Talking Point: If Nintendo Switch Online Adds Game Boy, Why Not Throw In GBA, Too?

I Need GBA games.

MARIO AND LUIGI Remasters/ports/Switch online.

That would make sense and it's what people would expect. Knowing Nintendo, it won't happen: they hardly ever do what we expect.

I heard a rumor y'all are getting paid $40,000 to write articles with rumors like these

I WISH, imagine Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (One of my favorite games)

I hope so, because playing the original GameBoy on my TV would look like arse. Not that I have any faith in any of these rumours until Nintendo announces it themselves. Switch Pro anyone?

I'm just sat here wondering why more people don't just buy Everdrive cartridges.

it would be nice to get the original warioware as well since the new entry drops in two weeks

There’s no reason that the service isn’t significantly more robust at this time. For all their efforts they put into squishing emulation and fan games online, it sure would be great if they just unleashed a torrent of older releases, instead of the current drip feed. C’mon, give us something to be excited about among the super slow release schedule.

I would be willing to pay more for NSO in order to access a more robust title and console selection.

We haven't even got GB or GBC yet and Nintendolife lead with an article about not getting GBA..... why not write an article on the exciting games on GB or GBC that may come?

Didn't you hear the report that DS games are going to be coming to the Switch too? It's true, now go write an article about that.

GBA games will be added to NSO separately from GB/GBC games much like how SNES games were added to NSO separately from NES games

Why not? Because Nintendo knows that the people want it, so of course they're going to withhold it.

NL were already called out today for making a baseless rumour about the GB games coming to Switch Online, now they're doubling down on the rumour by making an explanation on why they made up the rumour (i.e. giving evidence for it, which if the rumour was legitimate they really wouldn't need to, as the evidence would already be laid down by the rumour maker). Judging from your April Fools' prank this year, however, we're already aware of NL's inability to end something at its natural conclusion (i.e. when we've already figured out it's fake).

Easy answer: those games still have value, so why would they give them "for free"?

I think there's an argument to be made that having older Metroids available might harm Dread. There's no denying the hype right now, and I'm short that's gonna push many first-timers to try Dread. Unless you provide them with a cheaper way to try the precursors - if a prospective new customer tries out the older titles to get a taste and doesn't like it, then they aren't gonna shell out for Dread, and Nintendo loses money. That, or people get their Metroid fix beforehand and dont buy Dread, at least not immediately.

On the other hand, Super is available, so I'm not sure if that makes this whole point obsolete

Sure the Nintendo who has settled into giving a few obscure games every 3-4 months when they feel like it is totally gonna do this.

More like why not include games from all past Nintendo systems? Easy, Nintendo is just hoarding them for their dry spells.

I love my Switch, and I love some classic Nintendo franchises from the early days until now, but I'm growing real tired of the way they do things.

They got rid of the virtual console, they refuse to fix let alone even acknowledge the massive joy-con drift issue, they are still generations behind in basic online functionality and standardized features. Also, for a company that brags about themselves as being for the masses or for people of all ages, they have the most bare bones accessibility options, heck standard options in general, for nearly all of their games.

I'm actually really looking forward to the Steam Deck. It's the closest thing to a portable console that has an affordable price point, and doesn't sacrifice on tech.

My Switch is mostly used as an indie machine, occasional port machine, and then to play the occasional big Nintendo game. Out of the big N's franchises, I only care about Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, and Luigi.

There is no doubt the Switch is a massive success, but Nintendo needs to step up their game. No company is above criticism, even Nintendo, which doesn't get enough.

The longshot is it'll be added to Switch online. There's no way they'll release Fusion or any other title as a standalone purchase & risk someone buying a $10 ROM instead of a $60 new game. But it's appropriate you mentioned Mother 3 because that's the evergreen example of how Nintendo operates. They hoard their back catalog for rainy days, they held a fully translated Earthbound Beginnings for decades. They won't waste a bump in sales and reputation when the Switch is printing money. Dread needs no help being sold at this point, and they need no help moving Switches either.

Also I love that Nintendo is vague and unpredictable enough to where just about any rumor can sound plausible.

The short answer: because they don't need to.

Sure, it would be nice to have. But Nintendo will continue to sell their devices and the service as a whole regardless of the inclusion of GBA, or even the rumored GB/GBC. Diehards online will complain, while the other 95% of the customer base will shrug their shoulders and move on with their lives.

