Personally I prefer the fast Switch OS with no themes instead of the very slow and cheesy Wii U OS. But you are right that inviting (best) friends should be a standard option. It's almost impossible to play together with friends without using a smartphone. Usually you see them playing another game, and if you don't have their mobile number it's not possible to ask them to join. IMO there's no point in sending or accepting friend requests of random people you meet in games.

OP: I have a family membership with 7 other players, so it's about 6 $ a year. That's quite fair for playing Mario Kart, Splatoon, Smash and some other games online. I don't need more free games I'm not really interrested in, but a discount for eshop games I am interrested in - that would be nice. Now I also rather take the console outside with the cloud backup service for the save files through NSO.

Oh i just meant the dynamic themes like you get on ps4. Like the backgrounds and stuff. All we get on switc is white or black lol

Yeah i got the family one too a years subscribtion. I quite liked the cheesy music though on the Wii U E-shop. 

It’s weird they’d be unhappy about it since a sale is a sale, and those ones are the most expensive.

I don’t think this is true. If Nintendo didn’t want people buying this, they wouldn’t sell it. It’s the equivalent of Nintendo announcing they’re angry about Indie titles selling so well on their platform.

Also, shorter plans are actually MORE profitable for them. If people begin canceling, that is something they should be upset about, but that isn’t what they’re saying.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/nintendo-interrupts-smash-online-invitational-qualifiers-commentary-to-defend-its-netcode.98739/

This is counterproductive, really. They will lose interested people when they find out they were lying. Didn't expect it from Nintendo, I always deemed them as honest and very ethical. First time I witness this kind of cheap excuse from them.

This is the reason many, myself included, still haven't paid to use online. Nintendo has a very slow approach to everything, they take so much time that when they finally resolve what most claim, it's too late already or people don't care about that specific thing anymore.

The approach you describe is typically Japanese. They're always very slow to react, because they're scared of taking risks if they go too fast. In a company, for example, they will do multiple meetings and try to get the approval of everyone even remotely related before taking any decision...

Exactly, it's about the mindset of the company, and the fact that most decisions are still taken by  Nintendo Japan. I would believe that for example, Sony's internal non-japanese teams have much more freedom of action and that their words weigh much more than those of Nintendo's inner foreign teams.

I know Arms had SOME people playing the online before the switch to paid service and then after that I couldn't find any games.

Would be curious to hear other's experiences with online player bases before and after the paid service was introduced because it seems like a decision that will hurt the games with smaller online communities the most.

I regret getting a full year on mine. Smash online is generally awful and I haven't played a single one of the NES offerings.

Did not know. :)

Sounds cool.