This post contains an affiliate link, we get a small commission for any purchases made through this link
Nintendo finally revealed more details about the Nintendo Switch’s online service last night. In addition to features like cloud saves, subscribing to this service will also allow players to play 20 classic NES games, with more games coming later. Titles in the service include new features such as online multiplayer and voice chat (with the smartphone app).
But as soon as the service was announced yesterday, some gamers were concerned about having to pay for access to what was essentially the reincarnation of the virtual console on the Switch. Well, it looks like their suspicions were on point. Today, Nintendo confirmed to Kotaku that they currently have “no plans to bring classic games together under the Virtual Console banner as has been done on other Nintendo systems.”
While this is disappointing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the classic NES and SNES games we love won’t appear on the Switch console. If Nintendo chooses to throw a lot of support behind the online service, we could see dozens of the best retro titles landing as a free bonus to the Switch online service.
That plan is something that Nintendo plans to follow through on with releasing lots more retro games to the platform. The idea is to add them in as a bonus for online subscribers, or as a paid collection available to any Switch owners. This means Nintendo will possibly be releasing some collections on the Switch eShop, although no details or confirmations have been revealed thus far.
And even if you’re not a Switch owner, you’ve still got options for retro games and consoles. SNK are releasing a version of their own hardware, Sega is putting out a new version of their emulation console, and even Atari is making a special version called the VCS that includes a custom OS.
So whatever the outcome of this situation, retro fans can expect their favorite nostalgic games to appear on the Switch in some form.
If you still don’t have a Switch and want to pick one up, do so at Amazon now.
