Competing subscriptions usually start at a disadvantage because of this, and will regularly have fewer games to choose from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, depending on your taste, these subscriptions may provide quality over quantity when it comes to the games you want to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The smaller subscriptions include Nintendo Switch Online, which boasts four subscription tiers, EA Play and its two tiers, and cloud and mobile gaming subscriptions such as Apple Arcade and GeForce NOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We outline what these alternative subscriptions offer for their price tags, below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nintendo Switch Online<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Switch-2-1600-900-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Nintendo Switch Online subscription is the most notable competitor, as it represents the third major gaming console platform in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its base tier is divided into two options: an Individual and a Family plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Individual plan is available from R21.85 per month (R262 a year), while the Family plan costs R38.24 per month (R459 a year) and allows up to eight Nintendo Accounts to make use of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It should be noted that with the Family plan, even if not all available slots are used, the price remains the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the Individual and Family Plans provide access to the same features, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Access to online play.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- GameChat on Nintendo Switch 2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cloud saves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nintendo Music.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- NES \u2013 Nintendo Classics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Super NES \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Game Boy \u2013 Nintendo Classics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The subscription provides a range of additional benefits, including Game Trials, exclusive games, and physical products available only to Nintendo Switch Online members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Above this, there is the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, which increases the base price of the Individual plan to R52.45 per month (R629 per year) and the Family plan to R94.04 per month (R1,129 per year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Expansion Pack adds access to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Nintendo GameCube \u2013 Nintendo Classics (Switch 2 only).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Game Boy Advance \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nintendo 64 \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild \u2013 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Publisher subscriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Fifa-2026-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are many subscription services for specific publishers available on both consoles and PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most popular is EA Play and EA Play Pro, available for R89.95 per month (R649.95 a year) and R304.99 per month (R1,699.95 a year), respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EA Play provides 10-hour trials of new games and unlimited access to a collection of top EA titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the subscription provides a 10% discount on EA digital purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pro level of the subscription expands on this, providing day-one access to full, premium editions of select new games, as well as unlimited access to a library of premium-edition EA titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cloud and mobile gaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GeForce-NOW-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe two main cloud and mobile gaming subscriptions in South Africa are Apple Arcade and GeForce NOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple Arcade lets you play games on Apple devices with no ads, in-app purchases, or other common disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The membership can be shared with up to five people, and is available for R84.99 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GeForce NOW is locally available through South African ISP, Rain, and lets gamers stream over 2,300 supported PC games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, subscription prices vary depending on whether you use Rain for your home internet or mobile service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prices range from R160 to R400 a month, with the cheapest being the Performance Tier and the most expensive the Ultimate Tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former provides up to 1440p resolution at 60 FPS, 6-hour session lengths, and RTX Ray Tracing, while the latter offers up to 4K resolution at up to 240 FPS (powered by RTX 4080-class servers), 8-hour session lengths, and ultra-low latency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are the two most well-known gaming subscriptions, but there are smaller, niche options that can offer better deals depending on your preferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":126844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2075565463354884289","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[26642,26643,26644],"class_list":["post-127177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-ea-play","tag-geforce-now","tag-nintendo-switch-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127177"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127290,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177\/revisions\/127290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Nintendo Switch Online subscription is the most notable competitor, as it represents the third major gaming console platform in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its base tier is divided into two options: an Individual and a Family plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Individual plan is available from R21.85 per month (R262 a year), while the Family plan costs R38.24 per month (R459 a year) and allows up to eight Nintendo Accounts to make use of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It should be noted that with the Family plan, even if not all available slots are used, the price remains the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the Individual and Family Plans provide access to the same features, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Access to online play.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- GameChat on Nintendo Switch 2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cloud saves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nintendo Music.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- NES \u2013 Nintendo Classics<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Super NES \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Game Boy \u2013 Nintendo Classics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The subscription provides a range of additional benefits, including Game Trials, exclusive games, and physical products available only to Nintendo Switch Online members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Above this, there is the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, which increases the base price of the Individual plan to R52.45 per month (R629 per year) and the Family plan to R94.04 per month (R1,129 per year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Expansion Pack adds access to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Nintendo GameCube \u2013 Nintendo Classics (Switch 2 only).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Game Boy Advance \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nintendo 64 \u2013 Nintendo Classics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild \u2013 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Publisher subscriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThere are many subscription services for specific publishers available on both consoles and PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most popular is EA Play and EA Play Pro, available for R89.95 per month (R649.95 a year) and R304.99 per month (R1,699.95 a year), respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EA Play provides 10-hour trials of new games and unlimited access to a collection of top EA titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, the subscription provides a 10% discount on EA digital purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pro level of the subscription expands on this, providing day-one access to full, premium editions of select new games, as well as unlimited access to a library of premium-edition EA titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cloud and mobile gaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe two main cloud and mobile gaming subscriptions in South Africa are Apple Arcade and GeForce NOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple Arcade lets you play games on Apple devices with no ads, in-app purchases, or other common disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The membership can be shared with up to five people, and is available for R84.99 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GeForce NOW is locally available through South African ISP, Rain, and lets gamers stream over 2,300 supported PC games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, subscription prices vary depending on whether you use Rain for your home internet or mobile service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prices range from R160 to R400 a month, with the cheapest being the Performance Tier and the most expensive the Ultimate Tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former provides up to 1440p resolution at 60 FPS, 6-hour session lengths, and RTX Ray Tracing, while the latter offers up to 4K resolution at up to 240 FPS (powered by RTX 4080-class servers), 8-hour session lengths, and ultra-low latency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus are the two most well-known gaming subscriptions, but there are smaller, niche options that can offer better deals depending on your preferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":126844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2075565463354884289","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[26642,26643,26644],"class_list":["post-127177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-ea-play","tag-geforce-now","tag-nintendo-switch-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127177"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127290,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127177\/revisions\/127290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}