Topic: Should Nintendo be more transparent about their plans for SNES, N64, GameCube, etc.

I suppose it's a bit of a rhetorical question, but at this point after almost 2 years of the Switch being on the market, we still have absolutely no idea what's happening in terms of these consoles coming officially on the Switch.

Everyone keeps asking: "What are they thinking? Do they not want our money?"

Is it fair to agree that at this point after so long of absolutely no news or announcements on these subjects, we should at least have an idea what they're doing, or if they're even doing anything at all? It's the prime console for retro gaming and Nintendo is being completely opaque.

The obvious reason is they want to draw out NES (and SNES most likely) games for a long time to make the most income out of it, but what are your thoughts and how do you feel?

Do you think we deserve should know by now at least whether or not some of these consoles will ever even come to the Switch officially after 2 years of it being on the market? Or are you okay with waiting still for more information?

I'm okay with Nintendo focusing on Switch games for the Switch.

I thought they already said that they have no plans to bring anything similar to the Virtual Console to Switch?

So I would assume that we won’t be seeing anything other than NES and/or maybe SNES games on the Switch. Maybe next gen.

I guess Nintendo has given us all the information it wants us to have, which is that it is only planning NES games for the online service. I mean, it's not categorically ruled anything else out till the end of time, and Ninty loves to surprise customers by suddenly launching new stuff, but I think we need to get used to the idea that it's just going to be 8-bit games that, mostly, people don't want.

Personally, I'm still on the fence about Switch Online, and haven't even had the trial week yet, but opening it up to SNES and GBA titles would definitely make me push the button. My guess is that Nintendo has seen enough of a subscriber pick-up to its install base that it doesn't feel the need to dangle a bigger carrot - yet.

That's it exactly. Telling us SNES games arrive soon makes people wait instead of emptying their wallet for NES games right now.

Honestly, I think the Switch being so successful has really bought them some time to sit on their legacy content. Their retro games are kind of an ace up their sleeves, and right now, there is so much new content coming to Switch on a weekly basis (a lot of it shovelware, but there is a lot of quality as well), that it doesn't make sense for them to burn it quite yet. For many gamers, the retro titles are gonna get lost in the shuffle amongst all the other stuff.

My guess is that they'll take it slow, and release other systems (SNES, N64, etc.) at strategic times when there is a drought coming or when popularity/hype is waning. We know SNES is coming from the controller icons that were datamined, so I think the 1 year anniversary of NSO is when we'll see those games. Nintendo will see it as a way to keep everyone who got a year-long subscription motivated to renew it again for another year.

After that, who knows? Once we start getting to N64 and GameCube, the file sizes might start getting too big to have all the games in one centralized app like they do for NES (N64 might be ok). There's also handheld games like GB, GBC, GBA, etc. that would be cool, too. I'd still like to be able to individually purchase retro games, and I think they would make more money off that than they expect, but as we know, there's no indication that's gonna happen.

EDIT: I realize after all that that I didn't really answer the question, haha. Yes, I wish that Nintendo would be more transparent because I really want to know what's going on with their retro titles, but no I don't expect them to be, nor should they from a business standpoint.

I think the main problem is that releasing snes games like they did with nes games raises them barely any more profit.
Apart from a minor few that would convince them to get switch online, people are mostly still going to be subscribing to switch online because for what it is it's cheap.

Think they may go down the route of a structured online payment system maybe next year so you could get say bronze membership which includes nes games and online for say the price it is now. Then silver so maybe nes/snes/gb games and online for 25 quid maybe then gold for 35 pounds which includes all the old games they can put on.

Not sure how successful that could be but it would be a good reason to port the old games.

Personally I have far too many switch games to play anyway so I'm ok for the time being.

My thoughts? VC is gone and NES games are all we're getting...for a long while.

No.

Also, we as dedicated gamers often seem to forget that the vast majority of consumers buying new Nintendo products don't care about this stuff at all.

@the_shpydar
Nostalgia sells though. Saying the majority of consumers buying Nintendo products wouldn't be interested in classic games is a bit pretentious, especially with the nes/snes classics selling well and VC always being a top seller on Wii/WiiU/3ds. Just because they said they currently have no plans to bring VC to switch doesn't mean it won't come eventually, a lot of times recently there have been " currently no plans" for a lot of games to come to the switch and we can see now how that statement is just a marketing ruse to sell something similar.

This service would be so much better if it was one NES game, one SNES game, and one N64 game a month. Can’t say I care too much though cos I’ve never been so busy on ANY console before.

Switch is genius. It really is so versatile and as a result fits adulting perfectly. I haven’t gamed this much since the 64.

And yes. They should be more transparent about their plans for this service. Only reason they wouldn’t be is if the service future is underwhelming and will prevent new subscribers in my opinion.

Let's make this simple, Nintendo: You copy/paste the programming to your good retro games and make them available for us to play, and we give you money.

This is what they should do for the time being until they can insure the gamer market is saturated then they can come back to look at Retro Gaming and not til then. You expect them to throw all they invested now in the Switch just to Retro. Those asking should really take a sabbatical and think really long and hard on the Gaming industry and how it almost wasn't and what it took to come back. You don't Switch(pun) midstream just for a few Retro - they need to get a WELL established Switch market before doing things that could hurt rather than help the Switch.

Absolutely, we need more transparency and generally a better service from Nintendo. They make grate games but lack in this regard.

Nope. Every other company in the world releases products on their own time table. Not the company’s fault that tech consumers (smartphone consumers are almost as bad) are gluttons. Play what’s out get excited for what’s revealed and live a life not obesessed with inanimate objects in the meantime. Companies don’t revolve around a few really loud consumers. Folks whined about VC and the prices. Now the content is free (if folks can say the ps plus games are free then I shall use the same argument) people are still complaining while knowing absolutely nothing about what goes on behind the scenes (and it’s nobody business anyway. I don’t care how my truck is made only that Toyota made it for me to buy). Patience really is a virtue.

No. That would take out most of the speculation fun.

They are already being transparent in how they handle the classic games on switch. The fact we have only nes games on the console means we are only going to have nes games.My prediction is we will get Snes games in 2020(or later). N64 games in 2023. gameboy games in 2026. Gamecube games in 2029(2030).

@DannyBoi we’ll get snes games this year. Going into next year would be too late. A year and a half with just nes?

@qwabmeiyaad They should tell us something, I completely agree. I assume it is them not wanting to lock themselves into a course of action that they haven't decided on yet. I think it is indecisiveness on their part. And the longer they wait the more they push people toward homebrew alternatives.

@Charlie_Girl You say that like having people work on porting legacy content would actually draw resources away from the people making brand new content. Nintendo is a global company and it doesn't take a team of their best content creators to do simple porting/emulator programming. You don't have Picasso paint your house white. You don't ask Einstein to teach elementary school science. You can hire any average painter or teacher for things like that. The fact that fans are building their own emulators for Switch on their computers in their basements is proof that it isn't that hard. Modern Vintage Gamer has ported all manner of old games to the Switch already via homebrew and he is just one dude.