With the Nintendo Switch online servers down, players are unable to do things like play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokemon online or access NES and SNES titles. Since players are unable to connect to the Switch Online network, it also means that they are unable to get on the eShop to purchase new games either. Players should still be able to play any previously-downloaded Switch games offline, however.
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As far as online services going down, Nintendo’s is one that rarely seems to have any problems. It’s not often that fans hear about Nintendo Switch online servers going down, and that may be in part due to the console’s general lack of focus on online multiplayer compared to other platforms. While there are plenty of games on the Nintendo Switch that utilize online multiplayer features, one can’t deny that the console is mainly home to local multiplayer games and experiences.
In fact, there are quite a few Nintendo Switch games that have multiplayer functionality that only works offline. One example is Luigi’s Mansion 3, which has a variety of mini-games in what it calls the ScreamPark that players can only play in local multiplayer. Nintendo even recently released a Luigi’s Mansion 3 Multiplayer Pack to add more content to this offline mode, showing that Nintendo still very much has a focus on couch co-op versus online connectivity.
Whenever Nintendo Switch online services are restored, it will be interesting if Nintendo reveals what exactly happened. Companies rarely, if ever, actually reveal the cause of the problem when things like this happen, though speculation points to it possibly being related to the coronavirus pandemic. Xbox Live servers recently went down as well, and some speculated that it was due to server overload as millions of people are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus threat.
Regardless of why the Nintendo Switch online servers are down, here’s hoping they’re restored sooner rather than later.
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Source: Nintendo
