Add another perk for Amazon Prime members.
The retailer has announced a new partnership with Nintendo that will give subscribers of its loyalty program a free year of Nintendo Switch Online access. That service typically costs Switch owners $20 per year.
At the same time, Amazon is getting wise to people who use the trial window for Prime to claim the best perks. In order to take advantage of this deal, members initially will be allowed to sign up for only three months of free Switch Online access. Then, after 60 days, users can claim the remaining nine months.
There’s a Sept. 24 deadline to sign up for the first part of the perk. The nine-month extension must be claimed by Jan. 22.
The service is tied to Twitch Prime, one of Amazon Prime’s benefits. The free months can be added on to any existing paid Switch Online subscriptions.
The partnership between Amazon and Nintendo is a notable one, as the two companies have not always been on the best of terms. In 2012, for example, Amazon suddenly halted its first party sales of Nintendo hardware. (Resellers were allowed to continue selling the systems, although at prices of their own choosing.)
In 2015 the two began to patch up their differences.
Amazon, which owns Twitch, is widely expected at some point to announce a video game streaming service along the same line of Google’s Stadia. The company has not commented on speculation about such action, including any sort of timeline.
