As part of Nintendo’s corporate policy briefing for its fiscal year ending on March 2021, the Japanese gaming giant provided updates on their financial and business status as well as future plans for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Nintendo Switch Online, its paid online subscription service, has now reached more than 26 million paid subscribers as of September 2020. Nintendo Switch Online is exclusively available for the Switch users and is required for users to access online game features and works similarly with Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus.
Nintendo Switch Online Subscriptions Top 26 Million, Plans to Enrich the Service https://t.co/SIa7kPOiCk pic.twitter.com/SnwhUZvBWC
— DualShockers (@DualShockers) September 16, 2020
This achievement is up from 15 million in January which means the rise in subscribers might be because of the popularity of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The said game instantly became a hit since it was released last March and has now sold more than 21 million copies.
Nintendo also revealed that other online-based games including Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Super Mario Bros. Ultimate contributed to this success. Nintendo also disclosed that more than 200 million gamers have Nintendo accounts on both mobile and the Switch.
The company registered an increase in its number of registered players during the Switch console’s release and again during the launch of Mario Kart Tour last 2019. Nintendo consistently grows its community even beyond those who already own the Switch.
While Nintendo accounts are free upon registration, these open new users to Nintendo’s services which means these users can be monetized in some way, both on the Switch and mobile.
