Beyond that, though, Nintendo seems interested in updating the Switch itself. Switch users just learned about a significant new Nintendo Switch Online feature, for instance. Alongside the service’s other benefits, NSO users now have access to a section called Missions and Rewards. As the name implies, NSO subscribers can now complete certain missions related to Switch play to earn Platinum Coins, which can then be spent on additional Switch avatar options based on Nintendo games. While the feature seems fairly basic for now, it lays the groundwork for rich Switch customization and valuable Nintendo advertising.
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Nintendo Switch Online Rewards’ Utility
At the moment, Nintendo Switch Online rewards are focused on avatars, offering new backgrounds and character icons inspired by Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but avatar customization could only be the tip of the iceberg for future NSO rewards. Ideally, NSO’s Mission and Rewards section will add more drastic customization rewards, like themes that change the Switch menu’s white background to something else, much like the 3DS’s themes. Beyond visual customization, NSO would be a great place to offer sound packs that replace the Switch menu’s sound effects with classic Nintendo game sounds.
Since the NSO rewards only focus on Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there are also tons of other games that could inspire rewards after March’s offerings expire, including Switch games that haven’t released yet. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo-themed future NSO rewards after game releases; for instance, April’s rewards could focus on Nintendo Switch Sports characters, summer month might spotlight Splatoon characters for Splatoon 3’s release, and so on. Through NSO’s rewards, Nintendo gets a valuable way to advertise new releases, while Switch users get more ways to celebrate the release of their most anticipated games.
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Adding to the Switch’s Life
Beyond the potential behind NSO missions and rewards themselves, the update represents a broader potential for change on the Switch. Adding an entirely new feature to NSO after so many years is a bold move on Nintendo’s part since the console has been around for some time. Nintendo will presumably keep updating missions and rewards for months and even years to come, all while adding more games to Nintendo Switch Online, but more importantly, NSO’s missions and rewards could herald untold future Switch features added late in the console’s life. Nintendo may yet be able to compete with rival consoles by updating the Switch’s software in other unique ways.
Nintendo Switch Online’s Missions and Rewards page is a good step forward for Switch customization, but hopefully, it’s just the beginning. There are lots of ways that Nintendo could stand to let fans customize their Switch outside of avatars, and it’d be great to see even more features join the Switch in its late years in order to extend its lifespan. Between the Switch’s strong lineup of games for 2022 and a possible new wave of Switch software updates, Nintendo’s plan to run with the Switch for a few more years may be plausible after all.
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