Random: Nintendo Reminds Us That Yes, Switch Will Eventually Stop Getting NES Games

The sooner the better to be honest

It was great to play them all again on the Wii Virtual console back in 2006 - 2007 when it was a bit of a Novelty but now in 2019 I'm kind of tired of being drip fed the same games again & again.

They really need to add SNES, N64 and dare I say it Game Cube games asap to make the service worth while

Don't care. Bring me GBA games and SNES games instead. And stick some GC games on there while you are at it, cheers.

Oh and fully remake Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass with the Wind Waker engine for Switch too, thanks.

I would advise them to advertise how they are going te expand the service, instead of making it worse by stopping with the bare minimum.

I mean...if people didnt know this was going to happen I'd have to ask if they knew any recently released NES games.

Coz ya know...hasnt been many of those made lately so of course its finite.

That being said, they did make a game specifically for the service so...

SNES games will probably be part of an extra subscription.

is it really that shocking that NES games are about to stop soon?
i do want to see SNES and N64 games. Gamecube though? sadly let's keep dreaming about gamecube VC (i do want it to happen.)

Its fine to release NES games, but Nintendo needs to stop acting like they're doing us such a favor in bringing them to us. We've been replaying these since the Wii's Virtual Console and I'm sorry but the novelty has worn out its welcome. Its good to have them don't get me wrong, but Nintendo needs to expand on it with SNES and N64 games if they are to push the Online app as a killer feature on the Switch.

Likely to be September when SNES is added so 12 month subscribers don't just let their subscriptions expire. My full guess:
September 2019 - SNES
September 2020 - GBA
September 2021 - N64

With a N64 Mini coming out in 2019.

Well, obviously, there's only a finite number of NES games in existence.

@MoonKnight7 I haven't been replaying Ninja Gaiden since the Wii...I never bought it.

Though it would be nice to see them do some things akin to what they did on 3DS and Wii U: Give us games we never got initially. For instance Earthbound and Mega Man 6 in the EU weren't available until 2013.

@Grumblevolcano

You could be on to something there

@Grumblevolcano Ay Caramba... 🤦🏾‍♂️ We'll never get anything to make the service worthwhile then, at that rate ...

Eh. Between the NES Classic, Mega Man Legacy Collection, the SNK Classic Compilation, 3DS VC, the upcoming Contra and Castlevania Compilations, Disney Afternoon Collection, the 8 Bit Adventure Collection (Shadowgate, Deja Vu, Uninvited), and so many other avenues, the monthly additions mean next to zero to me. Thanks, Nintendo, but every other company but you has ably filled that void!

I guess that's fair.
My favorite part of this offer is that some Nes games have been kind of remixed. I hope to see that on Super Nes games too.
That would be awesome.

And I hope to see some real Nes Remix on Switch one day or the other.

I thought we were getting extra discounts for our membership and Im disappointed we haven’t. Like how PSPlus gives us a little extra off than the usual.

I know people have nostalgia for the games, but I feel like most of the NES library doesn't hold up nowadays. I'd much rather have SNES and GBA games instead.

Also if they're so against adding SNES games, I'd like to see them at least put the SNES classic games and menu system onto a cartridge or available digitally on the store. I'd pay 40 to 60 bucks for those. I just don't want to buy an SNES classic.

The NES games were cool at first but I don't think we've opened the app in months. Many of the games honestly don't hold up very well and without the licensed games there's really not much more quality they can add to it imo. They really need to move onto another system sooner rather than later

I am not even sure I played more than a hour of those NES games. Kirby's Adventure was the only one that aged well. It is difficult going from Breath of the Wild to The Legend of Zelda 1 and 2.

Last month on PS Plus I got a Call of Duty game. What did Switch Online get?

@redd214 I agree completely! I had fun with them at first. And Zelda II and Star Tropics are games I have wished to complete for ages. And yet I find myself never playing them.

I’ve opened the app to see it but I rather play my switch games.
I did enjoy Tetris 99

There was a time when on the Wii Shop Channel in a single visit you could score an NES, SNES, Genesis, TG-16, N64, C64 and an authentic arcade port in one checkout. Not to mention the stellar WiiWare originals. Everything Nintendo has attempted in the VC/retro department has faltered. Wii U and 3DS VC titles just recycled most of what the Wii had released and abandoned Genesis, TG-16 and arcade ports entirely. The Wii was set to be the ultimate retro machine of its time in terms of Wii Shop offerings. In comparison their slow trickle of 3 NES titles per month is abysmal. They generally seem to be making no real effort to combat the ease of roms/emulators online and super easy-to-use homebrew apps that can turn our NES and SNES minis into retro powerhouses. Their best bet would be to just trot out an iTunes-ish interface for retro titles across their platforms. Release huge amounts of oldies at once and allow customers to pick and choose what they wish to purchase and download, not subscribe and stream, at their leisure. Because at the end of the day there is nothing Nintendo can do that will match the ease and affordability of a retropie-type option

