The Virtual Console Isn't Coming To Switch, Nintendo Confirms

Insert outrage here

Happy with this as the yearly subscription will surely cater for our retro needs.

Probably the first really dumb move they make with the Switch, well besides that whole voice chat thing. :-/

Here comes the Nintendooooooom!

@meppi64 - As a person who has multiple friends on multiple consoles that do have a more integrated chat system, I don't personally see this as a problem entirely since even the more consistent PS4 players I know default onto Discord cause it is simply easier.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Just why? Now even the freaking piece of garbage Wii U will always have something over the Switch.

Huh.

So, I assume that means the classic games are only available to those who pay the subscription.

I'm... not sure how to react. I mean, I've never really cared all that much for Virtual Console, I only ever bought a few titles. But... why? Why not bring Virtual Console to the Switch? Just so they can lock it behind a Subscription based paywall?

I'm interested to see what will result from this.

it is just a shame! Virtual console is perfect for switch, I think that they don't want it for increase "new" released games.

@blackbox64 They don't want us to own their games any more. They want to condition us to the subscription model.

I expected that. To be honest Nintendo did not manage well virtual console in the past (compare it to PS1 classics on Vita and Ps3). Their list was always incomplete and overpriced.

It's a shame, but the writing's been on the wall for some time now. I guess they couldn't work out a way to 'fairly' ask customers to pay for the same games on the service for third or even fourth time.

But......but the Gamecube games....

They better have a great alternative because they're just missing out if they skip VC. I would have happily have paid money for N64/Gamecube games on a handheld console.

Let come The Whingening.

And yes the Switch is a Neo Geo emulator. I guess they make more money selling their pricey (but awesome) classic mini consoles

Kept telling you people, VC is over. Nobody wanted to hear it.

And this is why I will have GPD Win 2.

Not really bothered about virtual console. I have most of them I like on my retro consoles or eshops.
Arcade archives and neogeo classics are the way forward

I just don't understand the appeal for Virtual Console. I own a few on 3DS because of the Ambassador program, but that's it. I don't really care about this, at all.

Besides, we've got the mini consoles now. And you 'own' NES games when you have an online subscription.

I can recall that the Wii games on Wii U didn't have the Virtual Console tag on them too, but maybe I'm wrong.

Wake up people, if you want to play your retro games so desperately go hack your switch and there you can play any rom you like. And if you don't want to do that, their's always emulation on android and other portable systems (GPD Win).

I like it that they include atleast NES games that have something new to them, i rather play zelda with online play than stick with playing the original on the nes with no exclusive features whatsoever.

And i am sure that if Switch online becomes a hit, other consoles will soon follow.

@Richard_Atkinson

Yeah, those 10 confirmed NES launch games and 10 other NES games over the next year that have been available via the Wii and Wii VC and bought multiple times are so worth the online fee. Totally can't wait to play balloon fight again.

I'll take a moment to absorb this validation.

And I'm done being a butt.

Now instead of getting upset about VC being dead let's make sure we get Nintendo (and all the other publishers with retro ranges) to expand what console era's they are rereleaseing from (Sega is currently winning that part)

Additional: I'm still confident that virtual console will return as an eShop category with all of the publishers retro ranges

Well, too bad.
But, i can Always Revisit my old Nintendo games anytime i want.
I have a lot of Old Nintendo games with their actual machines, so... No VC = No Worry for me.

As long as the games included with the subscription become more varied, and from a wider seclection of consoles, then I don't have a massive problem with this. However, I'm gonna miss virtual console and to be honest I would rather that they kept it.

@Saego

There are a lot of great old games that I haven't played or would like to revisit. I mean if you are fine paying collector prices or hacking the snes classic or using emulation you already have access to these games. But it's always nice to play games and support Nintendo. The big benefit was the idea of expanding the collection as many old games never came to VC. Plus many of us were looking for the evolution of Gamecube, Dreamcast, Wii/Wii U games on the go. Tis sad but that's life. At least they've killed the dream so retro gamers can look other places.

Couldn't care less. I know this will unleash war, because people somehow feel Nintendo owns them a VC, don't know why. But as spokesperson says, there are other ways to enjoy retro games on Switch.

Oh, but many of the complainers wanted the VC not for retro per se, but for playing GC games specifically. Well, get a GC. It's cheap. Or use its games on your Wii.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. If they do add games from more systems early and often, who cares whether they use the VC banner? If not, they're leaving a bunch of money on the table. The Switch is so many people's preferred way to play cross-platform games already, I imagine a lot of folks relying on emulation would be willing to spend a few bucks a year to get official copies on their portable machine.

If classic Nintendo fans' only options are to either buy a Wii U in 2018 or download a bunch of free roms, I think I know which way they'll go...

Not sure how to feel about this but honestly, I prefer a Nintendo subscription with free retro games over buying the same retro games again and again for every new Nintendo console with a weaker library ever since the Wii.

That’s so Nintendo, there is always a BUT... which should ruin the whole Nintendo experience, great thanx a lot Nintendo...

Yep, I’m getting a GameCube now. Even if GC games come to the service, I have to imagine that it will take years.

Well, the problem right now is not that the Virtual Console branding is not going to be a thing.

The problem is that the Online Service "Alternative" only has NES and is presented as "it will only ever have NES games". No SNES, GB, GBC, N64, GC, GBA or DS games whatsoever. It makes the future of retro gaming on Switch very uncertain right now.

It gets even weirder when you consider that they did get GameCube games running off of a Tegra, but keep that discovery only for the (inexistent) Chinese market... On the NVidia Shield.

The Virtual Console is dead. Long live the Virtual Con- er, I mean, Classic Game Collection + Sega Ages + Arcade Archives + plus whatever other collections and compilations are on the horizon. Guess Ninty really is bored of squeezing out retro licenses from third parties for their first party services.

On further thought about this and reading the replies, I think this may be a good thing in some regard. If all Retro games are available for "Free" under the subscription service then it saves us from having to buy the title again and again for each system.

People will emulate, people will homebrew, it's inevitable, but we can't look away from all the great titles coming in the future just because of this one blip.

I only really wanted it to be able to play Super Mario Sunshine

I guess i'll just have to wait for the inevitable Game Cube Mini in a few years time

Good! Only wish Nintendo had put this to bed WAY before now. Besides, we have retro games coming in all flavours and colours, be it Arcade, Neo Geo or Indie.

As a side note, was it ever explained why Link has a cross on his shield in the first two games? I mean, they probably just wanted it to look like a "knight's shield" and some of the most iconic knights were crusaders and Nintendo being Japanese didn't really understand the culture. But was there an in-universe explanation for it? Did Hylians receive a few Christian missionaries?
Especially as those early Zelda games have been put late in the timeline.

The VC is just a marketing term.

Not bothered by any of it. VC is just a name, Switch is still getting retro games from many different sources, and with their references to collections, I'm even more certain we will see cartridge versions of NES and SNES mini on switch

The church bells have officially called for VC's time. This doesn't disappoint me a bit. We are receiving Neo Geo games, a wide range of indie games and SEGA AGES will be on the way soon. I already have a Nintendo Wii to play GC games and planning to buy more.

Honestly though, I don't care. It's just a name. Excited for the Online Service! I hope they add Wrecking Crew to the lineup of classics they're offering.

I've always wondered if the Virtual Console in some way affects the marketplace for indies? Previously Ninty have pushed the VC into our faces and we've had to search for the indies. Maybe it's to create a level playing field?

So as someone who doesn’t care about online play and is very, very, very bored of NES games, Nintendo expect me to pay the (reletvely fairly priced) £20 per year online for the ability to cloud save?…

@NewAdvent

We are probably years away, or maybe Switch 2, but I could see them bringing Gamecube and Wii games and maybe N64 games under a different banner. They were charging $20 for a Wii game on the Wii U. Can't see them including a system like that on a $20/annual membership. Although if they started included games like that it would go a long way to justifying their online service to me.

From all the subscription music and video streaming services, it's pretty clear that modern consumers want access not ownership.

This article is way too fan boyish for my tastes and is not up to the high standards I've come to expect from Nintendo Life.

You say the Switch paid online service lets users play NES games "for free"? That's obviously not the case; this is a PAID online service. Let's be honest here. This is $2 a month for some NES games and P2P multiplayer.

You also say that this "more than makes up for" the absence of a Virtual Console. Speak for yourself on that one. Based on the comments section, a lot of people disagree.

Currently no plans means just that. It will come eventually, Nintendo isn't going to turn down easy money. Heck I'm still waiting for 3ds VC to start back up! Where's my Castevania Legends Nintendo?

@Moroboshi876 I get what you're saying, but I really don't think it's that people in general feel owed a VC. It's more that Nintendo has done it well before, so it's disappointing to hear they may not bring a huge library to their most popular system.

People do want GC games, but also SNES, GBA, N64, etc. Buying all of those and all the cartridges you want would get massively expensive and take up tons of space. Some people are into that kind of collecting, but most would rather play $10 to get a classic game on the sleek new system they already own

Thanks Ninty, now I have a good excuse to go all out on emulation!

That RetroArch Switch port is looking a lot more tempting now.

@SmaggTheSmug the early Zelda games utilize many Christian images in order to craft the base game. It wasn't until about five years later that Nintendo started cracking down on religion in their games in order to make certain the market did not focus the wrong way for them.

The VC was a goldmine. I don't understand this decision at all.

I saw that one coming a long time ago, sadly.

Nintendo, if it were truly smart, should have created basically a Netflix-like service on the Switch where your subscription would give you free access to a whole library of digital games so long as you were paying the monthly-yearly subscription fee. I'm talking hundreds of titles to choose from here. They could also swap some of these titles out every now and then just like Netflix does. And these titles could have come from the huge library of classic retro games as well as new games too.

That would have been the most natural and exciting evolution of the Virtual Console imo.

But I guess Nintendo still doesn't really see/get the big picture here--I expect either or both Sony and Microsoft will beat them to the punch on this too.

It's almost as if Nintendo don't want my money.

Doesn’t mean they’re not gonna release retro titles to download and keep. Look
At Neo Geo, SEGA...

There is a real thirst for NGC titles. Expect to see them, maybe even as HD updates.

Oh, and don't expect Nintendo to put a genuinely meaningful/fulfilling selection of retro games up for free as part of its subscription service. If you expect to get tens to hundreds of NES, SNES, N64, GC, Wii and maybe even Wii U games in that deal (or any games from its range of classic portable systems or its old arcade games), as in even close the likes of the Wii Virtual Console roll out (and many people still longed for more and quicker releases on the brilliant Wii Virtual Console too)--then I think you'll likely be very disappointed. I mean, I'd love that to be the case but I just don't see it happening. And I'm not getting my hopes up for anything other than first party stuff appearing on their either at this point.

But, let's see if Nintendo can not disappointment further. . . .

@AlternateButtons Let's say one of the first games they offer is Super Mario Bros. What if I didn't subscribe for the first month and I wanted to play SMB? I don't think Microsoft and Sony repeat their monthly games, and there's no other way of buying SMB. Besides, when you sub ends, you loose access to all of those games. It's not a perfect solution IMO. Having both options would be better.

@SmaggTheSmug it’s because Link is Jesus. He dies for your sins repeatedly (yes getting hit by an Octorok is a sin. It’s one of the 7 deadly sins - turns out that lust was a later substitute). Then he returns from the dead time after time.

If that’s not on the nose enough - in BoTW he even returns from the dead inside a sealed tomb...

I’m playing NES Green Beret right now on my laptop so no big loss I guess.

Would’ve liked access to some Game Cube games like Thousand Year Door but, eh, whatcha gonna do.

We’ve had a ton of Neo Geo games already, with SEGA on the way.

