Tetris 99, a free online multiplayer game, was published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch Online in February 2019. It did not take long for the game to become extremely popular, gaining massive amounts of users immediately after its release.
Tetris 99 is a remake of the iconic Tetris, but with a twist. In Tetris 99, you are competing with 99 other players, with the aim to be the last one remaining. Same as the old game, players need to rotate and drop tetrominoes on a board. Tetris 99 can be downloaded for free from eShop for all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
Tetris 99 received a lot of positive reviews. The Daily Telegraph even declared the game “fiercer than Fortnite and as exciting and cutthroat as any video game deathmatch.” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa announced that Tetris 99 gained over 2.8 million users by April 2019.
The success of Tetris 99 to make Nintendo launch more Nintendo Switch Online exclusives
The colossal success of Tetris 99 helped increase the amount of Nintendo Switch online subscriptions, which may have inspired Nintendo to release more similar games. According to Furukawa, “Tetris 99 has helped maintain Nintendo Switch engagement, as well as increase the number of new members joining Nintendo Switch Online.”
The Nintendo president also admitted that the company needs to keep on offering fans unique elements in order to boost memberships rates. If users will demand more games like Tetris 99, Nintendo will certainly take care of that.
Of course, Tetris 99 was a big influence that convinced fans to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online service, but other factors played their part, as well. For example, Nintendo partnered up with Twitch to offer their Twitch Prime subscribers free Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions as well. This was a genius move in terms of marketing.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