Here’s my question. How will this work? Nintendo games are playable on the switch when the user is not on the internet for up to 7 days, which means the games are stored on the console itself. This is fine as Nintendo games are in the KB data range. The SNES, games files are still small
But larger in the MB range, anything higher and they may need you to be able to choose to physically download it or hopefully this isn’t the case, stream them (vomits).
I’ve yet to hear any thoughts on this but it’s something I’ve been pondering for some time now.

why they cant keep the nes games coming and add a snes, 64, and gc app is abit mental, 2 a month thats only 8 games, a get it at the start of the switch to many Nintendo games would mean indies not doing anywhere near the sales they have done and the lack of exposure they would have got, (or not got lol) most guys if they had only 1 option to get a game and its between a very well loved classic of theirs or a unknown indie but is getting well received reviews theres only one winner, but we're 2 years in now the indies have a great following, i think the eshop can take a saturation of 8 games a month spanning nes, snes, 64, and gc

What are the odds on them ever releasing EarthBound Beginnings? They localized it for the Wii U VC, so it shouldn't be too hard to port over, but now that we've left the dark ages Nintendo's probably forgotten the Mother series again.
At least Sakurai remembers.

@Marios-love-child tbh gamecube games feel unlikely because of the likely required files sizes for the full games but I can definitely picture remasters on the way if that metroid prime trilogy rumor gets confirmed

@Lalivero Wii U VC wasn't that different but started earlier in the system's lifespan and the beginning was both NES and SNES:

NES - April 2013 (though early America release of Balloon Fight and Punch Out in January and March respectively)

SNES - April 2013

GBA - April 2014

Wii - January 2015

N64 - April 2015

DS - April 2015

TurboGrafx-16 - July 2016

Just please give us Flying Warriors and Little Ninja Bros. before you pull the plug

I feel like the only good NES games (that I've heard of) that are missing right now is Mega Man, who got his own collection, Castlevania, collection coming soon, and Startropics 2. It will absolutely be time to move on by the time E3 hits.

They need to go further with the Tetris 99 idea, and continue offering quirky exclusive games for Switch Online. What about even making a deal with an already-existing online game, like PSO2?

As everyone else has said, revisiting NES games was a novelty ten years ago, and it's long overstayed its welcome. Why in the world Nintendo feels the need to drag its feet is beyond me. Switch Online should have debuted with SNES and Game Boy Color. Now I just want N64 and GBA games already.

@LavaTwilight I agree I'd love to replay that game Faxanadu was so hard when I was young, but I remember playing it often.

Watch it be GB games next, no Color or GB player additions.

Lol, but really, I think it’s fair to say that SNES is in the works because of the data mine a couple months ago. I personally don’t see it coming until September in a pitiful effort to reel in re-subscriptions, but I hope it’ll be an E3 surprise.

Why stop? There still plenty of NES classic games to added. Also wish that Nintendo release the NES, SNES, TG16, N64, GC games on Switch eshop regularly not with the Nintendo Switch Online Service breathing down my neck.

To be honest it’s becoming a bit of a joke now. It’s far too late even for SNES games, Nintendo should be moving onto N64 and GC by now.

it is a stupid idea to have another App just for SNES game and then another for another system...just make one big App ant that is all

@LaytonPuzzle27 Because we all are already sick of NES games

I'll say my obligatory post first and say it would be nice if they would offer them to a wider audience than just NSO subscribers, especially those of us that don't play online and have no need of NSO.

Now then I really see no reason why they can't continue to add games, afterall shouldn't we have access to every single game available on NES? SNES? Gameboy, etc? There may be some license issues with games but if no one is making any effort to monetize those games then they should be fair game for emulation with no legal repercussions. The only ones making money on these older games is people on Amazon, EBay or second hand stores. I'd love to play games like Batman and Power Rangers on my 3ds or switch and I'd happily pay for individual titles but right now the only way to play them is via original cart or emulation.

Gameboy and Gameboy Colour games with a Super Gameboy option would be nice, just as something a little different to what we usually get.

Really think GameCube games are what fans are missing out on though. We've had N64 games since Wii Virtual Console but GameCube games remain dormant.

@sleepinglion
Preach it to the choir! I agree 100%!

