Why Xbox Game Pass should be on the Nintendo Switch

Much to the chagrin of some gamers, rumors that Xbox Game Pass – Microsoft’s “Netflix of Gaming” – could hit the Nintendo Switch, were at least temporarily shattered in August. “We currently have no plans to bring it to other closed platforms, mainly because these closed platforms do not want something like Game Pass,” said Xbox CEO Phil Spencer recently GamesRadar. There have also been indications that Nintendo may have turned down a proposal – but even if it did, we feel that Game Pass could be a good fit on the Switch for a number of reasons.

Why we want to see Xbox Game Pass on Nintendo Switch

The obvious benefit for Switch buyers would be the ability to play dozens of games for one low price. A basic Game Pass subscription costs $ 10 per month and allows players to download from a rotating selection of over 100 titles. Many of them are great, from third-party releases to large releases from Microsoft’s own studios – see recent additions like Hades and Psychonauts 2. Nintendo does not offer a service of the same kind. So if you want to try something out, you have to keep your fingers crossed for a demo or pay anywhere from $ 15 to $ 60 per game. $ 120 a year for the Xbox Game Pass on Switch would be a steal in comparison.

Game Pass would also mean a larger and more diverse range of games. Nintendo was better at attracting third parties and offering more “mature” titles (like Mortal Kombat 11, Doom, and even Dark Souls) this console generation, but the truth is, many of the major Switch releases are still first-party and family-friendly, like Super Mario Odyssey or Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. You won’t find traditional blockbusters like Destiny 2 or Call of Duty in the eShop, although they can be played almost everywhere.

See also: The Best Switch eShop Games You Should Buy Today

Often, of course, games are simply missing for technical reasons. When the Switch was launched in March 2017, it was already underpowered alongside the PS4 Pro, not to mention the PS5 or Xbox Series X / S. Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate plan could offer an easy workaround through cloud streaming – something Nintendo has experimented with for games like Control, but not as much as Xbox Cloud Gaming would. For a still reasonable $ 15 a month, Ultimate could make the Switch a viable destination for the latest blockbusters.

That could be especially relevant if Valve’s Steam Deck ships in December. The handheld will be able to play anything that can be done on a PC, and with a little know-how, Game Pass titles can be included as well. It’s already sold out well into 2022, however, and owners have to play around to load every storefront that isn’t Steam. The Switch could therefore become a better choice for portable devices, provided the Xbox app is a simple eShop download and enough customers have the bandwidth to stream. More on that in a moment.

Why it makes sense

Microsoft’s interests are served by making Game Pass available on as many platforms as possible, so Xbox Game Pass on Switch just makes sense. Microsoft may have fancy hardware with the Xbox Series X and Series S, but its long-term strategy is to get as many people as possible excited about its content subscription model. It’s not just subscription revenue, either – Game Pass subscribers on the Switch could get curious about Xbox and PC hardware and more Windows and Series X / S units to follow suit. It would also save Microsoft the hassle of building its own handheld, though executives have shot down that idea time and time again anyway.

For Nintendo, the benefit would be a more attractive selection of games from which it could leverage subscription income and purchases for those who buy after the game is eliminated. The company would also avoid the hassle of expanding its subscription offerings – which is probably best given its track record. Nintendo has never been particularly good at online platforms.

It’s not that there hasn’t been an overlap in the past. One-off Xbox exclusives like Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest have hit the Switch, and while Microsoft has since vowed to focus more closely on its own platforms, there is already an established relationship between the two that could be revived.

Why it couldn’t happen

The specifications of the switch are a serious limitation. While some Game Pass titles may be able to run natively (or already be on the eShop), others would have to move on to streaming, which for all its advantages, could exclude a large number of people. The bandwidth for high quality cloud gaming can be expensive or lacking, and even when you have it, network conditions can sometimes introduce excruciating delays. It’s one thing to play Civilization VI with an input delay – quite another to play an action game like Halo. The switch’s subscriber base could easily become fragmented.

The bigger obstacle is almost certainly business. The very idea of ​​letting a rival service on the Switch could make Nintendo nervous, especially since there is no parallel product on the Xbox. The company also notoriously controls how people interact online and may not want to bypass the infrastructure for fear of losing that control or receiving complaints from angry parents. Say what you want to say about Nintendo’s guidelines, but things like friend codes make it harder for kids to run into problems.

Dividing the revenue would be the toughest fight. Microsoft isn’t used to sharing Game Pass money with anyone other than developers and publishers, so it would likely insist on keeping as much of it as possible. Nintendo would rightly demand at least a small cut, as this would feed the service with subscribers and put eShop sales at risk. Given the ugly fights that have been occurring elsewhere in the tech industry, getting a solid deal off the jump would be critically important. In the ongoing dispute between Epic and Apple, Apple recently compared passing on in-app transaction fees to shoplifting.

We haven’t even gone into the deals game developers would have to make to support Game Pass. Would you be obliged to spend resources on new ports? Would Microsoft or Nintendo help? Or would Switch subscribers be limited to eShop titles that randomly cross over?

Nintendo may also want to leave room for its own subscription service, but that’s unlikely. Aside from his reluctance to go online, there weren’t any rumors to speak of. The company seems happy with Switch Online, which mainly enables multiplayer but also includes free games like Tetris 99 and a collection of NES and SNES classics. It’s cheap too – 12 months is a whopping $ 20. It’s a low risk endeavor for gamers and Nintendo.

Related: The best free Nintendo Switch games

Something like Game Pass could be seen as more dangerous than it’s worth. Nintendo does quite well in conventional sales, not least because the permanent exclusivity of many games means that you can charge full price for years. Only three $ 60 titles equals the income of a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, not to mention indie games or DLC someone could buy.

Probably tiny in 2021. It sounds like Nintendo declined an offer, in this case, it’s hard to imagine what would change by the end of December. Microsoft will have to sweeten its deal or wait until Nintendo is in a weaker negotiating position. The odds are against the latter, which will result in the Switch continuing to fly off the shelves.

2022 or 2023 is a different matter. Nintendo is believed to be working on a “Switch Pro” which, if based on Nvidia’s rumored Lovelace architecture, could be powerful enough to run most current (and some future) Game Pass titles. That would, of course, remove technical hurdles, and Nintendo might even aim to show that it can play with the big boys. The ultimate decision will be whether a partnership can produce the profits that both sides want.