What timeline do I exist in where the V.C. has been killed?

Personally i think this is great news. At least i won't have to individually download all retro games and probably pay premium prices for each one.

So this is it, Switch is for Switch and Wii U games while Wii U is for pre-Wii U games.

Disappointing, not surprising. With the 'classic' line of consoles (which I love) Nintendo has found a new way to sell old games, and they're obviously going a different direction by adding classic games as part of the online service. We'll see how the latter plays out. I'm sure SNES and N64 games will be added at some point. Hopefully the Gameboy lines as well. The Wii's Virtual Console was awesome and I wish it was coming to Switch, but, it was clear once the NES Classic came out that changes to how we get retro games were on the way.

What is going on at Nintendo headquarters?
The Switch now has an unpatchable exploit that allows you to run the Dolphin emulator (among many others), yet they won't provide a legitimate method?
It's just utterly stupid. They are basically asking people who want portable Gamecube and Wii games to hack their Switch.

This won't be a popular sentiment, but I'm content with a subscription service to get access to legacy content. Ideally, we would have been able to transfer purchases from Wii U, but I'd rather a subscription than be expected to purchase the same games again.

Great now I can finally voice chat with friends while I play SMB3, said no one ever. Ridiculous. Think about how much money can b made if they had the virtual console on the system...

This is good news. We still get tons of retro games via standard releases / online service / collections, but aren't restricted to the Virtual Console homogeneous format.

@impurekind
I kind of expect this to happen actually. You get 20 games for a monthly subscription with more games to come over time, isn't that basically an on demand service? And even though an on demand service sounds 'cheaper' to us, its actually more expensive over time. For Nintendo having peopel paying for an on demand service through subscription means they have a constant flow of money coming in versus the upfront payment for virtual console games. I think this is mostly a business move, but something that I prefer over the old system if it means that I get NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube games for 20 (and increasing to 60 euros over time?) per year.

THEY HATE MONEY.

@SimonMKWii Yeah, only way to get the full experience on the Switch now is to hack it.. What were Nintendo thinking???

VC gone doesnt bother me. I have my WIIU that can play Nes, snes, gb, n64, gba, gamecube, wii, ds, sega genesis, game gear, neo geo, wiiu, and even ps1 at some extent. And you can play all of them just on the gamepad alone.

Indies! Indies! Indies!!! I don't care for them one bit they are nothing but wastes of space and blatant knockoffs of good classic games! Trash that you would usually find in a bargain bin for under $5. Why pay $20 for blossom tales when you could play link to the past for $8.

Personally not bothered. The only "retro" game I play is my old mario game for the GameBoy. Once a year, for about 5 minutes before it bores me and I go back to other newer games. NES and SNES has no interest. I can count on one hand the VC titles I'd probably buy just to support the devs.

Personally this decision pleases me. It was getting over the top having to buy the same bloody game and restart it 500 times in a row.

Well then they better bring everything from NES to N64 to the online service

@GameOtaku This is why we can't have nice things. No, indies are not just blatant knockoffs of good classic games. Some are, but not all of them. There are tons of great indies, you're just wearing your classic retro rose-tinted Nintendo-branded goggles.

Goggles which you'd repurchase till the end of time for some reason.

The amount of outrage over decades old games is astounding lol. People complain switch has no new games, it's only wii u ports blah blah, then complain because they can't play games from generations ago. Craziness I tell Ya.

@redd214
We need ALL the games 😁

@Blizzia NES and SNES has no interest.
Why are you a Nintendo fan then?

Nintendo found out that they could just re-release old games and charge full price.

They could still come under a different name? Like... We have ACA Neo Geo, we have ACA for non-Neo Geo arcade games... Maybe they have an agreement with Hamster to bring them under a Nintendo Archive name or something? They already have one for Nintendo Arcade games after all.

@redd214 God forbid we got the chance to try out the games we never played on the Gamecube or N64.

Booo! Hiss!! I want to be able to purchase my classics like I do with the Hamster games!!

NESflix, and hopefully many more systems in the future.

@Lozzen there's plenty ways to do that already. If you really want to play them find a solution and play them 😊

I think this might show that the VC wasn't exactly the mine gold people thought it was, no way a company would leave behind something that makes money.

Also NES, SNES and probably N64/GC mini.

@turntSNACO I know, but let's see what this online service has to offer. Maybe one day NES games will be accompanied by other Nintendo systems' too.

It's a classic Nintendo move, anyway. Game tracking on 3DS was superb, but it was changed again and now on Switch we have to wait 5 hours of gameplay to see it updated. "More than 10 hours" can be 10.5 and 14.5. On 3DS it was more exact, and with other statistics too.

I can live without a virtual console. Having a NES & SNES mini and a bunch of VC games on my 2DS is enough. Plus it sounds like the offerings Nintendo will bundle with the online service will further help me stratch that throwback itch.

This simply sounds like a "we have nothing to announce at this stage"

Ah, classic Nintendo.

Whatever, they're lucky emulators, Minis' and the online service exist.

Well I had no intention of buying the same retro games I bought on the Wii and WiiU again. I even have the NES and SNES mini and will no doubt get the N64 mini. So no real loss for the Virtual Console.

I will subscribe to play current games online -whatever NES/SNES and beyond games we get is not the reason to get the online service.

@NewAdvent

"you're right it's probably years away, there's no real reason teh Switch can't play the games but if Nintendo fills the Switch with their back catalogue 3rd party companies will start to lose sales to nostalgia."

I just don't know that there is any proof to this. The biggest argument to buy this is it's just $20 which is pretty insignificant. If there was a $5 version of Super Mario Bros available people are going to buy that and stop buying other games? It doesn't make any sense. I originally was excited for VC when the Wii released with it many moons ago. But then grew tired of the slow release schedule and the reluctance to release systems. Since that time about 10 years ago I've spend at least $3,000 on retro video games. That's real money Nintendo could have had because I wanted those games. Where are the people saying oh, I have to buy Super Mario Odyssey because Mario 3 isn't available on the Switch? Or I had to buy Zelda BotW because A link to the Past isn't available? Or I have to buy Arms because Punch-Out isn't available? These people don't exist. People spend their money on the things that they want. And if they didn't want those above games they wouldn't buy a Switch.

I will only pay for for single games. I will never pay for a subscription service that can end whenever Nintendo see fit.

@Anti-Matter

The advantages of VC are the ability to take them on the go and save states which original media wouldn't have. But otherwise, yes I'm fine playing my old games on the system they were intended for.

I do think the hypocrisy is funny though. On one hand, it's this is great and is good enough version of VC because most people aren't interested in old games. But on the other hand it's 2018 and the 2ndary feature (or primary depending on who you ask) of the Switch online service is access to old games. So what is it? Was it dumb for Nintendo to offer something so trivial since no one cares about the games, or was it dumb for Nintendo to shortchange people interested in retro games so badly?

@gcunit
Don't worry.
I will not get mad by lack of VC.
Kinda disappointed, but i can always revisit my older Nintendo games anytime i want.

@NewAdvent - yeah, I really should start my comments with a disclaimer about being 99% wrong

This is fine by me. I was not gonna fork out again for VC games. This is a much more sustainable model for all.

Ouch. Sorry to hear this, but honestly not surprised. I thought this might be the way things were heading. My poor old WiiU suddenly seems a lot more valuable now.

Wow, you’d think it was illegal for Nintendo or other publishers to release vintage games without calling them ‘Virtual Console’.

You’re crazy if you think Nintendo won’t take the opportunity to sell you Super Mario World again

I wonder if the NES games from online will have save states.

Classic Nintendo, making the perfect VC machine and then throwing away a great opportunity. Guess I'll be holding onto my wii forever.

@cleveland124 Wii U is just wishfull thinking. Instead of selling their games for $60 as a defenitive edition, Nintendo will just put their games tagged as Virtual console and sell them.for 20 ~ 30. That doesn't make sense, at all.

But aside from that, not all (S)NES games are available on the mini system, just like they aren't on Virtual Console.

I get why it is nice, but it's not needed. Nintendo surely has a reason to stop with VC. There are tons of ways to play the games you missed.

If the online subscription heads for a Netflix style model it might mean that folks don't miss the VC. Personally I loved the shop window it gave obscure gems on systems I missed. I guess that may be a thing of the past now...

I think in the past, VC games took away too much from the sales of current games, and Nintendo just doesn’t think it’s worth the risk anymore.

They Said 'The Service Will Not Be Coming To Switch In The Near Future'

It Doesn't Mean It Will Be Entirely

@cleveland124
You know ?
I have some VC (Maybe just around 2 - 3 games since i'm interested with Physical retails than Digital download) on my New 3DS XL (Just only Dig Dug NES) & on my Wii U (Super Mario World SNES & Final Fantasy Tactics Advance GBA). But i almost never played them since i prefer their existence in Physical retails.

But the problem is, VC is NOT 100 % from All older library games. There are a lot of Older games that will Never been released as VC.
Solution ? Play them in Actual physical retails.

I’m okay with this given that it probably means more robust inclusion in the paid service that there was no way I was gonna be able to avoid paying (gotta Spla2n). But Nintendo needs to hurry up and make GameCube playable for me. I skipped the NES Classic due to already owning any of the games I’d want on Virtual Console and I got the SNES Classic, if there’s an N64 Classic I’ll skip it but I’ve been dying to get a chance to play through Sunshine and Thousand Year Door and to replay F-Zero GX. I’d be kinda surprised if they make a GCN Classic but I guess we’ll see.

Guess I’m gonna just stop feeling guilty about emulating since Nintendo apparently doesn’t even want my money...

I honestly don't mind if Nintendo's plan is to get NES, SNES, N64, GC and Wii available on the subscription service, but as I don't play any multiplayer games there's absolutely no way I'd pay £20 for just the same old NES ROMs being trotted out again.

Nintendo also needs to release the games at a much faster rate, it took them way too long to get N64 games on the Wii U, they could have been using them (and GC VC) to plug the massive gaps in the release schedule that we had on the Wii U!

Well, I knew this wasn't gonna happen... PSP, here I come!

@gauthieryannick yes just buy those consoles (except nes mini cant find it) hack them and play all your roms you like on it.

I’d rather get classic games released in packages like the street fighter 30th anniversary collection and mega man x collections all on physical cartridges than purchasing each one individually on digital only

why release them twice if they are trying to sell subscriptions?

Thats like the people who want PS Plus to be cheaper and only use some of its features

@Anti-Matter Your solution is a shoddy one if the game in question is rare or insanely priced and needs old hardware in good condition to run in the first place. Not to mention that hardware often uses outdated TV connections.
My brother had to get a really old, giant TV to connect a PS2 and original Xbox to it. Me, I don't have space for something like that in my apartment.
Switch is great for old games as it is for indie games, as it's compact, portable, has instant local multiplayer and the games look good on the small screen. Which is why so many people hack it to play ROMs on it. If Nintendo doesn't provide the solution themselves then people will look for alternative ones.

Oh another nails in the coffin!

Seems like they're too busy porting Wii U games to Switch. I'm just sad because being able to take a huge VC library on the go seemed like a great idea to me.

Thereitis.jpg

Stupid decision

Wow, this is quite a tough pill to swallow but I am not completely surprised. Nintendo making the miniaturized NES and SNES Classic consoles was pretty much the writing on the wall that they would be discontinuing the Virtual Console.
I sure hope they act quickly and shed more light on their new online service and what it entails.
I also believe that they should keep the mini classic consoles (both) in production for fans that still want them instead of doing limited production runs, obviously they sell like hotcakes and it is not hurting the Switch's sales.

A subscription service only means they can pull the plug on it in the future and everything is instantly gone. I hate this so very much.