@Knuckles-Fajita micro mages is an nes game thats being released this month. Thats the only one I can think of though, and I dont know of any other recents. This one is unofficial of course, but it is being released on cartridges for original hardware.

So, I feel like I have to throw my hat into the ring on this little side discussion:

I've seen a lot of people post things along the lines of "NES games simply don't hold up." Are you serious? Take one look at many of the highest rated eshop games of the past couple generations (Shovel Knight, The Messenger, Blaster Master Zero, 1,001 Spikes, etc.) and what do they all have in common: the 8-bit aesthetic.

Also, the NES is a bottomless pit of amazing games that actually DO hold up! The problem is that you have a large percentage of those stellar games that will never appear, for one reason or another:

-Little Nemo (licensed)
-Willow (licensed)
-TMNT 2 and 3 (licensed)
-Bionic Commando (Nintendo refused to allow it, due to questionable content)
-Clash at Demonhead (it has never seen rerelease, and Tokai has left the gaming industry, I believe)
-Nightshade (great game that, sadly, many people don't even remember)
-Dragon Quest 2-4 (1-3 saw GBC remakes, and 4 was released on DS, but they have never rereleased the NES ports of the games)
-Power Blade 1 and 2 (they've never been rereleased, and even though Taito and Natsume are still in the industry, I doubt they'll ever bother with either game)
-Tiny Toon Adventures (fun Mario 3 clone by Konami. Unfortunately, it's a licensed game)
-Batman (licensed)
-Gun.smoke (a forgotten gem from Capcom. It saw a rerelease on Capcom's Classic Collection, about fifteen years ago, but that's about it).
-Little Samson
-The Guardian Legend (another game that time seems to have completely forgotten).
-Faxanadu (surprisingly, it saw a VC release near the end of the Wii's lifecycle, but that's the only time it has ever been rereleased. It never received the attention it deserved).

The reason why the Switch NES service is such a bore is because it's a far lesser version of what they were doing thirteen years ago. With the exception of online play, they took a very large step back.

@Discipledoctor i hope its not gb or gb color lol. I just finished buying all the parts to build a backlit aluminum gbc with a flash cart, so Ive got my fill of those for forever

I hope so, NES games are becoming anathema to me.

That SNES datamine is somewhat suspect to me now seeing as Contra III: The Alien Wars is being released on the Konami Contra Anniversary Collection and like the Castlevania games, I doubt they'll hit NSO if they're being released separately elsewhere. There's also that little rumor that LttP is getting it's own remake/re-release which if true I'd also find it doubtful to be released on NSO. However I suppose the datamine could be entirely accurate, just because a title appears on that list doesn't mean it was a sure bet to be made available to the masses.

See I told people it was going to end, probably in June to be honest.

I'm hoping they at least give American fans an eventual chance to get EarthBound Beginnings (since it was finally released on Wii U eShop in America for the first time) and (this is a stretch) maybe Fire Emblem.

@electrolite77 Yeah, I do think there'll be some kind of price increase but not sure whether it'll be base subscription increase or the addition of some kind of subscription tier system.

@subpopz
If a conscious effort was made by these companies to sell their products rather than sitting on them and complaining when a rom site that gives away a game for free then it would be a win win for everyone. If we are waiting for third parties to release collections we just end up losing something, like Street Fighter Alpha 3 upper is missing from the SF collection and the Castlevania collection is only having 8 games out of what nearly 30 games? A Power Rangers collection would have made perfect sense since it just celebrated an anniversary year, A DC games collection would've marketed the new movies better same with Marvel. Honestly do these companies not like making money? It's not that hard. If I had a product that would make money compared to it being given away for free you can bet your bottom dollar I'd milk it for all its worth!

@smashboy2000 Yes, and how about SNES remix, and N64 remix, and GameCube remix?! The NES game is fun on 3DS and Wii U, but I hope they expand it for Switch!

SNES Remix would be fantastic... and more NES Remix... it's a really fun way to go back to retro games.

@60frames-please I would love that but I think it will be harder (and more expensive) to go back into the code of 3D games than 2D. Because their are a loooooot more complex !
So if SNES remixes is definitily possible, I wouldn't bet on N64 or GameCube.

But who knows, maybe Nintendo will contradict me.

My answer summed up in one emoji :🤞

I've laid to rest all expectations that their Retro offerings will ever come close to the Wii's VC. With the WiiU and now the Switch its apparent each new console will have less and less. It's shameful that its taken this long just to get these few NES games on the system. Meanwhile Sega releases more VC titles in a single release then Nintendo was able to in 2 years.

