When Xbox Live first launched, Microsoft needed a big game to go with it and convince people to buy the service. That game ended up being Halo 2 and it succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. It drove sales of Xbox Live subscriptions and remained the most popular online game of the original Xbox. This is what is called a Killer App. or Killer Application. A piece of software (or hardware features in some cases) that drive sales of a product. In other words, a system seller. Nintendo launched Nintendo Switch Online late last year, but aside from classic NES games, there was no real incentive to buy just to play online.
This is where Tetris 99 comes in.
Tetris 99 is the Killer App for Nintendo Switch Online, and this shouldn’t be surprising. Tetris was the Killer App for the original Game Boy, so there is history. But Nintendo is also aware of the growing trend of Battle Royale style games, with many online even referring to the game as Tetris Battle Royale. The competitive Tetris scene is a very intense one, so it all seemed to come together just right.
But the quality is also there and that is important. Nintendo turned to Arika to develop the game. Arika may be more well known in the west for fighting games, but they also developed the amazing Tetris: The Grand Master series of arcade games. These are games meant to challenge players on a new level and while Tetris 99 uses more traditional style of gameplay, its clear that Arika used what they learned in TGM to make an excellent experience.
The online experience playing Tetris 99 is nothing short of amazing, and watching people stream the game can be just as exhilarating as playing it yourself. A match can turn around at a moment’s notice and I have experience and seen amazing comebacks in this game.
The result is an amazingly well designed game, with a very clear audience, and a very competitive online mode and most of all, a very receptive fandom. But what is more important is that the game is free for anyone with a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. That fact, and the knowledge that Nintendo likely has other experiences like this coming, make Nintendo Switch online that much more appealing. The real only downer is that there is no form of tutorial and that the game just sort of throws you into the action right away, but that doesn’t seem to have gotten in the way of the game’s success.
There is no doubt that Tetris 99 is a subscription seller for the reason’s stated above. Sometimes, the best way to sell an online service is to go beyond expectations and that is what Nintendo has done here. If you have played the game, you are already hooked, and if you haven’t, its time to get a subscription to see for yourself.