As much as I wanted it I guess I can live with the decision. And to live with that decision has been made so much easier with:

Hamster covering Neo Geo & Arcade
Johnny Turbo bringing us Data East Arcade
SEGA AGES COMING SOON
Namco Museum already available
SNK Collection coming in October
Psikyo Arcade Games already available
Atari Flashback Collections coming soon
And many sprinkled gems through out the eshop like Ikaruga etc etc
Otherwise....this would be a tragedy for us Retro fans!!
Meanwhile, having my modded Snes classic mini with 5,500 games over 26 consoles at my disposal also definitely eases the pain of Nintendo’s decision!!!

@gauthieryannick exactly.

This does seem like a missed opportunity:

I mean, I would love to have a portable Gamecube! Taking Metroid Prime to the coffee shop, or onto my patio at night. The potential was there, and it seems very stupid not to expand upon what they spent twelve years building!

A shame cause it would have suited the Switch perfectly. I mean it still exists in a way with the whole online thing happening, but it's just not the same. Plus who's to say if those games are always there to play. At some point, years down the road, Nintendo will pull the plug on it and there will be no way to play classic games on the console at all.

@Saego

From a business perspective a mix of remakes and a cheaper service to get the backcatalog available make sense. It does take resources to do remakes which leads to their higher price but you can't do that with all of them. Nor would you want to.

And while there are other options, there aren't any legal ways to play many of those VC games on the go. A few released on 3DS but not many. Missed opportunity in my book.

@SmaggTheSmug
Take a look my gaming room.

I have a Lot of backlog games here !
No need to worry about lack of VC.
I have 5 machines hooked onto my LED Sharp TV as you can see from my photo (Switch, Wii, Wii U, PS2 & PS4) and it doesn't take a lot of space, just about 2 meter. For older machines, i gave my Wii with AV2HDMI for playing Gamecube games, PS2 Slim with PS3 Component cables for playing Both PS2 & PS1 games. I use my Wii U for playing Both Wii U & Wii, and for PS4.... i use it for playing my PS4 games & watching my DVD Movies.

For Handhelds , i have NDS Lite for playing GBA, 3DS XL for Both 3DS & NDS, Switch.... just for Switch games.

I wish i can play Gamecube / Wii games on the go, but if still not happen, that's fine. I still can play them at my home.

@Anti-Matter

Lacks SNES, NES, and N64. Otherwise nice setup.

@gauthieryannick

that's my guess. they'd rather sell those mini systems than deal with another VC. it's money on the table unless they do expand out what is covered in the sub.

20$ for all I can play from nes to gc? sign me up. if i have to piecemeal it then no thanks.

@GameOtaku No, "indies" are not "trash." There are a wide multitude of indie games that vary in quality, same as with retail releases. Don't speak poorly of games you haven't even looked into playing.

Even if we don't get VC, we'll get downloadable games via the online service with enhancements, as well as classic Sega games coming via the Sega Ages line. So, it's not called VC, but it serves basically the same purpose.

This just confirms that at some point, when the true jail break happens, I will be buying a second Swtich, and loading up fan made emulators on it. If you are not going to let me BUY your retro content on the best possible platform you have ever released for it to be on - then I will resort to other means as the become available. And they will come around. It is only a matter of time.

That said, if this new service adds more than NES games and gives us good variety - or we get the retro support I want through other, official, sources then I may still wait for that. But damn it all, TELL US.

I guess my only real concern is if they will rotate these games out; and if so, how often they will rotate the games out. There are certain classic games I wouldn't want to lose, and when the console runs its course and the online services end I would have to hack the system in order to play those classic game on it. What if I'm somewhere where I can't get internet at the time, can I still play those games?

Honestly, there´s no way they won´t bring old games in one way or another. This would mean losing a ton of money. Retro games are, unlike with previous systems, extremely marketable. Virtual Console was introduced with the Wii and was featured in every Nintendo console from that point on. It was, hovewer, never advertised as a big feature, because it was incompatible with the selling point (or gimmick, if you want) of that certain device. Let me explain:
Wii - motion controls - incompatible
3DS - gaming in 3D - incompatible
Wii U - interaction between two screens - incompatible
Switch - switching between home and portable console, sharing Joy Cons for multiplayer, different control options - ABSOLUTELY COMPATIBLE
Some people say that Nintendo doesn´t want to do VC because their Mini consoles are selling so well. But that simply isn´t true. What does Nintendo want to sell more of - their cheap console where the customer can´t do any purchases besides the actual hardware, or a new 300 dollar mainstream console where they get more money with each new bought game as well as become more recognized as a company? The Mini consoles are only reviving the nostalgia, while Switch has the potential to bring people back to gaming. I mean, if there was a Switch bundle with a lifetime retro pass with access to all of Nintendo´s past games, the demand for the Switch would rise to a whole new level. Nintendo, bring these classics to the Switch and I will support you with all of my money.

@NapalmPsalm

Great questions. Typical Nintendo, they provide "answers" but inevitably make us ask more questions cause the answers are so thin.

The switch already has more coin ops than the wii and Wiiu combined lol. And more coming. No drama from me

As long as Nintendo re-releases classic games on the Switch in some form I'm OK with this.

@cleveland124
Oh, for SNES & NES, i might have a plan for SupaBoy SFC to play them on the go.
Wel.... 3rd party machine (Not by Nintendo) but still can play Genuine SNES & NES cartridges by legally.

I get it. Indies are doing so well why stifle a good thing? If people decide to buy a bunch of Nintendo's retro games they'll be less likely to buy a bunch of indies. Indies are selling well. If the quality of the top indies goes down then maybe Nintendo will pull the trigger and offer virtual counsel in the future. But it doesn't look well for that scenario.

Didnt expect saying this but I may go out and buy a $50 eshop card for my Wii u and buy a few of those N64 games I wanted to play. It would be nice to have some of those before that avenue is lost.

I’m kind of disappointed but not too surprised with how the online service was worded. Hopefully they will bring online enhanced versions of their rare titles (like earthbound) onto the switch.

@NapalmPsalm " There are certain classic games I wouldn't want to lose, and when the console runs its course and the online services end I would have to hack the system in order to play those classic game on it"

you know there will be another console that takes its place when that happens, we have been adding and replacing consoles our entire gaming lives

I don't mind the VC dying if it means retro games are coming all for free. But the caviat is tjere needs to be a lot of them and from more than just the NES.

I’m still of the belief that the VC wasn’t as big a money maker for Nintendo or 3rd parties. Probably only certain of Nintendo’s 1sr party games and the famous / pricey 3rd party titles made the majority of the money and as generations passed the income lowered and less people were willing to double or even triple dip unless they were on sale.

Income drives all decisions so its likely this allows for a more reliable stream of revenue.

I do suspect we will see additional classic games make there way to Switch but through 3rd parties or the Online Service.

Still, I wouldn’t mind a Switch cart released with a selection of SNES Games like the SNES Mini’s selection (likely to release once SNES Mini sales become unsupportable to continue manufacture).

It’s just a name. We getting plenty of retro games as it is and Nintendo is basically trying to create a “Netflix” for retro Nintendo games. 3-4 years from now, when we have nes, snes, n64, gb, gba, and maybe even gc games all on switch, we will all forget about the virtual console.
though my Wii/u/3ds and the 500+ games I own for them will still have plenty of vc games to play.

Fans during Wii U era: “Why do I have to pay for all these old games all over again? Nintendo, get with the times!”

Nintendo releases subscription service with access to a constantly updated stream of classic games for less than $2 a month: “I would rather pay for all those old games all over again!”

@ValhallaOutcast This is true and I knew this before commenting. My main point is worrying about if they are going to rotate games out in the current system cycle. For example; I love mario bros 3, but what happens if they rotate it out for something I don't care for? That is my worry, and I know I'd have other options to play it. One of those options is finding a way to play it legally ($), and this other option is to emulate it illegally (free).

@Richard_Atkinson Surely.

Maybe they'll release classic compilations instead. Imagine a cartridge with Mario Sunshine, F-Zero GX, and Melee on it.

To all those female dogging, I will tell you, just on Super Mario Bros. 3 across all the systems I have had to re-buy it on comes up to more than their family subscription alone. This service was needed for the fans that had to re-buy this poo every generation and it greatly benefits everyone else as well. 3 VC games is approximately the yearly fee and you get all the games they will make available with an enhanced multiplayer so yes it is amazing if you think about it. Could it end up being lackluster? Ya maybe, but even still it is way cheaper to do it this way and create good faith with the die hard VC re-buyers.

@DBPirate Except no one knows what the new catalog of games will look like. It certainly won't be as robust as Wii U/3DS VC, at least not initially.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing either, mind you. I never understood why people thought the Switch would get a proper VC. I think we'll still see individual retro releases, like ACA and the Neo Geo stuff. Selling games individually is just too profitable, and if anything, all the recent retro re-releases on Switch show they are still in demand. So I don't think we'll see Nintendo abandon that entirely, it just won't be labeled VC anymore.

I'm fine with this. Got the mini consoles for most of the retro stuff anyway. Didn't want to be paying out for them again on a per game basis and any that come along as part of the sub will be a nice bonus.

I'm not sure I'd be buying any Virtual Console games now that I have an NES mini and SNES mini, but I do see how having them portable and not tied to a subscription would be preferable for many. Probably will be a reason for some to go jailbreak on their Switch. :/

I do hope this influences Nintendo to continue supplying the NES mini and SNES mini.

As I own the past consoles and many of the games, this isn't really a big thing to lose. One thing that I'd rather see, and it kind of makes me wonder if they will be doing this by the way the article read, is collection-type retail releases. Would be nice to see NES Classics bundled into Switch carts, like a nice Mario collection or Zelda collection. I'd rather do it that way anyways, then watching more space get taken up on the Switch's hard drive, or having to upgrade to a bigger SD card.

@AlternateButtons You are paying for them again and perpetually this time.

If the Switch did get a virtual console, everyone would be whining about paying for the games again anyway. And it's not like Nintendo put much effort into the service on the WiiU or 3DS either. Tbh the virtual console pretty much died the day Nintendo rolled out indie downloads on the Wii.
The other thing to remember is that there have been plenty of retro games coming from Hamster corp, and the releases have been steady for a while now.
I habe my WiiU hooked up to my TV and all of my Wii and WiiU downloads are going nowhere, so no, I'm not bothered about there being no Virtual Console on the Switch.

When I read this, I had to pause to think about it. The truth of it is that I love the idea of the Virtual Console but it never lived up to its promise. Hamster's ACA Collection is blowing VC out of the water in both release rate and content. Maybe it's better to leave this in the hands of the content owners rather than creating a bottleneck in Nintendo's in-house service.

i have ways to play classics on other systems anyways. so this does not brother me one bit.

Why are you guys mad? The virtual console is just simply porting old games. The Switch has enough ports as is right?

I'm fine with this... provided more than just NES games are eventually offered under this new online service. Which I assume there will be other consoles added laater

I hope Konami take this as a green light to cram as many Turbografx shooters into a single download as possible.

This doesn’t mean no retro games
This doesn’t mean no retro games

It just means older first party get released with the subscription
Newer first party get remastered like DKTF
Third party continue to be released like Megaman collection, and the Arcade Classics

@meppi64 And the outrageous price for joycons/docks/wiiu ports, the terrible connection issues with joycons, the insultingly low storage it comes with...want me to keep going?

Fire the new presidente !!

@Captain_Toad The VC is emulation of games that are long out of print and fetching ridiculous prices.