@Browny completely agree, word for word

In short, so they can save the GBA for another 2 years down the road to shill as another "new benefit" of NSO.

The service should have just had everything up to gamecube from the outset, or heaven forbid, an actual storefront to purchase said old titles? But nintendo couldn't possibly do such a service, it DEFINITELY wouldn't be a worthwhile opiton for both company and consumers...

"If Nintendo Switch Online Adds Game Boy, Why Not Throw In GBA, Too?"

Because--Nintendo.

i want to play ruby/sapphire on my switch lets go already

Why do we keep getting ourselves riled up like this, all hyped for something we know won't happen and we all know why?

Nintendo will drip feed us Gameboy games (if the rumours are true) until they run out, then they will potentially add GBA games. That's how it works. They want us to keep coming back for the games we want to play, and therefore keep a subscription. Not buy it for a month, binge the ones we were excited from and cancel.

Us here, on this website, yeah we might binge the Metroid series before Dread to hype ourselves up. But we are in the minority and we're going to buy Dread anyway! The average person isn't going to do that and it's not a good way to convince someone on the fence to buy a new game by getting them to play 4 old ones first.

Before any GBA talks how about a proper d-pad on the joycons for the occasion?

Now THIS is why we need an OLED screen and better speakers!

@Nontendo_4DS VC is a good concept, but I feel that many of the games were overpriced. Same for the Arcade Archives. Some games in there are worth the $8 (for me). Many are not.

Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Golden Sun, Harvest Moon, Mario and Luigi and so many more. GBA games are at the top of my wish list for NSO.

But on GB and GBC there's still some great games I would like to see. Pokemon, Pokémon TCG, Mario, LoZ, Tetris... just to name a few.

But I am not getting my hopes up. Nintendo seems pretty reluctant to put rpg/jrpgs on NSO. If the SNES games are any indication.

Because then they'd be spoiling us and Nintendo can't allow that, can they?

Yes please.
Also the tag line reminded me that I did start a Metroid binge and forgot about it. I'm probably not going to buy Dread. But I would love to show my GF classic Pokemon games.

The main thing I want out of GBA is a way to play Zero Mission that doesn't involve buying an overpriced used original copy or a Wii U. I would appreciate GBA more as there's more games I would enjoy replaying (Fusion, Emerald, FireRed/LeafGreen, Mario vs. DK, the DKC trilogy remakes, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Wario Land 4, the Yoshi's Island remake), but there's really only one game I'm interested in that I don't have a copy of already and that's Zero Mission.

Other than that, most of the titles I'm looking for are N64 and GC, and relatively niche ones at that because I've already bought copies of the more mainstream ones at some point in the past (specifically I'm looking for the two original Paper Mario games, Wario World, and Kirby Air Ride). And for the most part those probably won't get remasters/collections (the Paper Mario games might because the fans have gotten pretty vocal about those games, but the rest have been relatively forgotten), so I'm stuck waiting for Nintendo to re-release them through VC or NSO in some way.

@Heavyarms55 I think licensing is the issue. Why would Square give out Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest for free if they can charge for remakes? A lot of NES/SNES big hits are compiled into separate collections now. I already bought Mega Man, Mega Man X, Contra, Lion King and Aladdin...

Like I said before, no hupe for GB/GBC. I'll happily play both Zelda Oracles, maybe Metorid 2 (I finished Samus Returns on the 3DS), but that's it. I'd be much more hyped for Minsh Cap, Zero Mission, Fusion and both Fire Emblem (although I'm not sure if I'd finished both Fire Emblem). Mario vs DK and Mario & Luigi are great games too, and I'm talking about First parties only, assuming Castlevania games would come in a proper collection

Most OG Game Boy games don't hold up today, change my mind.

I'd happily play through a GBA collection, as there were plenty of games there that aged quite well, but I'd admittedly only crack open a GB app for Wario Land maybe three times a year.

Personally, I'd rather they skip to GameCube considering a lot of titles (not counting sunshine) haven't seen a re-release in quite sometime

I think if this would happen they will do it like with the NES / SNES.

Do GB / GBC this year and GBA next year.

