Nintendo has started offering free games for those that subscribe to their online service, with Japan getting Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.
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In an unexpected move, anyone that’s a subscriber to Nintendo Switch Online will be able to play Mario Tennis Aces for free for just under a week, from 7 August to 13 August.
It’ll be the full game (which has had a lot of extra characters added since launch) and you’ll be able to play it even if you’re only using the seven-day free trial of Nintendo Switch Online.
During the same period, and going up to 20 August, you’ll also be able to buy the full game for 33% off, if you end up liking it while it’s free.
Since they’ve given it a name, the Game Trials programme is presumably going to become a regular feature of Nintendo Switch Online but how often it’s updated remains to be seen.
In Japan the first game to offered free is Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, so that might mean that that’s going to be the next one in the UK.
Although Nintendo Switch Online is roughly equivalent to Xbox Live Gold and PS Plus, in that it’s necessary to play most Switch games online, it’s considerably cheaper at £3.49 a month, £6.99 for three months, or £17.99 for 12 months.
That’s a tacit admission that Nintendo’s online services are not as robust but for the price you also get access to a range of free NES games, cloud saving for most games, and the excellent Tetris 99.
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