Nintendo drops major free download for Switch owners, but you don’t have long

To celebrate Mar10 Day, or Mario Day, Nintendo is offering Nintendo Switch users a generous 14-day free trial of Nintendo Switch Online, which is the perfect way to give the service a whirl if you’re not already a subscriber.

It’s not the first time such an offer has rolled out, but usually these trials tend to last for seven days so it’s nice to see that upgraded to 14. Taking to Twitter, Nintendo wrote, “Play together, play classic games featuring Mario, and have fun this #Mar10Day with a free trial of #NintendoSwitchOnline. For a limited time, you can make the fun last even longer with a 14-day trial! Offer ends 3/17.” That’s right, you only have until 17 March to activate this offer so I’d act sooner rather than later. You know how easy it can be to forget these things.

Mario’s 2023 outing Super Mario Bros. Wonder was positively delightful. Take a look at the game in action below.

To claim your free trial, visit MyNintendo, locate the offer, and click Redeem. You’ll then be sent a download code which you can input in the Nintendo eShop. This will begin your free trial. As I’m sure you’re aware, Nintendo Switch Online doesn’t just offer access to online gaming. You’ll also get to enjoy a wide array of Game Boy, NES, N64, and SNES classics.

Allow me to highlight some of the best games you can sample: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Donkey Kong, Kirby’s Dreamland, Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Fire Emblem and Banjo-Kazooie.

It won’t be too long until we see Mario again. While we don’t yet know if he’ll cameo in Princess Peach Showtime, we do have Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake on the way, set to release in the latter half of 2024.