Following its video presentation of new Nintendo Switch details Thursday night, Nintendo quietly announced a new, paid online service that will be required to access online gameplay for "most games" on the console. The service will roll out fully in the fall and be available as a "free trial" before then, Nintendo said. No pricing info has yet been disclosed.

This is a departure for Nintendo, which has previously offered limited online services on a game-by-game basis (and, to some extent, on the platform level) for free on the Wii, Wii U, and DS lines. This new paid Switch service, on the other hand, seems broadly similar to the paid Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus plans that are required for online gameplay on Microsoft and Sony consoles.

Nintendo is promoting some benefits of the new, paid, integrated system over the previous, more ad-hoc model. For one, Nintendo will now provide online lobbies and voice chat through a "smart device app" that lets players "invite friends, set play appointments, and chat during online matches in compatible games." It's unclear if these features are also supported directly through the Switch itself (without the use of a "smart device") but the wording on the Nintendo website suggests they might not be. The app will be available in a "limited version" in the summer before a full roll out in the fall.

Subscribers to the Nintendo Switch online service will also get one "monthly game download" of a Virtual Console title for either the NES or SNES (those SNES titles will come with "newly added online play" as well). Users will be able to "download and play" said games "for free for a month," according to the website, wording that suggests each freebie download might expire at the end of the month. That would be quite different from similar services like Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus, which let users keep a selection of free monthly downloads as long as their subscriptions remain active. Subscribers will also get "exclusive deals" on select games and content.

Nintendo says the new paid online service will not be required to access the Nintendo Switch eShop, manage basic friend relationships through the system, or to share screenshots through social media. Nintendo also says the paid online service "will be available in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico only at launch," leaving it unclear how and when European, Japanese, and other players will access online gameplay on the system.

The vague, unheralded announcement of this new online system has left us with about as many questions as answers when it comes to using the Switch online. We'll be sure to follow up on all of these issues and let you know what we find out.