This is precisely why I have Everdrives, an SD2SNES and a chipped Gamecube. Although I have spent hundreds of £’s on Nintendo’s previous VCs, and own both the SNES and NES mini, I got fed up with sub-par emulation and lack of games choice through these methods. I would continue to support a new VC, but I’m not really into the whole subscription model, especially as I hate online multiplayer gaming.

this isnt a huge surprise really. I think we will probably be drip fed retro classics bit by bit but they will be included as part of the sub package which seems more than reasonable considering its only £18 for a whole year. I think also that retro games will be released but they will be packaged much like hamsters arcade archives, we'll probably see a flurry of these now that we all know that virtual console is no more. tbh this is probably a better way to get these classics than wait for Nintendo to spoon feed us 1 or 2 games a month. this might also lead to retro games being released with better features like sega are doing. this is just nintendo moving on, lets move with them!

OK the page froze AGAIN so I'll make it short and sweet as possible.Micro soft is doing the subscription crap,and Sony is also doin it.I DONT NEED ALL THREE OF THEM TO BE DOING IT!When I get a switch I better not see a freaking giant virtual Billboard that's saying oh you can't do this because your not paying your 100 Dollars a freaking year!!The VC is one thing me being able to play games without seeing that annoying stupid bill board is another thing ENTIRELY!!Its 100$ a year that I don't wanna spend just so I can play Mario kart or pop balloons for coins or heck playing splatoon 2!!Its like paying bills you don't like it in fact you hate it but you have no CHOICE when its something when playing video games is important.Its a bill that I personally do NOT want to pay PERIOD!I don't want to feel like playing splatoon 2 walking up to the tower and getting the Giant bill board to the face and feel like paying money that I don't wanna spend.But that's just my "opinion" and a strong one at that ok. You can call me many things for it but you can't call me late for dinner cus I'm never late for dinner.

@ZurapiiYohane This is why soon as the second model comes out I am doing a system transfer and hacking my OG switch unit and then the problem is solved for me.

@Anti-Matter dude noice!... Lacks alot but not too bad... I can't show my room on here I have so much crap lol

I don't care, in fact it's good!... I own all Nintys consoles and all the games online for them, plus I got a few on my Wii and WiiU... I don't wanna pay more for things I've played loads and have easy access too lol new games only please!!! If they are going to put old games on Switch, remaster them

Very happy it's dead. It's better off leaving the old releases to the companies that control them. Are your memories so short remembering how Nintendo would release more and more sad looking pittances of titles compared to how the Wii blew them out a decade ago? Do we really need them taking a good cut on every old game someone else wants out there on their release terms to buy again and again from Wii, WiiU and 3DS? Get over it. It's a good thing. ACA/Hamster have shown they can do the stuff far better justice with Nintendo, IREM and mainly Neo-Geo games so far.

@meppi64,

I am pretty sure the demand for a virtual console service has lessened since the Wii version.

And I am not too bothered that Nintendo has declined to offer me the chance to buy games I allredy have bought...for an inflated price.

I would much prefer for Nintendo to concentrate on some good N64/GAMECUBE/Wii HD remasters,

The switch is bringing their retro games online. I would rather pay 20 dollars for a whole year, than a whole lot of money on those retro games every month. You will still get the chance to bring them on the go.

The Switch is doing better without VC anyways and we already got more retro goodness than we ever need on the system. Also the hacking community already came and open their mouth about how to hack the crap out of it if it ever does offer such a feature so yeah why would Nintendo offer VC when hackers could exploit a way to get them for free? I say VC time is over.

@Captain_Toad that’s beside the point. People don’t care about ports if it’s the old classic games. If we get GameCube or N64 games we’d rather keep them as it is. We wouldn’t changes to them for the nostalgic feeling.

@gauthieryannick Those aren't portable consoles, and that's not forward-thinking. That's the OPPOSITE of forward-thinking. I swear, only Nintendo fans would defend the loss of a massive feature like Virtual Console. Sony fans are pissed about how Sony handled PlayStation Classics on the PS4. I bought an Xbone last year just because they supported older games, and now I regret buying my Switch at launch because they aren't bringing Virtual Console.

My Switch has collected dust for the past 3-4 months, now that they're not bringing VC to it I'm gonna gonna get a GPD system and emulate everything.

Without paying Nintendo.

They're missing out on sales. Absolutely idiotic on their part. I don't know what the hell they're thinking, except maybe they wanna sell GameCube games at full retail price? Seriously, so anti-consumer and stupid. I don't care about NES games, I only care about SNES and up. Grrrrr.

This is extremely disappointing. Although I will subscribe as long as the games do not disappear every few months. It should be the same as ps plus and Xbox Live Gold games that as long as your subscribed you can keep playing the free games in your library until you subscription expires and they will be available to play again when you resubscribe

People buy switches as it’s supposed to be the revolution of portable/home consoles. If the Virtual Console was on the switch people would spend money on the release day, I know my friend bought loads on his Wii U he had over 30+ vc games.
If the switch has them, people would buy them, thus Nintendo gets more money and everyone would be happy and it would make the switch the best console due to having backwards compatibility and portability to all these homeconsole games. The wii U was a start for being portable for the old home console games, make it happen on the switch. That’s all people want, Nintendo would win overall doing this.

How will a whole new generation of gamers experience the greatness that is Urban Champion though?

Well, i didnt want to emulate your old games Nintendo. I guess I have no other choice now. Im not paying those exorbitant prices on old Gamecube games. Sorry not sorry.

@retro_player_22 Well, OBVIOUSLY because it pushes players like me to piracy. You shouldn't be forced to jailbreak your system to play VC titles.

The Switch did well without the VC because people saw the potential in the system. It'll only be a passing fad like the Wii(sales were good from 2006-2009, subpar after) if they keep this idiocy up. Switch needs VC, and Nintendo doesn't benefit from apologists.

If it works in the same way as PS+ then I'll be fine with that, as long as the current account system is going to be carried forward to future systems. I already have all the games I want from VC over Wii, Wii U and 3DS anyway. While it would have been nice to compile them onto one system at least this saves me from buying them again.

On the other hand this works against those who haven't had access to VC-enabled systems, and as the stores close over time these things aren't going to be around forever.

I am not complaining about this to be honest, I don't want to have to pay for the same games a third time and if they add games from the other systems it will be a pretty darn good value. You see you can't forget that you are getting games on top of the cloud saves, discounts and online play and for twenty bucks I don't see the issue. VC had its time but now we have something new and in my opinion far more consumer friendly.

Meh. It was painfully obvious this was the route they would take. We'll get retro games as part of the online subscription, mini-consoles, and stand alone eShop releases just like other companies have been doing. There's not really any point in a "VC" per se - the most popular games will almost definitely get their own releases on eShop - likely using the same emulation that the VC did - just without the branding.

Works for me. License issues meant you got most of the same first party titles and even then that wasn’t consistent. The wiiu was a fantastic it does everything machine and it tanked. So I’m happy to see Nintendo looking at the current gen only focus. How many times can one rebuy the same original games?

Not surprised about VC. Kinda sucks, but I honestly don’t feel like buying the same games over again.

This is very upsetting, but also not that surprising. I know I didn't want to spend the full price on all those games again unless they gave a good "transfer" discount like Wii to Wii U.

Now I want Smash 64 and Mario Kart 64 with online play.

@EternalDragonX
Sure, why not.
Knock yourself out if that's what you enjoy.

@Facelord I believe Nintendo could still offer some retro goodness for Switch but probably not like VC and since third party are releasing compilation and plug and play nowadays going the VC route may not be in their favor. If anything I believe a compilation for old games may be best suit for Switch. They could still have HAMSTER hande all the digital download work for stuff like virtual releases though so maybe console archive titles for NES, SNES, N64, and GameCube are possible.

While I can understand apathy, I cannot for the life of me understand the people who are treating this like a good thing. You want less options? Maybe you don't personally want to own your games and are fine with being locked to a subscription, but there are others who want the option to buy them, too. Treating this like a brilliant move because you personally don't care is an extremely self-centred worldview.

That makes sense, given that, especially in light of an editorial here, other companies (Sega and SNK) are already giving their quasi-Virtual Console releases under this service.

@johnvboy And I am not too bothered that Nintendo has declined to offer me the chance to buy games I allredy have bought...for an inflated price.

Well, now they are offering a chance for you to pay a perpetual rental fee. Will you be paying it?

they'll find another way to resell us the same old games we already bought at least once, don't worry. if you hate money paypal me

i prefer the old model of buying individual digital games, however it looks like in the wider market i am in the minority. I have yet to buy a switch and lack of VC was one of the key reasons. I will now spend my time finishing off my Wii U and 3ds libraries.

Spotify, netflix, etc show that the mainstream do not want to own, they want to rent.

I usually prefer to play games on the original consoles they were released on, or on my computer when I want a fan-translation (like in Final Fantasy VI's case), so this doesn't bug me personally (even though my old self would be absolutely ピスト off over this). That said, I really feel sorry for people who looked forward to the Switch Virtual Console.

BTW, this is one of the longest comment sections I've seen on this site in a while... Will be interesting to dig into.

Why would it be better to split eShop into ”regular” and VC portions?

I don’t care where I buy my games from.

It sucks, though, that without VC 3rd parties might not be as interested in releasing that many retro games, especially for somewhat less popular systems.

But RetroArch is...

The key is in the second quote: "There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch". Publishers have taken control of the monetization and marketing of their old games. And curation and added value are probably more successful strategies than an extensive library. (Of games people say are too expensive.) Capcom has Mega Man Legacy Collection, Disney Afternoon Collection, etc. Nintendo's answer is the Switch Online thing.

Fine with this. At this point in time, what's the point of VC, anyway?

Look at all the bloody morons falling for this pathetic piece of journalism. Just means it will be under a new banner but hey overreact and say you're just gonna pirate games on retropie or whatever. The online gaming community shows once again how mature it really is when they can't even understand simple news. But then again it doesn't help when the useless journalists and writers are just as bad when it comes to overreacting and clickbait nonsense.

Dear Nintendo, screw you and your lame decisions. No wonder people resort to shady methods and console hacking.

It's fine.
I have a homebrew Wii.
They apparently don't want my money, so I'll make an alternative.

This was always going to be a touchy topic for many but what surprises me are the number of people who feel that Nintendo “hate money” or are “missing chances to make it”.

News flash, the majority of people including those here know MUCK ALL of how much is made or profit.

In a simplified case, the higher ups likely received two proposals on offering classic games: A classic VC and this Subscription method. Based on the cost of clearing the games and QA, determining a price point, % profit desired and the predicted market based on historical data they came with two final values. Lets say Classic VC had “X” over 5 years and Subscription had “Y” over five years; potentially even graphs showing profit per year. In this case “Y” came out higher than “X” and/or offered a more continuous income.

This is not being apologetic; I am disappointed too at this announcement if it means no purchaseable VC titles but I need to see this from a rational point of view and not from a narrow windowed, “I want it all” / “I know what’s best” attitude thats prevalent around these parts.

Honestly, if the subscription model starts to offer games from other systems, then it could well become the most affordable “Virtual Console”.

@LegendOfPokemon Or just get an original Wii and use backwards compatibility.

Disappointing but expected. VC titles were never big sellers, outside of first party stuff.

You people want games as a service and an all digital future; this is what results.

The good thing about being able to play NES games on a subscription model rather than the VC console model is that I will actually be able to play them.

With the virtual console I would see NES games I was interested in but not actually willing to shell out money for that specific game. This way I can try the games and really see if I enjoy them or not.

On Netflix I have watched shows that I have really enjoyed but would not have bought if I just saw a DVD in a store. On the flip side I have tried shows that I didn't like but didn't care because my money wasn't spent on that one specific show.

