A lot of people seem to think that Nintendo is going to allow MS to charge people money for XBL Gold on Switch. That is not happening. Minecraft already forces you to sign into XBL to play crossplay on Nintendo Switch, but you need Nintendo Online to play it. At best, all this means is that MS will start publishing more games to Nintendo Switch in the same way that they published Minecraft to it. Nintendo will reap the Nintendo Online subscription fees, as well as platform royalty fees. MS is basically just surrendering to Nintendo and planning on being a 3rd party publisher for Switch, same as they are a 3rd party publisher for PC.
From Mojang's FAQ on how to crossplay Minecraft with Nintendo Switch owners...
Q: Do I need to pay a subscription fee like Xbox LIVE Gold to play online?
A: Online subscription fees are determined by the platform you play on, so an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription is not required for Nintendo Switch players but a Nintendo Switch Online subscription will be required for multiplayer when that service launches. A free Microsoft Account is recommended for players to get the most out of this version of Minecraft.
| d21lewis said: I just want to point out that M$ is arguably one of "The big boys". They've beaten Nintendo's GameCube (Xbox launched at the same time) and Wii U (Xbox One launched a year after). They virtually tied the PS3 (Xbox 360 had a year's head start). True they've never won a generation and maybe never will but they've consistently held their own and managed to make money... aside from the OG Xbox that was pretty much planned to sell at a loss. |
They beat Wii U, but Switch is on track to surpass XB1 lifetime sales by the end of 2019. That's pretty sad.
