Nintendo Switch Online brings classic titles, eshop discounts, and more…

Today Nintendo of America unveiled its basic plans for Nintendo Switch Online, the multiplayer service that we’re all currently enjoying for free. In 2018, you’ll need to pay $3.99 a month, or $19.99 a year for online multiplayer gaming with your Switch. But that’ll also net you access to a host of classic Nintendo games (Super Mario 3, Dr. Mario, and more), as well as eShop deals, and an Online Lobby and Voice Chat App.

What’s off about this? It’s implying that the Switch will need something like an iPhone or Android to use voice chat and have a multiplayer lobby for chat. It won’t be native to the Switch itself. What year is this again? The implied free-ness of the classic games is a welcome surprise, especially considering the low price of the service. But the fact that it seems we’ll need our iPhones close by to use voice chat is just the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. Now those Splatoon 2 headphones make a whole lot more sense.