Within the span of just six months, Nintendo has managed to hit close to 10 million subscribers for the premium version of the Nintendo Network. The paid service came about last year in September of 2018, but Nintendo is already looking to catch up to Xbox Live and PSN based on how aggressively they’re attempting to bolster their figures so soon after joining the fray of premium online services.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, the Nintendo Switch’s online service has reached about 29% of the total install base for the Switch’s hardware, which sits at around 34 million units sold worldwide. Nintendo is still only a third of way to what Sony has moved when comparing the Switch sales to the PS4, which has surpassed 91 million. But the Switch is just a few million away from reaching the Xbox One, which is reportedly at around 41 million, according to Ubergizmo.
At its current clip – and with the launch of a few notable exclusives – I believe the Switch will easily surpass the Xbox One this year in terms of install base. That’s pretty darn impressive since it only just launched two years ago in 2017.
Nintendo is still a ways off from reaching the subscriber numbers of its premium network rivals, though. PSN has reportedly gauged around 90 million in terms of active users, according to PushSquare. And Xbox Live is sitting at 64 million monthly active users according to Windows Central.
So Nintendo has a long ways to go before they’re even putting any kind of noticeable dent in the numbers of its competitors on the online front.
Even still, it looks like the Switch’s premium service is gaining momentum quite readily. The offering of old NES games with online multiplayer support has apparently been more successful than most people thought, but I’m pretty sure the majority of the subscriptions come from people wanting to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Online with their friends.
Either way, I still hate the idea of paying to play games online. PC gaming used to be that way when Mplayer and TEN ruled the day, but it’s impossible to imagine wanting to willingly hand over cash for a service opportunity that you can access for free on mobile devices and PC.
