How Nintendo can improve their Online membership scheme - a rant

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Do you have a Nintendo Switch? Do you subscribe to various online things like Google Play Music, Spotify, Netflix, or other items that you can share with your friends?

There are two Nintendo Switch consoles in my home. One I use, the other, @ursa uses. Recently, we had a friend visit from interstate who had been playing the new Pokemon game religiously, just as @ursa would. In a bit to produce an endless stream of revenue from everything Pokemon themed, in order for people to train Pokemon or battle, you must first have Nintendo Switch online access.

Not like the good old days when you could just buy a link cable and hook up your tiny battery powered devices.

Not like that at all. Now, you must buy a subscription. So I did. A family subscription, at that, which meant that both I, and the others in my household would be able to use the online services at a lower rate than individual subscriptions.

The catch?

The person that is invited to your "Switch Family" has the ability to have a "solo" subscription while simultaneously being part of a family subscription.

Something that gets charged to the credit card associated with the account. No refunds, sorry.

So that's the story of how Nintendo took an additional $5.95 on the basis of poor user experience design.

Google do this much better. With a recent conversion to a family subscription for this - there was a warning email (with instructions sent!) on how to unsubscribe from the duplicate services in a bid to prevent me, the dear, valued customer for being charged twice for the same thing.

Nintendo isn't known for its brilliant online services, but the Switch is a great console. If you're going to be using the online stuff, and are going to be a member of someone's switch family, make sure that all parties cancel their existing, or trial subscriptions so they don't get stinged for a few additional dollars.

In a world where every cent counts, hold on tightly to yours.

At the end of the day, it's just money, but it is poor design which leads to the creation of customer complaints, something that isn't the best thing for an organisation to do.



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13 comments
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Gamer issues 😁

I'm not a gamer so this doesn't make much sense to me...What does though is the fact that businesses often skim money from consumers and most never know...Banks too as it turns out. Pretty reprehensible. Might only be a little money, but a little over millions of people? Hmm, not legit.

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Exactly. Take one fish from 10,000 people, you've got a whole bunch of fish, and a whole lot of people that may not notice the one missing from the esky...

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It's pretty bad, but seems the way of the world these days. Just like uber-food delivery bike riding will be just about the only job available. Those buggers are everywhere.

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(Edited)

Hey, someone's gotta cook the food...

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I wonder...When there's more lazy bastards ordering uber-food than there is uber-food riders...What happens? And yes, someone has to make the slop that gets delivered right? Hmm...You know...McDonalds got rid of the menu board above the counter now...It's on the ordering flat-panels...Soon there'll be no staff...Awesome...No more surly 14 year olds...They can join the queue at centrelink.

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They can queue. They won't find anything interesting at the end of the line.

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...And still they'll queue with their hands held out, palm up...

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They just need some Frogcakes to fall into them... but they're probably on uber eats as well...

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Yeah, frog cakes are on uber eats...I'm pitching a new thing to the execs at Uber next week...

uber-worker

Users can go to the app, select the worker that most resembles themselves and you simply tap and pay, right on your smart phone and that worker rides his bike to your job and does it for you for the day.

It's the perfect thing. One doesn't need to get off the couch and burn any calories and one doesn't need to go to that pesky thing called a job.

I reckon I'm on a winner. Look out for it on a smart phone near you.

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Same here mate it’s very easy to click and think that’s just the price of a coffee, and then forget about it.

But it all adds ups over a few months.

How about Disney plus the new stream service, ( mandalorian is the best )

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The house has way too large a collection of video game backlog - it won't be spending any money on streaming services!

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I bought Wii U and I'm still bitter over it.

It was a nice console. Too bad they killed it so soon and made Switch.

This isn't related to your post, I'm just here to complain.

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