I'm content with the current service. Would I like Nintendo to leverage more of their back log? Of course. I understand that's something people want and I don't disagree. It would be nice to have SNES, 64, GBA, GC games on switch (I would die for a Path of Radiance switch release).

But the way I see it is I'm paying $20 a year to use their servers for online multiplayer, and I bought it to play with my family living in Japan, and potentially my friends living in Seattle. $20 is not a bad price. For me, the games are free. I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

This Chinese small print is probably just a legal disclaimer for compliance with commercial regulations. Even if it's not, I won't be upset if NES games stop getting added. I'll play what's there, or find something else to do.

The only good thing that came out of the Nintendo Switch online was Tetris 99. Nintendo needs to step up their game.

They should really up their game with this seriously.
Nes, Sness, N64, Nintendo Arcade, even Gameboy advance, or GameCube. Such a waste that they didn't do it sooner. Come one Nintendo what are you guys doing at the Office?

@Marios-love-child That's because the Wii already SNES,N64,Genesis,PC engine games in 2006/2007, and it only got more formats as the years went C64,Neo Geo,Arcade,MSX,Master System

Nintendo is really behind with the Switch only good retro games it has, is the arcade archives, because the original Donkey Kong arcade games, Mario Bros,Punch Out have never had release, outside of the arcade or mame

"They hated @Starvald because they told them the truth."

@Marios-love-child ok lol

I have no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will tour their other systems in time, and that's why I haven't joined the mob. There was never any way they could solely have the NES app and that be it for their latest and greatest console yet. In a word, that would be utterly stupid, and not just in my opinion. So I'll remain patient and enjoy the ride down memory lane for now.

Dont get me wrong i love some classic games. But i feel NES is a little far back for the general public now. SNES would have sold it for me as i feel those are still playable and still fun enough. Playing the original Mario is rough as heck now but Super Mario Worlds still holds up incredibly well.

@deafswin37

Ok what???????

@Lordplops GBA games in Switch handheld mode would be perfect. Dang, now I really want this.

@LavaTwilight
Yes please!

@Ludovsky Plus, many GameCube games on Switch would be problematic because the GameCube controller has pressure sensitive shoulder buttons.

Having said that, I want Super Monkey Ball 1&2 on Switch. Please.

At the current pace if it were maintained, discounting the unlicensed, lost in license limbo (Turtles, Goonies, etc) and the stuff that's utter trash they could fill out nearly 5 years of releases with NES US releases alone.

If anything it's a disclaimer unless in time they do move to cover something else. I just wish entitled types would stop pissing and whining about something thrown in free as part of the service as it just comes off as baby-ish.

If we can’t get the Disney Afternoon Collection on Switch, they should release those NES games with the Online subscription.

All this complaining about NES games, yet I wonder how many people would actually find the time to play SNES games were they added to the service. There are so many games constantly being released these days, for Switch and other platforms, too. I'm one of the folks who likes the NES games on Switch, yet I still haven't played last month's releases, or some of the earlier ones.

I think even if snes and n64 games came. We will all still be complaining. I’ve boughy all my virtual console games on Wii / u 3ds. I rather they give us exclusive games like Tetris 99 or great discounts

I'm pretty sure people just want to pay for an service to play games online and Nintendo should stop letting us play old games as part of the package.

@AcridSkull Only 1,249 Japanese games plus some hundreds of western-exclusive games.

I personally think that Nintendo’s online service in their current offering will continue on past the switch, along with all the retro goodies. They are just getting started making many of their retro games available on their online service. No point in getting people to keep repurchasing the games over and over each new generation, they just make them part of their subscription service, endless revenue.

@BanjoPickles Square-Enix has re-released the Famicom and Super Famicom versions of the Dragon Quest games in a disc compilation for the Wii.
My guess is the old localizations don't fit with their current quality standard.

I never had a NES, i never liked the NES ... compared to the master system, the NES "graphics" hurts my eyes .... such an limited color pallet. i am a nintendo online user since day 1, but i have only started the NES app twice ... played the first world of mario bros 3 and stopped ... back in the 90s, i have first played mario bros 3 on snes (super mario all stars remake) - snes was my first nintendo TV console - i grew up with all sega systems, started in 1987 with the master system, all i've had from nintendo till that day, was a gameboy. but i was always playing game gear instead... good old times. but i wish i could play that snes remake version ... probably soon, if snes games are ever coming. maybe nintendo switches the plattform every year ...so in october, when switch online has birthday, we'll get a new system. i hope so ... snes games are fun to play even today .... but NES ... nope. master system, in my oppinion is still "better" for today, because it had more colorful games. but to see "mario bros 3" in those ugly brown / black / green color tone ... c'mon nintendo, give us 16bit games! i neeeeeeed 256 colors

I feel like this is just fine print to cover them for when they eventually move on from the Switch, and not anything significant. Kind of like how Steam likes to remind me that I'm basically paying for a license to use the games I bought, rather than actually owning the game. They have to put it somewhere, or someone will nail them for it.

