or Apple account . Don’t worry about the registration procedure, I’ll take care of helping you with this guide that I have created to facilitate you in the operation.
Once logged in, the page is updated with the choice of payment method . So choose the method you prefer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the payment, at the end of which you will be officially subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online!
There is an additional method of purchasing the subscription, that is by redeeming a code ; this is especially useful if you bought the code from a third-party store or received one as a gift.
Nintendo codes can also match credit to increase account funds, which can be spent on virtually the entire online catalog. Well, to redeem a code, always go to the Nintendo Shop with the procedure I described above for the Switch subscription. Then, from the menu on the left look for the item Register a code and then tap on the empty dotted space and continue to enter the code via the touch-screen.
Once you have entered the code, press the A button on the right Joy-Con or tap the same button on the screen. You just have to confirm your intention to redeem the product / code and enjoy the purchase!
How do you say? Have you received Nintendo credit as a gift but wanted to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription? No problem, you can redeem the code as I just told you and then follow the subscription procedure described above. Just remember to select Funds only as your payment method .
PLEASE NOTE: Your Switch Online subscription is automatically renewed. to deactivate it, access the Nintendo eShop , select the Nintendo Switch Online item from the left sidebar and press the button to cancel the automatic renewal of the subscription. Alternatively, you can proceed to the Nintendo website by logging into your account and pressing the subscriptions button .
Start an online game
Once you become a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, you can immediately start playing online while having fun with old and new friends. While the subscription is primarily for multiplayer online gaming, it also includes other benefits, such as the ability to download a selection of games from the Nintendo (NES) catalog and obtain a reserved space in the Nintendo cloud dedicated to game progress saves. .
Well, now I guess you’re wondering how to play a Nintendo Switch title online, right? Well, nothing simpler, I’m here to give you some concrete examples.
In most games, you can access online multiplayer by finding multiplayer , multiplayer or online from the main menu . For example, when playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe , this mode can be found in the main menu under the name Online Game . When you are in the online menu you simply have to choose the game mode and wait for the game to start.
In other games, such as those that you can download for free , (among which I remind you that there is also the very popular Fortnite ) you can play online even without a subscription. In any case, the procedure is just as simple and even more linear.
For example, after downloading and installing Fortnite on Nintendo Switch , start it by pressing its icon from the main menu and tap the top menu Play (or press the backbone L from the main menu), then press the X button on the Joy-Con to enter the game with the mode you want to play. Immediately after waiting for loading you are thrown onto the flying bus to parachute into battle. Please be polite and don’t forget to thank the driver for the ride!
A nice feature integrated with the online game is to be able to interact via microphone in real time with other players in the group. This is a feature that you will hardly be able to do without, especially if you play Fortnite online, that’s why I thought I’d give you some tips on it .
Please note that unlike offline gaming, where performance depends solely on the console hardware, when you play online, the quality of your Internet connection also comes into play. Typical problems that occur in the game due to a bad connection are sudden disconnections and lags (slowdowns and graphical clicks), or the inability to find game servers or other players.
Well, if you are having problems like this, you better do a speed test . Do more than one and at various times of the day, if the results are consistently unsatisfactory you could try to open the NAT or try to lower the ping . In other cases, the DNS change can also help , however if the problems persist or are too obvious, I recommend that you contact your connection provider directly.
Now that you have learned how to play online with Nintendo Switch and know how to fix any connection problems, you have long gaming sessions ahead of you in the company of players from all over the world. The multiplayer possibilities offered by the Nintendo hybrid console certainly do not end here, if so much internationality of online gaming is not enough for you, feel free to consult my guide with all the ways to play in two or in groups with this console.
