There's other PS4 and XBO games that require Plus/Gold for online features that aren't multiplayer (messages, shared world events and chalice dungeons in Dark Souls and Bloodborne) so the distinction is completely arbitrary. Even on Switch you can play some online enabled non-MP stuff in Super Mario Odyssey without a sub but you need the sub for Mario Maker 2.
I think in co-op right now, characters don't all have to be on the same screen. You can all run different directions. Local co-op doesn't really work with that.
Pokemon trading is you directly interacting with another player online. That would be tied to the online subscription on any platform. And you do need Switch Online to trade in Let's Go, so it's expected on Sword and Shield too.
It s probably to allow players to not stick together on the same screen
That's the key part. Nintendo service is different and cheaper, they lots of times don't do what other companies are already doing. You should set your expectations for NSO moving forward because this is never going to change.
Pokemon already needs NSO for trading, battliing and any online functionality.
I don't think it's lame at all, the service is cheaper and I'm getting cool features like multiplayer online for the first time in a Mario game. It's just worth it.
Well, to be fair, Online being behind a paywall at all is not cool. There's really no need for it to be, so where do you draw the line on which online features should be free and which ones should be paid? Sony did their thing, Nintendo is doing it differently. It's not an industry standard.
Mario Maker levels work really fast, I was surprised at first too but the more I think about it the more sense it makes not to have local co-op as people would be leaving the screen constantly and split screen would be too small for competitive. In any case, it's a bummer.Surely Nintendo can't be so daft that they introduce a coop building mode so you can play the game with your kid but then don't allow you to play together so you can't actually play the game with your kid, right?
I know this is Nintendo, so that question is part rhetorical, but still.
If so, my motivation to buy the game just went
Sure for competitive, but it's not like NSMBWii/U and NSMB3DW, both of which are featured, didn't already have multiplayer solutions. Zooming cameras work. It should work even better with the older versions due to their cleaner look.
Yes because we're not talking multiplayer playing, but level sharing and local MP. That's the new low.
It is new because until now similar functions on other platforms with paid online didn't require it.
It was pretty normal and expected, and it's a cheap service anyway and people were like "still not worth it lol" and when Nintendo are trying to add value to the service people cry "new low".
Yes if you use split screen. I've played 4 player races in split screen on Switch with Sonic Mania. So it is possible.
There's a difference between online multiplayer and download/upload of community content, I can't think of many games on any system that lock that behind a subscription.