SNES games coming in September.
Case closed.

The amount of NES games on NESflix will be roughly the same we had on VC, ~100 US and ~150 Japan releases.

@MoonKnight7 all those other systems we have been replaying since the Wii also.

I feel like one of the few people who doesn't hate this service. With that said, if they DO discontinue it at some point, it'd be nice if they continue it with a line of SNES games, and move up from there. I'd like to see GB, GBA, and N64 at some point too.

The only thing I'm not too keen on are the SP editions.

Que alarmistas NLife...

Does that mean the end is near for the NES app?

Well there's a big picture on the front of that leaflet advertising the Famicom app so probably not

I'd like to see Nintendo start releasing more rare and lesser known NES games for the service, maybe translate some Famicom-only titles.
Doesn't Square-Enix have the rights to LITTLE SAMSON?
Make it happen Nintendo.

@Marios-love-child Correct me if I’m wrong, but I suspect that bringing Game Cube games to the Switch would require ALOT more power than what the Switch has... I’m not talking about recoding / remastering, I mean simply emulating as per the normal virtual console.

BUT - Yes, that would be great.

I've said before, I'm not averse to buying SNES, N64 & GC games for the switch but at least give us the opportunity. Every other games company trots out their back catalogue and I am assuming making some decent money off it (cause why else would they keep doing it) why is it Nintendon't ?

@Marios-love-child I wouldn't be surprised if N64/Gamecube games will be Switch Pro (or The New Switch) exclusives, just like SNES VC was on the New 3DS.

@Dirty0814

True, but my point is that we only have NES games now, and Nintendo made such a big deal about it. Even just some SNES games would go a long way to show that Nintendo wants to make the Online app a killer feature. But I really don't think Nintendo ever would give us anything past the N64 era, so I don't think people should ever expect it for a long time. If Nintendo is gonna give us anything from the GameCube era, it's going to be enhanced ports at full retail prices. Would I love some GameCube games on the app? I sure would. Do I expect it anytime soon? Heck no.

My NES/SNES classics, plus all the VC games I have on my Wii U via Wii backwards capability (and I still have it hooked up) are enough to itch my retro scratch, but I am still confused why there isn't an iTunes like Virtual Console on the Switch. It seems like a no brainer.

I'm just happy to have a convenient way to play star tropics again, my absolute favourite NES game

If the NES releases stop, they will need to introduce something new in order to keep subscribers. I know I'll walk if something else doesn't replace it. I honestly am very happy with Nintendo Online at the moment. I take advantage of the family subscription. I play the NES game. If either of those go away with something good replacing them, so does my subscription!

They’d be fools not to include SNES, N64, GC, GB, GBA and DS titles. They’re fools for not implementing a fully functional virtual console. This NESFLIX set up is very disappointing and dull..

I know NES Games can't be added forever, but Nintendo can add NES games faster than that, 3 NES games a month is like a dropper.

Plus, there are many classic NES games that will probably stay on a limbo, thanks to licenses and dead companies, but they should make some effort to bring them back anyway.

Nintendo has always been a very forward moving company... I believe that they just want people to move on. Yes, NES games are cool, but they have plenty of newer games from them and third part developers that they want to sell. I think it was a good decision to get rid of the Virtual Console and focus on new games and experiences.

@Marios-love-child Sorry i commented to the wrong person

@deafswin37

Fair enough Pal

Tbh, with defunct studios and licensed games, it would be impossible for Nintendo to get a full list of NES games on the Switch. I'm suprised they managed to get what they had on the Wii VC in the first place, and I dpubt we'll ever see that amount of games on the Switch.

Replace with option to buy instead of rent and put out physical collections.

Let's face it: If we're going to get two or three games a month, this is never going to be a robust service. People are playing and completing the games faster than Nintendo can add them. If resources are an issue, Nintendo needs to outsource this and raise the subscription fee accordingly. And, like most others here, I echo the sentiment of moving on from the NES. I've got these games on my Wii, my 3DS, my NES Classic and even on my ... NES. I think we need more "hidden gem" type titles from all systems and definitely more releases like Tetris 99. That's the only thing I've played on the service.

Im glad it will soon end.