Nintendo Switch Online (application)
- This article is about the built-in Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 application. For other applications and services that use this name, see Nintendo Switch Online (disambiguation).
Nintendo Switch Online is a built-in browser-based[1] application accessible on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 systems. It offers miscellaneous online services, primarily showcasing brief news blurbs and offering exclusive limited-time user icons.
An active Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required to use the application. The application is available via the HOME menu; its icon is to the left of the news application.
Release history
The Nintendo Switch Online application was added to the Nintendo Switch HOME menu on 30 November 2020 as part of the version 11.0.0 system update. [2]
The Missions & Rewards tab featuring exclusive user icons purchasable via Platinum Points was added on 1 March 2022.[3]
Pages
Prior to the Nintendo Switch firmware version 20.0.0, the application's pages were laid out as follows:[1]
- Home
- Online Play
- NES™, Super NES™, Game Boy™, Nintendo 64™, Game Boy Advance™
- Save Data Cloud
- Special Offers
- Missions & Rewards
- Expansion Pack
- Membership Options & Support
Following the version 20.0.0 update, the application's pages are as follows:
- Home
- Nintendo Classics
- Missions & Rewards
- Special Offers
- Online Play
- Save Data Cloud
- Expansion Pack
- Your Membership
Home
The application's landing page features frequently-updated brief Nintendo news blurbs. The blurbs featured in this application are briefer than the articles found in the Nintendo Switch news application. Splatoon news and announcements such as Splatfest theme announcements are featured here, typically shortly after their equivalent announcement on social media.
Missions & Rewards
- Main article: User icon#Nintendo Switch Online icons
On 28 February 2022,[Citation needed] an update was released for the Nintendo Switch Online service on Nintendo Switch that added a Missions & Rewards section for members.
Missions consist of brief tasks involving playing Nintendo Switch games, such as "back up save data", "play NES™" etc. Each set of missions expires after one week. Completed missions reward ten to fifty Platinum Points.
Rewards come in the form of user icon parts, which consist of a character, background, and frame elements which can be assembled to make custom user icons. Characters elements cost 10 Platinum Points, while background and frame elements cost 5 Platinum Points.
Icon part rewards are distributed as part of sets for a limited time; each set is typically themed after one Nintendo game at a time. Certain icon part sets require a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership tier in order to be purchased. Miscellaneous Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3-themed icon parts have been distributed via this system.