@SwitchVogel Some games are still classics. Super Mario Land , and 2. WarioLand, Tetris, classic Pokémon, Zelda Oracle of Ages / Seasons (though I'd really love to see a Switch remake of them) classic Pokémon games, and there are even more great games.

@sanderev @kitestar N64 games maybe someday. GC games, never. Even Super Mario Sunshine needed custom controls in order to compensate for the lack of analog triggers.

We may eventually get Wii U ports of the GC ports of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

4 years to go. It's all about keeping engagement (not to mention not taking too much on...they make games too y'know!)

GBA will come at some point. I think personally it will stop at N64. Gamecube games onwards really shine as remasters.

@Tandy255 Yeah, GC games isn't happening. With 800mb-1.5gb per game. It will go into 30+GB quickly for the download. (the NSO console apps download the entire library of all the included games) N64 games are smaller but have a similar problem. GB/GBC/GBA won't have that issue at all.

Now the bigger question should be that if they put Game Boy Games onto the Switch, does that leave the possibility of Nintendo 3DS titles being ported onto the Switch as well?

@Torakaka That has zero chance, the Switch only has one screen.

there would be a better selection of games to choose from if it was GBA but no Nintendo being stingy 😒

@sanderev That hasn't stopped The Wonderful 101 or Miitopia (among others). Realistically first party ports from the 3DS are likely to be significant remasters with the second screen edited out (and sold as full retail releases).

@StuTwo Sure you can port the games. But these NSO console apps are emulation based. And that will never happen for the 3DS.

It always bugged me that GBA never showed up on the 3DS Virtual Console. They GAVE us a bunch of GBA games as part of the ambassador program. They had the technology!

The reason GBA will never be on Switch is that GBA games look terrible when blown up to a big screen. Try putting GBA games on a Raspberry Pi or mini console, and you'll certainly notice that the games look hoorendous. That's because the developers made the games for the GBA's very small screen.

Ordinary GB games, on the other hand, look fine when blown up. Just look at the Mana Collection for Switch. GB games don't try to create shadows and shades the way GBA games do.

@sanderev I agree - that's exactly what I said they'll do (remaster them and sell them as full retail releases).

@TheWingedAvenger That didn't stop them from putting GBA games on the Wii U. And in handheld mode, those GBA games will look just fine.

@Pak-Man
GBA games still look pretty good on the 3DS XL and in fact that's the best way to play GBA games, because if you try putting GBA games on a bigger screen than that you'll see terrible pixelation. That's why Nintendo isn't putting GBA games out on the Switch. Why do you think they remastered the Advance Wars games for the Switch? It's because the originals would look like garbage on the big Switch screen.

@SwitchVogel There's plenty of gems on the original GB (aside from Tetris, Links Awakening, Mario Land and Wario Land), e.g. the Kirby's Dreamland games (and Pinball Land), Mole Mania and DK94. They're all great games that should be available on a modern format.

I'd personally say that the best games for a modern audience on an NSO service though are typically games that would have been overlooked at the time because they were "too short" or "too easy". Today those games are probably judged to be about the right level of difficulty and really easy and fun to drop into (a general strength of the GameBoy library relative to other consoles).

I want an actual retro handheld that would have Nintendo build quality that is actually pocket sized with a proper sized gba screen. They could still do a sub service if they want or a store. Treat it like it's own thing. I just don't want to play those older games on bigger screens. It's bad enough on Wii U.

@TheWingedAvenger I used to play GBA games on the GameBoyPlayer (GameCube), it was fine on my TV. Sure it is pixalated, but with some nice scaling you can actually combat that.

And pixalation will be even worse on GB(C)

@TheWingedAvenger I'd suggest that it's because a remaster reaches a much bigger potential audience. We assume that everyone out there is excited about getting to buy 15 year old games (and they are clearly profitable to release) because we post in an echo chamber.

But I'd guess that the sales of retro software, VC etc. is negligible compared to new software for a whole host of reasons. Partly because of ROMs being widely and easily accessible but mostly because a new retail release is a bigger story to hang marketing around.

Plus a remake allows QOL issues to be addressed. Like the new Advance Wars remakes can use a few more buttons as shortcuts and allow a wider view of the battlefield.

All that said - I think the original Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2 are pretty much as close to being perfect games as you get. They still look very endearing and the graphics are very clear to read.

