Nintendo Leaker Suggests Pricing Of Switch Online’s Expansion Pack Could Be Tied To “Licensing Costs”

Nintendo yesterday lifted the lid on the price of its new ‘Expansion Pack’ for the Switch Online service, and if you’ve seen our reader poll about the subject, it might be a bit too expensive for some.

So, what’s the go, and why is Nintendo charging the prices it is for this new add-on – featuring a library of Nintendo 64 and Sega Mega Drive games, along with access to the new Animal Crossing DLC? According to NWR contributor and proven Nintendo leaker, Emily Rogers, the “likely” reason and “main culprit” is believed to be licensing costs.

In fact, Sega apparently wasn’t a “big fan” of the Wii’s Virtual Console service back in the day due to the “low sales” and various other issues, so Nintendo has supposedly had fork out a fair bit of cash for the Mega Drive/Genesis library this time around:

“Licensing costs are likely main culprit behind NSO expansion’s bold price. I heard Sega were paid very, very well. This is notable because Sega weren’t big fans of Wii’s VC service due to low sales, revenue split, and lack of marketing. Hence why Sega didn’t support Wii U VC.

The money spending doesn’t stop there – with Rogers further noting in a follow-up tweet how games on the same service from other companies would also need to be licensed, and it all adds up! And then there’s Nintendo’s arrangement with Rare and Microsoft for Banjo- Kazooie on the Nintendo 64 library…

“3rd parties titles (Konami, Capcom) are also being licensed for Genesis NSO. So the licensing costs begin to add up after awhile. And who knows what licensing agreement/arrangement Nintendo had with Rare/Microsoft…”

Rogers has previously played a role in certain Nintendo leaks such as Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and most recently provided accurate details about the Switch OLED model prior to its release. Do you think she’s on the money here? Do you think “licensing costs” are the main reason behind the “bold price” of the NSO expansion pack?

As always, leave your own thoughts down in the comments.