The answer is a resounding: of course, it’s up to you to answer is Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack worth it. It’s an objective answer because there’s a few things in play with the question: do you play Animal Crossing or not? If you do, then it’s obviously very much worth it. If you don’t, then well… we dive deeper into that below.
Prices validated as of 2023.
Since this is a personal decision, let’s start with facts before we share opinion:
Price
The price boils down to the below:
| Nintendo Switch Online | Expansion Pack |
| 1 Month: $3.99 3 Month: $7.99 12 Month: $19.99 Family (12 Months, 8 Accounts): $34.99 | 12 Months: $49.99 $30 increase Family Membership (12 Months, 8 Accounts): $79.99 $40 increase |
Features
| Nintendo Switch Online | Expansion Pack |
|---|---|
| Online Play NES & Super NES Game Library Cloud Game Saves Smartphone App Voice in Multiplayer (via App) Special Offers (free items in some games) Ability to purchase controllers (NES, SNES, Genesis, N64) | Nintendo Switch Online Benefits + Nintendo 64 & Sega Genesis Game Library Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC ($24.99 value), GBA games, Splatoon 2 Expansion, Mario Kart Booster Course |
Value Comparison
Looking at the first year, the value is there when you include the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise DLC because that’s $24.99 alone, by itself. It’s just a $40 increase on the family plan and if you were buying the DLC anyway then your total price would only be $15.01. For individuals it’s easier, just $4.99 over buying the DLC.
More features will be added over time as well, so that’ll increase the value.
If you do not have Animal Crossing: New Horizons, then the only value here right now is the N64 and Genesis games. If you know, want to play them.
Is the Expansion Pack Worth It?
Short answer: Yes, if you’re buying the Animal Crossing DLC.
Longer answer: The games themselves aren’t currently worth the price. You can get the Sega Genesis Classics and get 50+ games for something around $30 right now. So that leaves you with just kind of like, the N64 titles which there aren’t a lot of and the Wii + Wii U already had them and emulated them really well.
The switch being a portable console means that the emulation of something like the n64 will always be sort of a challenge, especially if you don’t purchase the n64 controller (due to the hard to map buttons).
So it comes down to if you wanna play them or not and if playing them on the Switch is worth the above price tag. The expansion pack DOES NOT currently paywall any multiplayer or online features, it’s just the added bonuses, so you can for all means remain at the regular $19.99 / year individual level and be completely fine to play Splatoon et. al.
You don’t get free games like Murder by Numbers or say Pikmin or anything. Nothing like the Xbox Game Pass and the PlayStation Plus memberships, even though the price is at or beyond them at this point. I’d say, personally, I’m not upgrading right now but keep an eye out until there’s enough features to make it worth your while.
In 2023, the library is larger than ever so the value is a bit better, but again it’s just about the same. You decide if it’s right for you!
