When Nintendo announced its Nintendo Switch Online Expansion, the reception was not very positive. The main complaints were towards the price, especially for single subscribers. However, it seems that Nintendo is looking to heavily invest in their online infrastructure.
Nintendo’s recent financial reports presentation shows what the game development company plans to invest on. Most notably, it plans to invest up to 300 billion yen ($2.64 billion USD) on Nintendo Accounts and Infastructure. The information can be found on page 43.
According to the report, Nintendo plans to “maintain and expand relationships with consumers, center on Nintendo Accounts” and “build infrastructure and continue to forge partnerships.”
In more details, the report mentions that they have plans on “expanding the ways that Nintendo Accounts can serve as the foundation for providing consumers with better experiences and better services, and for creating new added value.”
This certainly seems like Nintendo has its sights set on justifying the price tag for the new Nintendo Switch Online Expansion. It’s not fully known what they have in store specifically, but we can only hope that Nintendo’s online experience will finally shine.
For reference, the report also details that they plan to invest up to 100 billion yen to expand “Game Software Frameworks.” This is money allocated to expand its game development assets and creative culture.
Additionally, Nintendo plans to invest up to 50 billion yen on non-video game entertainment. Examples include the upcoming Super Mario movie and its recently opened Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan.
The 300 billion investment into its online infrastructure is promising when compared to the other two investments the company is putting into. Nintendo always seems to be behind when it comes to online service, so it’s nice to see that they plan to improve on that.