Hopefully Nintendo keeps building up the library of games. I love playing NES games so I am excited for this.

@Anti-Matter Try playing a game like Earthbound legally. Good luck. Getting one is a huge hassle, and that's without the fact that the battery in the cartridge is guaranteed to be dead at this point, so you also need to replace it yourself.

@gokev13 You are still going to be paying for them. Consider this, I bought Earthbound for $10 on the Wii U in 2013. Under the subscription model I would have paid $100 over 5 years to still have access to it and I would lose it the minute I stopped paying.

I don't see how this is better for consumers.

Well, I'm not too bothered by it. We already have plenty of retro games on the switch. And more are coming like the Megaman collections. But I also think that it is a mistake. This will just encourage more people to hack their switch and run emulators on it.

The Switch is now possibly the first console in history to be under fire for having too many ports, while simultaneously lambasted for lacking a service which is literally just 'hundreds of ports'. The Virtual Console is just an umbrella term for pretty much 'all the ports'. They may as well have called it ePorts™.

Anyway, it's hard to know how much of a blow this is going to be until the online bundle develops beyond its NES-centric origins. I doubt it'll swell to the entire size of the old Virtual Console catalogue. I'm hoping the basic idea of downloading old games for permanent use can live on even if the Virtual Console branding is dropped.

@Octane
Well...
Fortunately, i have No interest with Earthbound.
So, i don't need to worry about that.
So far, i consider just Only 2 GBA games: K-1 Pocket GP 1 & 2 GBA.
I realized that i still rarely touch my NDS Lite to play my GBA game.
GBA games for me is like my Secondary gaming, unlike NDS / 3DS / Switch as my Primary Handhelds gaming.

One decision Nintendo's made that I can't understand at all is that you have to pay money to get cloud save data backup! What kind of rubbish is that? It's rather annoying how Nintendo is limiting all this stuff that we used to get for free to a paid online subscription, in my opinion.

@Maxz Emulation is not ports.

I'm not that mad. I own both Classic systems already and I actually think the new system better suits me and my family. It doesn't mean that 3rd parties couldn't release their classics in the eshop. In my eyes this only applies to Nintendo games and we're getting improved versions included with our online subscriptions.

I wasn't going to buy Super Mario 3 again anyways!

I feel very lukewarm about it all right now. On one hand, I feel like I'm getting the answers I've waited for. On the other, I can't help but feel like this could've been better.

I'm not surprised that there isn't a plan to buy VC games all over again. Subscription seems like a logical answer. I personally didn't mind the discount the my did with Wii U. I actually like how they've added online play to these games. At least Nintendo is bringing something new to the table with these.

I still have my VC games on Wii U, it's not the end of the world for me. What bothers me is there are a lot of games I was looking forward to playing on my Switch that I don't expect to now. It looks like I'll really have to buy an SNES Classic to play Star Fox 2. What about getting SSB Melee on Switch? F-Zero GX? I'm not convinced a subscription service will include all of this. I don't want to do emulators and roms, either.

I can't help but find it odd that Sega, Capcom, etc. are trying to churn out collections for retail while Nintendo is doing this other stuff. I think it's all about the classic mini systems for Nintendo this generation.

I'm happy to hear about the cloud saves and transferring accounts, that was good. I'm not convinced people will use the cellphone as voice chat system. The whole thing is very muddled to me.

Not bothered about virtual console, been there done that. There’s so many indy goodness on the eshop anyway and glad they’re mixing things up.

@Anti-Matter

Supaboy plays Snes games only and is a pain to use portable due to its size and lagging large carts around. As a big fan of the Snes it's still pretty awesome. But it does have quality issues. Unless you are really gung ho, I'd recommend getting the original systems and playing at home.

I argue that's it's better to let other companies handle this on their own...

I guess I'll still use my OUYA for the emulation purposes. At least there is still an option to play retro games. Judge me if you want.

As long as Nintendo provides a legal way to enjoy their library of games portably, I'll be happy. NES games and "maybe" others for 20 bucks a year sounds good to me. If they want to make enhanced collections of N64 or Gamecube games or sell individually on the eshop I'll pick up the ones I enjoy and be happy. Don't think the sky is falling like some people.

DISCLAIMER: Copy/pasted from my post on IGN:

Whatever Nintendo does with their legacy games, it's pretty obvious that they want to keep them as separate and distinct from the rest of the Switch's eShop offerings as possible. The reason is simple: their own first-party games absolutely dominated online sales (as well as retail, incidentally) on prior platforms to the point where it killed third parties' interest in trying to support their hardware, online or physical.

One of the biggest complaints from gamers...one which Nintendo has carefully addressed on the Switch...has been a lack of third party support on their systems. So far Switch's eShop has been a huge boon for third parties and "Nindies", and in turn Nintendo themselves.

But if Nintendo suddenly dropped a load of their own flagship classic games onto the eShop, many if not most of those third party games would immediately be pushed "below the fold" and out of consumers' sight and mind (especially if they fail to update the eShop's currently cumbersome menus). It's a tightrope to balance and Nintendo knows it; maintaining the Switch's early success with third parties means having to tread carefully with how they release any of their own titles.

"Nintendo thrilled Switch owners today"

That's being rather generous...

Does this mean the games will be streamed (and unavailable for offline play)? "No offline play" is a huge limitation for a portable device.

Hope the packaged collections are physical it's about time we got ages style collections from nintendo.

@Anti-Matter You were the one telling other people to go on eBay and buy the cartridges...

There will be complaints either way. Say they do announce VC is coming people who already downloaded the games will be upset they have to pay again for the same games.

@Crono1973,

The main thing you are paying for is online play,and Nintendo are not charging a fortune for this by any stretch of the imagination.

The retro titles are just a bonus imo.

They aren’t using the name “Virtual Console” however, they will be releasing the classics again through their online service with multiplayer support, etc. I’m stoked!

@johnvboy In your opinion is correct. Right now you are getting online for free so there is even less value than their NES offerings with the online part. The Virtual Console has been replaced with this online subscription and that is the real conversation in this thread.

@Anti-Matter

I thought that was vaporware. Still skeptical about the disc based thing since it's illegal to copy bios for the system. So seems they'll either try to copy it illegally or build from scratch which is very difficult and likely to have compatibility issues.

@OnBeingHuman I’m stoked!

So are they, they were wondering how they could get you to pay for NES games again. You may have bought them on the NES, the GBA, the Wii, the Wii U and the 3DS but they wanted to find a way to make you pay again and they did it in a spectacular way. You will be paying for them every month that you have access to them and losing them when you stop paying.

This is some hot garbage. The swap to an online sub service is understandable, but the fact that they only offer a paltry selection of NES games beggars belief.

I just wanted to play my favorite old Fire Emblems and Metroids on Switch. Was that really so difficult? Was this really what we waited a year and a half for?

@OnBeingHuman

Oh boy, I sure can't wait to be drip fed the same 30 year-old games again! How long til we get SNES games, let alone GBA titles? Wil we have to pay a higher subscription fee for those?

Yay, another disappointment. This is my first Nintendo home console (even if bought primarily as portable) and I was looking forward to playing older games on the go, especially the first Xenoblade Chronicles. Oh well.

It's always funny seeing so many Nintendrones so eager to bend over and let Nintendo take them up the ass without lube. Forgive me for having problems with that.

$20 for NES games and the option to upgrade your save games from being held hostage by your system to being held hostage by Nintendo. Haha...

@Octane Are you seriously expecting him to make sense. Well, godspeed, then.

Cya
Raziel-chan

This isn't surprising. The Virtual Console service started as a way to pad their game library during a time when third party support was far from guaranteed on the Wii. Back then no body really cared about their back catalog then as they didn't understand the gold mine they had.

Fast forward today and everyone is trying to make a quick buck off of nostalgia, and no one wants to lock their product in at a relatively low price. Why settle for $5-8 when you can get $15-20? The entire N3DS and Wii U virtual console was filled with titles from a select group of publishers outside of Japan. The truth is they make better money elsewhere.

As others have said, I will stick with the SNES Classic for my classic games. I have Steam to pick up others that interest me, and there are still the small number of games on the Wii U Virtual Console that I am still interested in.

Although I have to regularly remind myself, there are a metric ton of games out there and the vast majority I have never played. Sitting back a generation this cycle is definitely helping me have a different perspective.

@Razzy I am fairly sure you can purchase Xenoblade Chronicles on N3DS and have it completely available on the go. The last cycle showed that there is no third party interest in the virtual console.

Maybe Nintendo wants release more old consoles in Mini version than release other Virtual Console games and maybe thanks to his idea, he can got more moneys for release other Switch games.

Wow, they're really pushing their Switch Online nonsense.

@gauthieryannick Only thing with the minis there aren't portable..

I want N64 and more importantly Game Cube games on the go!

@Crono1973 I am a hard worker, and I make decent money (not rich by any means, but I am willing to work to enjoy what I am doing on my days off). I have bought and will buy every version that they release of games I enjoyed playing during my childhood, and now that I have kids to experience them, we can play them together.

@BLD I doubt we will have to pay a higher fee for different console games. It’ll be a flat fee and you’ll have access to them anytime. Time will tell though. I’m excited to play Super Mario Bros 3 with my friends with online play.

@Captain_Gonru: That is precisely my problem with this. I suspect we'll know with time, but until then I'm highly skeptical. I'm not totally against this yet since I don't have all the puzzle pieces, but I'm still skeptical.

This will have very little effect on me as I own a ton of systems with a giant array of NES games already, both in home & portable form.

I would hope that over time, the selection increases greatly so that no loss is felt for those who don’t. Or we may very well see more Collections announced such as a Konami or Capcom selection, letting those third parties cash in on their own terms.

Kind of a shame. The Switch is positioned differently than any previous system that could download older games. Console-level performance along with portability would be the definitive versions, so maybe they feel they'd be giving too much away in a single package?

Can't ever say the mini systems provide the best current way to play older systems, due to the lack of portability and the lack of ENOUGH OF THEM TO GO AROUND. Since one of Nintendo's most persistent traits is scarce availability, the idea of continuing to offer games as freely as a readily available download just goes against their whole philosophy.

Maybe they just feel like you'll enjoy a game more if it's always a long and hard-fought battle to even get access to it.

Im so disapointed in this decision. When this inline service goes out in the future these games will not be accessible. After seeing the Wii Shop Channel go under, this scares me even more. It also makes so many more unnecessary questions. Will we need to be on Wi Fi to even play the games? how many are they really going to end up with? Is it streamed like PS Now or downloadable like Xbox Game Pass? I really hate this method and i seem to be in the minority. I would have rather payed for the games, just so i can permanently keep them on my Switch.

Not a big deal here. I’m sure this part of getting shedding the Wii/Wii U branding is all. They’re still giving us classic games, now with online.

This is why any true Nintendo fan should search for and download the entire NES, SNES, etc ROM collections. This way you'll always have access to all of their games, and you can enjoy them using any number of emulators or consoles (a modded SNES classic with the complete ROM collections is a great option). Anything that comes to the Switch then becomes a convenience instead of a necessity. Sure, I'll still pay for their online service and buy any good retro titles they make available, but Nintendo will never fully re-deliver their rich collection of games; so you gotta take matters into your own hands.

@Anti-Matter You don't get it, do you? Some of those games are around $500 for a used copy. Why would anyone, who isn't a collector, pay that much to play a video game?

@Crono1973 You are right, I would still be paying for them, I am aware of that. I can't say this will be better for the majority of consumers but for this consumer it is enough to make me excited. My excitement is also based on unrevealed information so that could change as more gets revealed.

