Daily Debate: How Can Nintendo Improve Its Online Services for the Switch Successor?

Between now and still financially recovering from this coming holiday season, we will have our first look at the successor to the Nintendo Switch. There’s a whole lot of different things that gamers out there want from whatever comes out of the Big N’s next-generation console, or any first-party system for that matter. New games, a system that runs better than the previous-generation, and even a price that doesn’t break the bank are items people want.

However, a console’s online capabilities is what appears at the top of some people’s lists. Ever since the possibilities with the internet and video game consoles were first realized, Nintendo has taken it upon itself to integrate it into their systems. Starting as far back as the Satellaview in 1995, Nintendo wanted more than ever to be ahead of the curve considering it had competition in the form of the SEGA Saturn and Sony’s PlayStation consoles at the time.

Nowadays though, the Big N isn’t exactly getting its affairs in order when it comes to its consoles online capabilities. Its more recent systems seem to struggle when it comes to online gaming, as having a LAN cable connection is the only way you’re going to play games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate without it feeling completely janky. And thankfully social community sites like Discord exist, otherwise you’ll be having to use the Nintendo Switch mobile app just to chat with people or send out game invites.

Then there’s the Switch Online classic collections for the previous-generation systems, as well as the SEGA Genesis. Considering the actual collective size of the games they have available, why do these have to be always online?  Can’t I just download them directly to my system, so that way, I can play them anywhere at any time regardless of internet? I’m pretty sure my Nintendo Switch has enough storage space to hold these classic titles and whatever new games I purchase. Hell, my Wii and Wii U were very capable of doing just that!

While I can write a whole list of how Nintendo can improve its online services for the Switch successor, I think I’ll keep it brief. First, improve the online servers for both first and third-party games, so that even with a gamer using wi-fi, it doesn’t feel too sluggish or out of sync (solid rollback netcode offering would be a start). Second, integrate the way users socialize with each other online into your Switch successor. I don’t get why this one is too difficult since Microsoft and Sony have done it well, with both companies recently integrating Discord chat on to their current systems.

Finally, offering an offline mode for the Switch Online classic collections wherein internet is not required to play them. If streaming sites and apps like Netflix can offer their users to watch their movies and shows without the use of a connection, I’m sure that’s not too difficult to do. Also, before I forget, add more titles monthly for these collections as a lot of Nintendo fans feel like you’re just giving us scraps whenever you feel like it.

With all that being said, how can Nintendo improve its online services for the Switch successor? Let us know in the comments below!

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