• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

It's unbelievable how the Switch's paid online service is worse than the free service of the WiiU/3DS

OrdinaryUsername

OrdinaryUsername

Banned
Mar 31, 2018
616
I know the Switch's online service is flawed. It's just very strange that the Switch's paid service is simply more limited than the free online service of Wii U and 3DS.

The Switch marked the return of the infamous Friend Codes, which didn't exist on Wii U. The ability to contact friends online was possible with Miiverse on older Nintendo consoles, but nothing similar is possible with the Switch. What's more, I personally have better experiences with Nintendo Network online services than with Nintendo Switch Online (fewer error codes and so on).
 
Knight613

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,647
San Francisco
I can believe it.

Every time Reggie used to talk about the Switch Online he always phrased as the "online opportunity" as in just an opportunity to charge for online without really figuring out what they could have to make it worth while.
 
Ninjadom

Ninjadom

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,191
London, UK
Friend codes on Switch aren't as bad as they used to be, only one is required rather than both players needing to exchange them.

But you're totally missing that the paid online service on Switch includes games. Tetris 99, NES and SNES.
 
Ehoavash

Ehoavash

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,232
Nintendo one step forward, two step backwards

Still so weird how friend code weren't on the Wii u lol.

Switch doesn't have No system wide game invite, no messages system, party chat

It's like the 3ds shook them cause of that pedophilia incident
 
Nightbird

Nightbird

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,780
Germany
Can't say you're wrong.

Nintendo is missing basic functionality that they themselves offered before and it's jarring that they're asking for money.
 
Ehoavash

Ehoavash

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,232
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,623
England
Friend codes aren't that bad. They are a one way request, they allow users to freely change their display name, they are not the only way to add a friend on the Switch, and most mobile games these days use them too.

The loss of Miiverse, though, is a huge blow. I can share on Twitter, but nobody there really cares and I can't tag spoilers.
 
7threst

7threst

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,297
Netherlands
It's working perfectly for me. I don't feel the fee for Nintendo Online is too high, I like the free NES and SNES games on offer, friendcodes work as they should and online play works good for me. I do realize that a lot of people see cloud saves as a necesary functionality when you pay for online (which surprises me every time I read it on forums as I personally couldn't care less). But I'm probably an extreme minority seeing the weekly threads on how bad Nintendo is treating gamers when it comes to their online services lol.

I do miss MiiVerse and VC though.
 
Ehoavash

Ehoavash

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,232
Ehoavash said:
www.google.com

Accused Child Predator Allegedly Used Nintendo's Swapnote Service

On October 31, Nintendo suddenly announced it was ending its SwapNote service for the 3DS. Nintendo said Swapnote had been "actively misused" to transmit "offensive material" among system users, including minors. Now we know how offensive and unsettling some of that material was.
www.google.com www.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I believe this really shook them and made them change many factors about how they do online./ Online services they offer
 

Imitatio

Member
Feb 19, 2018
14,560
NyaNeko said:
The Switch marked the return of the infamous Friend Codes, which didn't exist on Wii U. The ability to contact friends online was possible with Miiverse on older Nintendo consoles, but nothing similar is possible with the Switch. What's more, I personally have better experiences with Nintendo Network online services than with Nintendo Switch Online (fewer error codes and so on).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Tbh, OP, those things don't directly correlate with the paid nature of the service like your title suggests.
On the other hand: the paid aspect of NSO brought positive aspects like the Vouchers (sorry, American folks, that NoA fucked this up for you) or cloud based saves, both of which WiiU and 3DS didn't offer.

I still tend to agree with you on how Nintendo's general Online functionality hasn't advanced in the grand scheme, but it's not like it's only gotten worse. They're stagnating, imo, and stagnation can also be perceived as a step back, so I kinda get where you're coming from overall.
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,774
Video Games
You hear Friend Codes and you go "ewww lolololol" but you don't follow through with the thought and realize how equally quick and painless they are to enter, just like any old user name (possibly faster and easier even). Only bother is that you won't know your FC off hand if someone asks.

It's really not any worse or better. It's just the same thing done differently which is a bit disappointing in itself. They often do a thing well once and then just start from scratch the next time and do it worse or different just for the hell of it (looking at you, activity log).

DiscoShark said:
It's why I haven't bought a switch
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
is it really though?
 
massoluk

massoluk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,573
Thailand
Complaining about Friend Codes doesn't make sense. Everyone I know is using Twitter and Facebook to add friends on Switch
 
Axisofweevils

Axisofweevils

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,836
For me, nothing shows this more than mario maker... old Wii U version: bookmark website enabling to share levels easily. New (paid for) version: here's a 10 letter code for you to type in.
 