If I am correct, 20 NES games with online components will be available at launch and half of those have been revealed. Now if these are the only 20 games that are going to be on there ever, it is less exciting. If they are going to add a few games, say once a month, to an ever growing library it gets more exciting to me. If other consoles or third party NES games get incorporated into this, even better.

The online components are also up in the air. Most likely there will be leader boards and hopefully you will be able to compete with other people in Dr. Mario or Balloon Fight online. Maybe Zelda will time your play throughs and there will be a leader board with scores based on time and fewest deaths or some such thing. Who knows. I am excited to find out. What they gave Zelda a multiplayer battleode or something to play on line? Unlikely, but at this point a possibility.

If I was only interested in SMB 3 and was only ever going to be interested in SMB 3 than I would not be excited for this. Spending $100 to have access to a game for 5 years sounds terrible. Spending $20 to have access to 20 games (most likely more) for one year sounds great to me. I know I will play all of them (some more than others) and that is before considering the online aspect. Depending on online stuff, I might play some of those games a lot.

As far as not actually owning the games, it doesn't bother me a whole lot. Ten years ago it probably would have but right now it doesn't. I have a large collection of games in my house but I enjoy playing games more than owning them. In my experience, "Better to have played and not owned, than never to have played at all".

This is an opportunity for me to play a ton of games I normally wouldn't for relatively cheap. If we look at it as paying for an experience it is great value for your money. It costs me more to take my family to a movie to experience something between 1 and 2 hours long (if we buy snacks it costs even more). If I play each of the NES games half an hour, that's 10 hours of entertainment. I know for a fact I will be getting far more hours of entertainment for me and my family out of this program. Looks like I might even be able to work a deal with my brother, get the family subscription for both our families and pay even less. That excites me.

It might not be for everyone but it works for me and I think it is a great deal. I'm excited and you won't be able to convince me not to be excited because we clearly look at gaming, spending, and value a bit differently. That's okay but I am sorry that you are disappointed in what Nintendo is doing with this.

@electrolite77 ROM Dumps aren't ports.

since most have not realized, it was said the would not release them under the virtual console banner which doesn't mean they won't release them under some other grouping name.
There was a rumor way back that said there would be no virtual console and would be released under a different name.

I'm hoping the Classic Games collections get expanded beyond just NES offerings. And of course, I hope Nintendo keeps producing Classic/Mini retro systems for N64 and GCN (with sufficient supply for everyone)!

@AlternateButtons I don't know where you went to school but in my school they taught that $20 is something, $20 to be exact.

If you want to see what nothing is, look at online play currently on the Switch. You are adding up all these NES games as if I would want them all, I may want 1 of them. I wouldn't use the online play and I am not too protective of my saves so for me there is no value. I would rather just have a one time fee of $1 for an NES game that I already bought. Remember, the upgrade fee on the Wii U for NES games was $1.

@edgedino More wait and see right? With Nintendo wait and see usually ends in disappointment.

Ugh now everyone thinks they're entitled to download games for free because reasons

@gokev13 I think it's obvious why Nintendo isn't offering the Virtual Console as well as this subscription service. It's because people would buy the games they want and probably ignore the subscription service. Nintendo is doing this for Nintendo, not for consumers.

@Ensemen Nice strawman.

@Crono1973 Short of any technical mishaps, the end result for the user is the same; old games, new system. Done well, they achieve the same result.

To reword, a common complaint I have seen thrown at the system is "give us new games not old ones" (with regards to ports). Here, we have, "give us old games" as the main demand. It's not something I disagree with, but you're verging into cognitive dissonance you try and marry it with the first position.

My position is simply, "give us old games and new ones". I don't think developing new games and releasing old ones should be all that difficult a balancing act, given that the whole development aspect of the old games has already been taken care of.

@edgedino Yeah, I agree with you that some seem to be misinterpreting this and jumping to doom-and-gloom conclusions. Based on the statements quoted above, they're not saying "no classic games are ever going to be available for purchase." They have said only that "classic games will not be bundled together under the Virtual Console banner," and they clarified that "There are a variety of ways in which classic games from Nintendo and other publishers are made available on Nintendo Switch, such as through Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo eShop or as packaged collections." At this point, I'd say it's not yet clear how classic games will be offered beyond the subscription service.

@Maxz People have been asking for the VC since before launch. Most people see a difference between last gen ports and the VC. If you don't, that's your thing.

Well, that's a shame

@Crono1973 why a strawman? i didn't say anything about what i think of this decision. Just pointing out the people that think this entitles them to get everything for free

@Crono1973 It's my thing. I have a thing. Always wanted a thing. And now I have one.

Well... I kept telling people not to assume VC was coming to Switch. Now for people to stop assuming they’ll do an N64 Mini or a GCB Mini after...

Still bummed though, I wanted N64 games on the go!

Nintendo is finally moving into the future.

I dunno, that quote does mention they can still appear in the eshop just not under the virtual console banner.

I'm personally not too excited for classic games as a bonus for online players yet, I'm waiting to see how it goes. That said there's obviously demand for virtual console titles, and I hope at some point they choose to come back to them.

So they may bring classic game sunder the Classic NES or SNES arcade cabnit? I am wondering what they will do?
Are all classic games getting online, when we get them? Would like to play Mario Party 3 online, would be so neat

@Ensemen those reasons are usually that people have already purchased virtual console titles and want to be able to import them, similar to how classic titles can be imported from PS3 to 4 or Vita. It's not some big new concept. People want to be able to play the emulators they already bought on their new system.

I wouldn't worry too much about this NO VC "as has been done" - is fine. Those NES SNES MINI emulations are flippin beautiful in a way that most emulation hasn't been (Wii actually looked better than WiiU given native rez mumbo jumbo). In the long run, this is probably a BETTER thing.

@Ensemen Who said that?

@FTPinkRabbit The line up they picked is ZZZzzzzzZZZ, but I'm going to try to hold off until e3 to be like, "jesus crimminy Nintendo, these SAME boring games again"...as a kid in 1990 I would have only wanted to play like 5 of these. But for all we know, every week might have cool stuff, SNES, GC etc

@electrolite77 As I said Virtual Console and last gen ports are not the same thing.

@Bass_X0 Are you seriously implying that I have to like and want to play NES/SNES games to be a Nintendo fan? You're a funny child xD There's no point for me in playing NES and SNES games, because they don't appeal to me anymore. I want modern games that look good, feel good and play well.

And no, looking good has nothing to do with 4k UHD or the game not being full of pixelart or anything like that. I have no desire to replay the same freaking games everybody has been playing for the past two decades. That doesn't mean I'm not a Nintendo fan. I just don't want to play their super old games... Because they aren't all that amazing in my opinion.

@AlternateButtons Well actually, last gen the upgrade fee for NES games was $1.

@Nintentoons That is still called rebuying stupid as you can't claim that something is free when said thing is clearly locked behind a paywall like NES games on Nintendo Switch.

@AlternateButtons Paywalls are poo no matter what you poopy Nintendrone and my god I can't personally stand corporate slaves like you!

@lillith Paywalls=poo future.

@GamingDude800: I should clarify - moving into the future by leaving the VC behind.

The online service does nothing for me, with the same old tired NES games attached to it. The other consoles have paid online (albeit with far better benefits), so if Nintendo wants to try it, I'm all for it. However, it isn't personally relevant.

@FTPinkRabbit I get that people want to do that. But just because you can't do it doesn't mean you're entitled to get it for free. Yes you bought the game, but you bought it for a specific console and you got it for that console. If you want to play it again, boot up your old console. As simple as that. Not saying this is a good decision from nintendo

@AlternateButtons Nibelsnarf off Nintendo corporate slave because games shouldn't be completely locked behind a subscription service, and also I'm not a troll now get the nibelsnarf out and go throw your hard earned money at Nintendo for this poopy mistake of theirs known as their payed online service for Nintendo Switch you poopy Nitendrone!

@Crono1973 You could be right about that but as I recall when they first announced this online subscription they were going to allow access to around three nes games a month for a free trial which you could purchase at some point. I'm not entirely sure why they changed it but I was lead to believe there was such backlash that they decided to postpone the online subscription so they could rework it into something that the consumers wanted.

I would have probably have paid for $20 for an online service just to play online games like Splatoon. I would be feeling a little ripped off but the benefits to me would still out way the cost or else I wouldn't pay. With their first model they announced I would have felt a bit better about it but maybe not very excited. As of now I am excited for this service. Whether Nintendo is only offering it for their own benefit, I guess I am fortunate enough to feel like I am benefiting from it as well.

@AlternateButtons At least I personally am stating facts unlike Nintendo corporate slaves like you that are both completely and blindly defend Nintendo poopy moves like their online service for the Nintendo Switch being subscription based!

@gokev13 Honestly, there is nothing good about games being completely locked behind a subscription service.

@electrolite77 People's attitudes towards the Virtual Console both amuse and befuddle me. Setting aside the ridiculousness of people complaining about both too many ports and not enough ports at the same time, every time Nintendo has re-released games for a new system they got criticized for selling us the same games for the fourth or fifth time, as though merely offering them for sale somehow obligated us to purchase them again. Furthermore, while I understand wanting to have your favorite games on both your console and your portable, (which can now be the same system, creating an obvious market for the Switch,) anybody who has already bought these games can still play them, simply by leaving older consoles connected to their TV, or by carrying their 3DS around as was intended. (And since anyone who carries their Switch around has a case for it that has room for a 3DS, I don't want to hear about it being a hassle to carry two portables.) The only people who are actually missing out are people who are interested in retro titles but own only a Switch. Somehow I imagine that's a tiny demographic that the loudest voices complaining don't belong to.

@AlternateButtons That is because it is completely ridiculous when Nintendo corporate slaves and similar type people like you claim that paid online services like the Nintendo Switch's online service are not bad when in reality they are completely anti-consumer!

Not bothered anymore--time is precious with all the options out there. If I don't have the option of playing a certain NES game I'll play a cool PS1 game instead or watch a good movie. Nintendo wants a piece of the pie but they also want to dictate when and how to eat the pie. At that point, we eat donuts from someone else instead.

So are we getting a real voice chat?

@GamingDude800 One good thing for me: I will play these games and enjoy them with my family.

Strangely enough if this announcement was, "virtual console is starting up in September with 20 NES games available at launch: prices will vary between $4-12" I would still be excited but I probably wouldn't buy or play any of the games listed possible missing out on a lot of fun.

For all I know I might be playing ice climber for hours with my kids but if it was offered on virtual console I would say "no thanks".

That's just how I am.

Smh See I told you guys there wasn't no virtual console coming at all now we know the Awful mistake Nintendo is making here and not taking advantage of VC being implemented in The online service and voice chat which is a huge mistake for us Switch gaming nerds Lol I hope Nintendo regrets doing this cheap move one day.

If you can play the NES games offline how is that so much different from virtual console except possibly the loss of save states?

Can’t comment I sold my switch a month ago when dark souls was delayed lol will buy one near Xmas, I’m hoping it will be more interesting for me personally.
But loving life on steam and iPad right now, so Nintendo can wait a little while when the good stuff comes out

one of the reasons I bought in early was the htought of virtual console, this sounds like it could be better value and I will get to play a lot of games I would not pay for, could be a win...

@Don
you do not own the games, big difference.

@GamingDude800 Watch the language.

The Virtual Console was great for three reasons.1:Nintendo contracted other publishers of the retro era to re-release their games so we wouldn't have to wait for game compilations like Capcom's Mega Man Legacy Collection.2:It also served as a brand to highlight and distinguish retro games.3:It was convenient to pick up a few old games to have stationed on your console without a paid service or online connection.But I guess the main reason why I'm disappointed is because of my nostalgia for the service that granted me these emulated games around a decade.Despite these feelings,I'm looking forward to seeing this new online service playing out so I'll just move on without the Virtual Console.