Mr.Deadshot

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,285
It's trash. Nintendo is 10 years behind. But I think they just don't care because people buy it anyway. They also force you to use it if you want to backup your save games which is especially bad.
 
XSX

XSX

Member
Oct 31, 2017
2,164
Lol it's even worse then the OG Xbox online in some ways. Just plain bad.
 
Wolfapo

Wolfapo

Member
Dec 27, 2017
536
Robin64 said:
Friend codes aren't that bad. They are a one way request, they allow users to freely change their display name, they are not the only way to add a friend on the Switch, and most mobile games these days use them too.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Agreed. I don't know why people hate on friend codes. It's actually more secure. Your actual login to the service is hidden completely and thus safer.
You can freely change your display name and you additionally can add friends through different means (Twitter, Facebook, mobile games, 3DS and WiiU).
 
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,623
England
Why are people ragging on Nintendo for making cloud storage behind a paywall? Sony does too and charges more for theirs.

Edit: Okay, people have informed me already that the PS4 supports local saves too, please stop repeating it.
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 12833

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
10,078
Robin64 said:
I have a couple of pages of friends on my console and don't think I added a single one with a code.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
People link their social account? Haven't seen it from my experience.

The friend code thing is hilariously bad. I actually gave my best friend access to my family plan by sending it to his email but neither of us knew our codes so we aren't friends lol
 
Common Knowledge

Common Knowledge

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,228
I just laugh when I think back to how they originally described Switch Online back during the Switch's launch with basic-sounding features, then made us wait a year and a half before actually launching Online. Surely there must be much more to it if took this long to get ready, right? I remember a lot of people saying that, and I believed it too. But lol nah, it's the same exact basic set of features they told us it would be a year and a half before. But now you also pay for online play you had for free earlier.

Dumping 20 NES games takes a lot of time I guess.
 
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,623
England
Tofer said:
People link their social account? Haven't seen it from my experience.

The friend code thing is hilariously bad. I actually gave my best friend access to my family plan by sending it to his email but neither of us new our codes so we aren't friends lol
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

More than just Twitter and Facebook, many imported over from the 3DS and various mobile games Nintendo have put out and a few were added locally.
 
Renna Hazel

Renna Hazel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,552
Tofer said:
People link their social account? Haven't seen it from my experience.

The friend code thing is hilariously bad. I actually gave my best friend access to my family plan by sending it to his email but neither of us knew our codes so we aren't friends lol
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's kind of on you. It takes a few seconds to look up your code. Lots of services such as Discord use this method now. People are just stuck on the name 'friend code' without even knowing why they were bad before.
 
Robin64

Robin64

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,623
England
Yeah if people want to add me on Steam, Discord or Xbox Live (and surely others I cant' remember), I have to look up some silly number they've put after my name. (For XBL I changed my tag recently and the [name]#[number] thing is their new system)

It's not really any different on Switch. Or, you know, my mobile phone when people want to add me to ring and text.
 
cowbanana

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
13,648
a Socialist Utopia
Robin64 said:
Why are people ragging on Nintendo for making cloud storage behind a paywall? Sony does too and charges more for theirs.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Huge difference. I can make backups via USB on the PS4. I keep an archive of all my PS4 saves on my PC + FTP (for games I put a lot of time into). Cloud saves are entirely optional and not needed to keep your saves safe.

On Switch, paying protection money is the only option.
 
Combichristoffersen

Combichristoffersen

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,756
Ehoavash said:
www.google.com

Accused Child Predator Allegedly Used Nintendo's Swapnote Service

On October 31, Nintendo suddenly announced it was ending its SwapNote service for the 3DS. Nintendo said Swapnote had been "actively misused" to transmit "offensive material" among system users, including minors. Now we know how offensive and unsettling some of that material was.
www.google.com www.google.com
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thanks. Although I can see why that would give them cold feet, the possibility of abuse is something that can't be avoided on any online service, more or less. So I don't really think it's an excuse for Nintendo's poor online offering.
 
Dr Pears

Dr Pears

Member
Sep 9, 2018
2,670
I was forced to subscribe because 5 star Pokemon Raids were impossible with the dumbshit AI.

When I finally got online and started raids with real online players, some players were dumbshits earthquaking everyone in the team to death and there was no way to message them to stop.

Hate it.
 
a glitch

a glitch

Member
Dec 12, 2018
215
Combichristoffersen said:
Thanks. Although I can see why that would give them cold feet, the possibility of abuse is something that can't be avoided on any online service, more or less. So I don't really think it's an excuse for Nintendo's poor online offering.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think there were similar concerns about abuse on pictochat back on the original DS, that particular incident could've been the straw that broke the camels back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.