This was a very stupid move by Nintendo. I'm not bothered by it personally because of several reasons. 1. I really don't like the Switch much. I've had it nearly a year and I rarely play it. I always prefer the 3ds over it. 2. I really don't want to pay for more games for this system, virtual console or otherwise. 3. Most of the good classic games are on the 3ds virtual console so I could just get them there if I wanted. 4. I still have all my old systems and they still work great, and I also have all my old games. Anytime I want to play the good old stuff, I just get it out and play. No need to buy it on a crappy new system that I don't enjoy playing anyway. I think Nintendo is a sinking ship though. They are really ticking off a lot of loyal customers.

Interesting to see the new online service, and VC replacement get such a negative response. Wasn't the #1 complaint just a few years ago that we were forced into rebuying old games? This new online service is what people asked for and people still complain.... Assuming SNES games are added(which is a pretty safe assumption), this new service costs less than what three SNES titles cost on Wii, 3DS and Wii U.

I also like the idea of Indies still getting their chance to shine on the regular eShop.

I'm sad. Just another way for the Switch to be barebones in comparison to the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U.
Lots of applications > Hulu
Virtual Console > NES Online
Themes? Nope
Music? Folders? No
Backward Compatibility? Absolutely Not.
YouTube, Netflix? Browser? Nah, GAMES ONLY.

@Ubik @Latinomex01 And have them completely taken away from you when your subscription to the Nintendo Switch's payed online service expires!

I doubt they stop with NES games on Switch. People assumed Smash 4 Wii U would have fewer modes and options than the 3DS version and we know how that turned out. It seems like the internet is making a mountain out of a mole hill, as always.

@Paddle1 No wonder why it is pretty obvious the Nintendo Switch is doing pretty poorly in the sales chart compared to the PS4 and the Xbox One.

@Darknyht I have it and played through most of it, but:

1. That's an extra system to carry around.
2. The graphics are heavily degraded.
3. The sound is degraded.
4. The much smaller screen doesn't play very well with the cluttered UI. A bigger screen would make the game much more enjoyable overall.
5. The game doesn't use frame skipping, so there are many busy fights where it goes into slow motion.
6. The c-nub can go to nibelsnarfing hell.

Cya
Raziel-chan

@Razzy Please stop with the profanity...

@KryptoKrunch Apparently some people just enjoy complaining more than they enjoy playing video games, lol.

@Razzy

1. True
2. Only because the 3DS has a lower res screen and a weaker GPU than the Nintendo Switch.
3. The sound quality coming from the Nintendo Switch's speakers is pretty poor as well.
4. How big do you need a screen on portable device that has one to be?
5. Except slowdowns on Virtual Console games on the 3DS only come from the games themselves and not from the 3DS Virtual Console emulators themselves!
6. The New 3DS' C-Stick is definitely complete junk.

This is really a shame to me, mostly on the grounds that I can't quite "own" VC games the same way I did before. I'd rather be able to lay down cash for some games that I can always have regardless of an online service, the access to which won't disappear if I unsubscribe from the service. You can argue that paying that fee IS the way to own them, but it isn't the same as actually owning a singular product.

Emulation quality went down from Wii to WiiU. The couple games I “upgraded” to WiiU for a dollar were not worth the price. The VC setup had run its course and needed to change. I already own most of my favorite retro games in some capacity. I’d rather pay five cents a day to stream a variety of games from a catalog.

Edit - I already own many of the games I like to play repeatedly that I know of. I’d like a streaming service to discover new games. Should have thought my word choice through a little more.

@ekwcll Online is awesome. Allowing friends to watch you play over the internet is awesome (just like I'd watch my friends do amazing things on their NESs back in the day). Uploading saves is awesome. Not re-buying Mario 3 for the third console is awesome.

I don't get all the meltdown in here

You will be able to play classic games, but through the online service, and not with the "Virtual Console" branding

@Joeynator3000
Um...
Razzy wil keep harsh with his comment.
Last time he insulted me with very harsh words. (Called me idiot, etc)
I have ignored him.

oh man. i cant wait to hit youtube and see all the people title their videos "rip virtual console" acting all butthurt over it. i like my hobby but gamers just cry way too much for this 38 year old man

@HydroSeptr It is because the NES games for the Nintendo Switch are completely tied to Nintendo Switch's payed online service and once your subscription to the service runs out you can't play them anymore until you resubscribe to the service!

@ogo79 How on earth are people like me butthurt for completely knowing that dumb junk like this is completely anti-consumer?!

@Anti-Matter How is this dumb junk that Nintendo is doing completely consumer friendly Nintendo corporate slave?!

so many questions...so little time

@ogo79 So many corporate slaves like you and so little time!

@GamingDude800 Alright, will you just stop...just, stop talking. And quit calling everyone slaves.

What happened in here? How does the lack of VC bring out the worst in people? Everyone, please go play some games and chill.

@Joeynator3000 They clearly are when they completely defend stuff like NES games on the Nintendo Switch being completely tied to Nintendo Switch's paid online and my god are the rules for your site completely ridiculous if people on this site aren't allowed to be called out specifically if there is no cursing involved at the very least.

...This isn't my site.

@Ryu_Niiyama
i agree. completely

Shame, I don't really care about NES games, and another subscription service in general ... well, let's just say that I rarely play my Switch online as it is, and I feel like one person can only reasonably entertain so many gaming related subscriptions at a time.

@Joeynator3000 Well you clearly have a Nintendo Life site moderator star next to your Nintendo Life account name pretty much giving you some control over the Nintendo Life site!

@Anti-Matter Buzz off troll!

@GamingDude800
Yeah, Joey has to follow a strict set of rules. The people that run the site just trust him enough to follow those rules and help others follow them.

You obviously don't know what a moderator is, I don't own the site, I moderate it. You want to talk with the owner? @antdickens

Have fun.

@Anti-Matter Well, try to find a copy of Earthbound for less than $100, won't happen. The cheapest copies are usually around $200, depending on the condition. If it comes sealed in a box, you're looking at a $1000 game, but that's mainly for collectors. That's why I think the availability of (cheap) digital retro games is pretty important.

@Joeynator3000 Moderators are clearly the cops of internet fourms, why you don't know this is beyond me.

...And you're arguing with one...you're asking for a ban, and I'm getting close to doing this.

@kirbygirl i wouldn't be surprised if they started doing game bundles to get people to buy some games again along with other games or made physical bundles of games but the true test of how well at this point will dwell on how expensive they are this time around.

@Joeynator3000 I personally am fully aware that you aren't allowed to argue with a site moderator or else you can get a permanent ban but I was clearly only calling out people defending the whole junk whereby NES games are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch's online as people with brains like me fully know that junk like this are completely anti-consumer and that it is completely ridiculous actually see people completely defend junk like this.

People hate change. Why would Nintendo want to keep something so closely related to the Wii brand? The Switch is on fire. Time for something fresh. Besides, the VC was cool back in the early days. If I remember correctly, they added new games very Monday. It felt as if it became a bit of an event. As time went on, it was no longer like that. I stopped watching it closely as the years went on, but when I did pay a bit of attention, it felt like random releases.

Disappointing, but understandable. The eShop's focus should be all those lovely new 3rd party titles, and not to be stolen the attention from say, another rerelease of Super Mario World.

Might cost Nintendo in the long run, but hey least that money you would of put towards retro can go towards brand new downloads......or the Neo Geo and SEGA Ages releases. XD

@antdickens Fine but I personally will never have any respect for people that both completely and blindly defend junk like NES games on Nintendo Switch being completely tied to Nintendo Switch online subscribers and paid online services like the Nintendo Switch's online service as that is just shows how completely ridiculous certain people are these days.

Eh. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. There are so many ways to play classic Nintendo games (Wii Virtual Console, 3DS Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, NES/SNES classic editions) that having it on the Switch is more of a “nice to have” feature than a must-have. Switch owners were never promised a proper Virtual Console in the first place, and expecting that the Switch will eventually be able to play every Nintendo game ever is silly and unrealistic. That’s what the old console is for. I’m a lot more worried about the removal of the Wii Shop channel than I am about this.

On the other hand though, putting Nintendo’s back catalogue in the Disney vault means they could miss out on a lot of revenue. And many people that think their self-entitlement exempts them from copyright laws will resort to unlicensed emulators. Theft will add hidden costs to legitimate Nintendo products. Then again, indie developers might not want to have to compete with dirt-cheap classic games in the eShop.

I really can't believe people are defending Nintendo for not having vc on switch.

VC hurts third party support? Who cares! I certainly don't, because there were plenty of retro games I missed out on and when you can buy a game (I hope you are reading this @Anti-Matter) for less than the going rate online say Castlevania Legends for example is a $60 plus investment on eBay, Amazon etc but on 3ds gameboy games are less than $5 and have save states cause honestly even if I could find one for a cheap enough price I wouldn't have the time to beat myself over the head again and again to go through some difficult stages when I want to experience the story and have fun. While j do own some of the ACA games I have no nostalgia at all for them.

@antdickens Fair enough!

Long live games as a service...

I'm Virtually Inconsolable.

@westman98 Preferably not subscription based one to me.

as long as nintendo adds gamecube games i would be a very happy man.
those 8bit games up till n64 are easy to get and play on any device, but quit honost, i cant stand that 8bit16bit even 64bit games anymore.

give us the resident evil collection, pikmin 1+2 , mario sunshine, fzero and those metroid games.
furthermore the subscribtion is poor. no apps like twitch or youtube is mentioned such as achievement. wich are very easy to develop.
i wonder why they kick our balls everytime.

just lost a little respect for the big N

It’s nes games... do people really care that much that they won’t be able play them when the service ends...?

I know there's going to be a whole lot of people mad about but I'm not one of them. If VC were on switch it would be the same old song and dance where nintendo dribbles out releases on the system until they forget vc is a thing after 2 years. The games would probably cost the same as they did on Wii, Wii U, 3ds. I would absolutely not be down to do this with Nintendo a 4th time. At least with the online service I'm getting a growing collection of games as part of the online fee. In addition there's always emulation on pc.

@Anti-Matter
It's a a fake! A repro cart, or possibly you get it and it turns out to be a cheaper game instead.

@gauthieryannick
That is clearly Nintendo's plan.

@PALversusNTSC I think most people expected to have some kind GameCube availability due to the built in emulation (iirc). Definitely a disappointment and missed opportunity, however they will just push you to buy NES Mini, SNES Mini, N64 Mini, GCN Mini etc. Who wants all their games on a single console anyways ...

On one hand it's better for the business model as there are sooo many games releasing on it that virtual console would eat up sales and advertising of third parties including indie devs. I'd be stoked about this news if I was an indie dev.

@electrolite77 Agreed. I also think third parties were wanting to pull out of the VC service and sell their legacy content through their own methods. Gives them more control over their own content.

Will be interesting to see if third parties will opt in to "free" NES games on Nintendo's online service.

If Nintendo wants me to spend my money at the local retro game store instead of the eShop, that’s their choice I guess.

This is disappointing, but it doesn't matter to me, as I already have access to all the existing VC titles I'll ever want through my Wii U and 3DS, while I already have all the GameCube games I'll ever want in their original form.

People saying that vc would cannibalize sales of indies are frankly idiots. It's a dog eat dog world on the eshop! Everything is competing for your money. When a new Zelda or Mario comes out it will eat everything else on the eshop for breakfast for several months. So what if VC hurts indies it's not like I want to buy many indies but my money goes to VC and newer (good) games. Just think I could be playing Star Tropics on my switch now, instead I picked up Kamiko since everyone was saying what a good game it is. I wasted $5.

'Bout darn time! I'm so sick of Nintendo charging us for the same video games over and over again. Of course, Sega is going to charge us for the same video games all over again. No surprise here.

So, is the subscription service like Netflix? These are the games you can play through May, but come June we are replacing them with other games? Or, is it an expanding library?

@lillith As it's been explained so far, it seems as though it will be an expanding library.

Mixed feelings.

Never really used it on past systems (would rather just play the games on the actual systems with the actual controllers when possible), BUT Switch would've been such an amazing vehicle for a one-stop shop of Nintendo classics all under one banner.

Seems like they missed a big opportunity, at least from my perspective. Personally, it won't really matter to me, but generally, yea... I can see why people are upset.

Congrats on scrolling down this far. Here’s a cookie 🍪

@BulbasaurusRex But doesn't it disappoint you that you will never get all your retro faves on the go? (Excluding the ones you have on your 3DS)

@TheTetrisGuy Ty for the cookie. Seriously though it was tiresome experience

@Matthewxcv Considering I'd certainly have to repurchase them, of course not. Portability alone isn't worth double-dipping.

Well, it looks like I still have a use for my Wii U after all.

I was really looking forward to playing old Mario Kart, SSB and Mario Party games when I take my Switch to meetups. It would be SOOO convenient to have 4 player retro cups right there on the floor. Certainly not mad, but I am disappointed. Yeah, eventually we will get Mario Party 11, SSB is on the horizon and MK8D is great, but it would have been awesome to have Mario Party 2, Mario Kart 64 and SSBMelee in my bag at all times.

It really is a missed opportunity to me. Even if the argument is "You can get a mini console for that", there are several problems with this. It's not an all-in-one portable solution - you still need a television, the only way to get the games you really want is to mod it, There is no N64/GB/GBC/GBA/GC mini console, and the darn things are STILL impossible to find in the store. I'd rather buy them legally than mod them up, but Nintendo gives me no real choice. VC makes so much sense on Switch. It made good sense on Wii 10 years ago too, but it seemed kinda pointless on Wii U, so it's just baffling that they don't want my money.

It's fairly obvious the reason why Switch doesn't have the Virtual console is to allow Indies to flourish. Developers don't want their Indie games to have to compete with Nintendo's' retro titles, and since you all want lots of third party games on Switch your going to have to go without VC.

Technically it will, just not officially.

Dolphin Dolphin Dolphin

Sounds to me like its just being rebranded as the online service.

@Anti-Matter That cartridge is a repro, it's a fake one, not official.

Jeez this is a long thread.

@TheTetrisGuy
Gracias

@Anti-Matter Yeah, well, that's not the point. The point is that some retro games are very expensive or rare at this point, so it's good to have digital copies readily available. It doesn't matter what games you personally like, that's besides the point.

Unless they find a way to let us have or actually buy our old games, I'm done. Maybe the next console will be one big giant emulator or something. Until then, I'm just going to run to the PC.

Nintendo doesn't like money, it seems...

@JayJ Way ahead of ya on that one

Nintendo makes vague statement saying a brand name we already knew was defunct is actually defunct and the comments section is the longest for years

@neyoung8 It's not like video game and VHS renting wasn't a thing you know...

Good. Time to focus on new age. Nuff said

WELL
GOOD
RIDDANCE

Glad I have my Wii U, getting into the Virtual Console more and more on there.

I have to say I am just glad they have put this whole thing to bed now. Please can we move on now!

@gcunit
yah, really. Not to happy about this, at all.

Lame. Switch quickly went from a system that I want all my indie/3rd party/retro games on, to just picking up the big offline-only Nintendo physical releases whenever they happen.

Was planning a major buy-up of a ton of eShop games for my birthday. Now, it all reduced to just Mario Tennis Aces until they reveal the rest of the years lineup at E3 (SSB and NMH).

This was the best Steam/GOG commercial Nintendo could ever produce

As usually, Nintendo doesn't make any sense, it's like they are asking people to hack their Switch consoles and use emulators.

If he add other systems to this service I’ll be fine.

@BraveBiT There aren't that many Nintendo games on Steam or GoG... And retro PC experiences are usually quite different from console ones. Although it may be my bias as I used to play various strategy games a lot and there's not that many of those on consoles.

@SmaggTheSmug Last time I checked there are a handful of games (Piko Interactive published) that ships with the ROM wrapped in a emulator. There is also the Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Classics which dumps 60 ROM files into a directory and runs them with their horrible emulator (with the anouncement of Sega Ages, not sure how much longer it will be there). Then there is a small handful of developers still actively making homebrew ROMs for most retro systems. I have been surprised how active the 2600, 7800, NES, Genesis/Master System and Gameboy scenes are.

Outside of those legal ROMs I found, there is mostly various stuff from Capcom, Square and few other publishers that collects their retro properties (Disney Afternoon Collection, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Final Fantasy, etc.). However, I am not sure how exact a lot of those are.

@gauthieryannick sure, I agree they’re trying to push the mini sales but what about portability? The minis don’t give you this. I just hope in some way I’ll be able to get SNES’s Super Mario World on my switch to play at work. Just let me buy it for the fifth time already Nintendo! lol

@SmaggTheSmug Don't think you read my comment right. Nearly every indie/3rd party/retro game outside of Nintendo is available for PC/XBO/PS4 and usually at a much cheaper price.

I was happily going to shell out more money to those devs for the same games on Switch...but this news makes me want to invest in Switch software less. Still picking up new Nintendo exclusives though.

Such a shame that the Switch is ditching yet another aspect that we loved about Previous Systems, especially those life changing and those that changed our gaming experience, one of the cons about the Switch at the moment. It was great overall to’ve had our 2nd chance with these games from older systems, shame it is though that the 3DS and Wii U were not backwards compatible with GBA and GCN games respectively, thus sending our 2nd chances with them down the drain. With this news it makes me wonder how the West will be able to get their hands on Mother 3 now, we were glad to’ve gotten our hands on the first game of the franchise in 2015 under the name Earthbound Beginnings, and we were thankful to’ve had Earthbound come to Wii U VC in the West thanks to Miiverse after it did not come to Wii VC. Our only hope I guess would be to wait upon a Potential Compilation game consisting of all 3 Mother games in regards to how the West would finally have hold of Mother 3.

I bought a Super NT instead of the Switch. I haven't been so excited about a game console since the N64 and the Super NT fulfilled that. It's awesome! I don't care much for newer games except for Ten Eighty but Nintendo hasn't made one of those since the Gamecube. Nintendo just bores me now.

My guess is that Nintendo was never going to continue the Virtual Console onto the Switch.

Looking at the Virtual Console on Wii, 3DS, and Wii U, it’s pretty clear that Nintendo has been having trouble getting third parties on board since the Wii. Platforms like the Master system, Genesis, and Neo Geo didn’t get brought onto the Wii U, and even a bunch of NES, SNES, and N64 titles remained on WII (Actraiser, Chrono Trigger, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, etc).

Currently, it seems that if Nintendo wanted to continue the Virtual Console, they’d need to rely largely on their own old games. I guess that could be roughly 200 games if they emulate the NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, and all three Game Boy iterations. Thing is, that’s seven different emulators to make, with the much wanted GameCube emulator being the most effort.

And I know that emulating games on the Switch isn’t too hard, but Nintendo has caught flak for their VC emulation before, and the Classic miniconsoles are only going to raise peoples’ standards.

This new service won’t even require people to download an emulator, since it’s built into the Switch. The NES game are essentially a way to sweeten an existing package, not the main purpose.

My favorite part of VC on the Wii U was being able to pick up some of the handheld games like Zelda Age of Seasons or Pokémon Mystery Dungeon since I didn’t have a handheld. I think it’s a missed opportunity to kill it off but who knows. I thought VC killed indie games since I was more willing to spend my money on those old games. Since the Switch I’ve picked up more indie games and have been very happy with them.

@themikestur87 How? Nintendo didn't even make a fraction of the amount of mini's needed to satisfy the demand. Nintendo couldn't possibly have made as much as they did on the VC. I'd say we'd be lucky if there we're 2-3 million NES & SNES Mini's total. Honestly everyone and their dogs wanted them, yet nobody I know irl or online managed to get one due to their scarcity.

@electrolite77 That's what I've been thinking. One of these days there could be a Compilation Game of all 3 Earthbound games, of which would be able to give the West their first chance with playing Mother 3.

I'm one of the disappointed ones. The Wii U had the best Virtual Console so far, and if the Switch had one to match it, it would be a Nintendo game powerhouse. All those libraries on one console with the ability to be played on-TV or handheld. It would have been better than the Wii U and 3DS VC's combined.

I'm sure that there will be plenty of retro games for Switch - such as the Mega Man Legacy collections and such, which should cover a lot of the games I want to have for Switch.

Mostly, I was really hoping to see the GBA VC library. Playing the likes of Metroid Fusion and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow on the Switch sounded like a dream. I very much doubt Konami will release the GBA Castlevanias without a VC, as they do very little for their older fanbase.

I'm not a fan of subscription based game passes. I'd rather cherry pick the few games I want to buy and keep than have access to a load I'll never touch. I'm just hoping the likes of The Legend of Zelda they are releasing will have some method of individual purchase for those who prefer to buy their games.

I can see why the VC wouldn't last forever. I just feel like it peaked a generation too early. Portability would have been such a great extra feature.

Just hoping I'm wrong, and that Nintendo will deliver just as much retro goodness under different banners.

Good thing i can count on my soft modded Wii and PS3 for nostalgia trips, do whathever you want nintendo.

This is a very dumb move, its not going down well for them on the media front and this certainly could be a bad turning point for the Switch

Im sorta happy i haven't had time to buy a switch just yet. I'll keep it that way for a while longer and see where they go from here.

@gcunit It's not that big of a deal, in fact I feel the writing was on the wall a long time ago.

I fully expected that esp at this point. VC was great for awhile on Wii, it brought me back to Nintendo for awhile as a heavy retro gamer. Then Wii U dropped quite a bit of that... then they cancelled VC on Wii...ugh (still would have been fine for years to come). Of course now switch gets nada. Then they release Nes and SNES classics that are impossible to get. Nintendo has turned on the fans who made them who they are. Good thing I've been heavily collecting carts instead the last few years instead of buying more drm, non transferable, kill the whole platform forever games. They will also drop VC for Wii U and 3ds in next year... prediction <--.
Nintendo has an incredible backlog of IPs and it's like they don't recognize the value of it... People are just waiting to throw cash at you. There is a whole retro gamer scene with $ who doesn't give a flip about most new games but would gladly buy your hardware just to download old stuff on the go and an occasional new game.

@Anti-Matter Yeah, but having a lot of consoles means a lot of space, wires, controls... and good luck when the battery of the cartridge runs out.

@LeonBelmontX I hate suscriptions, i want to own the games. On 3DS, even if the eshop is closed, you can keep the games forever.
I really want those DS Castlevanias on my Switch, beside some other good GB and GBA games.

@Anti-Matter Not my problem if you don't like my opinion. I have as much right as you to post my opinion here, i'm not ofending anyone. Not everyone is as fortunate as you to have a lot of space and a lot of consoles, thats why many people want the virtual console, so we can have all our favorite games in one console. You missed the point, it seems you tend to overreact by a simple opinion. By the way, i have also multiple consoles, no need to show off.

It be nice having GameCube an n64 games on the switch

And they won't even do anything about the actual games that have stopped working so this is kind of a dead end for me. I would rather pay once than pay multiple times for generic content everyone has heard of and not play any of the good games incase my copy breaks. Thanks loads Nintendo, as I now have a reason to dislike what you do for semi-old content (GameCube, etc.)