Nice GBA mod, I recently picked up a GBA sp with a ips v2 display and it's magic 😍😍

"we had The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening reboot last year which may or may not have put GB on the backburner"

I know 2020 was a mess but it came out two years ago.

@StuTwo Definitely agree with you there, but I'd say that most of the games worth playing would be made available right at launch. I guess I want something that isn't viable with the struggle of third party licensing, but I'd just like to see them focus on an app where there could actually be a steady stream of games that people want to play. The way I see this going, they'd release a slew of awesome GB games at first and then quickly be scraping the bottom of the barrel like they have with the last two apps.

This has reminded me that I need to play fusion as I have not played it yet (but own it because of the nintendo ambassador thing for the 3ds) as I have preordered Dread.

But on terms of them adding the GB and GBA I would love them to add the GBA Pokemon game to the list cause the gen 3 game were the only ones I don't own and I gave up on nintendo adding them to the 3ds that I went and got emerald 2 weeks ago (expensive but still got it cheaper then what others were selling it for) and currently looking at picking up either fire red or leaf green that is sold in Ireland as I am not paying the expensive delivery and import fees for the game.

GBA was one of my favorite consoles. I bought my first one in April of 2001 in Singapore while deployed before the were out in the states. I spent every chance I got playing f-zero, earthworm Jim and pitfall in the Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian deserts. Later on I upgraded to the superior GBA SP and it was a constant companion. I played through the LOZ classics on it and the final fantasy dawn of souls. I would love to see Golden Sun and the classic breath of fire games show up on NSO.

@Pak-Man
That's a good point which I hadn't considered because I never had a Wii U. But take a look at the combat in Golden Sun: the backgrounds look awful when on a big screen. I guess Nintendo doesn't care how bad certain games look on a TV.

Something feels very off about this article. Especially since this is all based on speculation. Can we even wait until it's official before we get mad about it? I get that Nintendo and rationality rarely go hand in hand, but this is a little wild.

@SwitchVogel That's clearly likely to be the case. They'll release 15-20 games (including probably half of the games people would actually like to play) at launch then slowly release the remaining "big name" hold outs alongside weaker games over the following year or two. Their model isn't great (though I have my own opinions and I think the big flaws I see are different to those that most others commenting online are hung up about)

In some ways I think that the GB app when it comes might actually prove to be more comprehensive than the NES and SNES apps. There are very few GB games that can realistically be sold successfully by third parties on modern storefronts and even those are - basically being sold on their franchise names and only then when packaged into a compilation with their NES/SNES/etc. equivalents (I'm thinking Castlevania, Mega Man, Gradius, Final Fantasy/SaGa, Mana etc. - excepting the Mega Man games most of the third party GB games with any "mindshare" today are all already available in that way).

I think that we'd get more of the better third party games on there because it may be the most profitable way for the likes of Capcom (Gargoles Quest 2, Mega Man) and Konami (Kid Dracula, Castlevania, various Hudson games) to make residual money from their GB back catalogues.

@mantarobuster300 Well you can do that with the Game Boy Player and have been able to for almost 2 decades. Further, you can play them on the Wii U Virtual Console and let's be honest, the Wii U Pro controller has a better D-Pad (for playing GBA games) than the Switch Pro controller.

@Torakaka Now the bigger question should be that if they put Game Boy Games onto the Switch, does that leave the possibility of Nintendo 3DS titles being ported onto the Switch as well?

What?? Game Boy games doesn't lead to 3DS games?

That's like saying 'Since they put NES games on the Switch, does that mean they will put Gamecube games on the Switch?'

No, it doesn't mean that and why are some of you so addicted to speculation to the point that it doesn't even make sense?

The jump from Game Boy to 3DS here makes about as much sense as the jump from NES to Gamecube.

I owned a gameboy fat and 20+ games and played it until the ds came out. Moved onto that system and 3ds etc…. Now, there also 0 gameboy games I want to replay. There are gameboy advance games I’d like to play as I missed most of those, but personally, I see no use from gameboy being added, as it’s a step backwards from even the nes, and a lot of the games just don’t hold up. I regretted the few I bought for my 3ds and would not be excited.
and I guess I am one of the few who bought a Wii U and has over 300 games for it, and I think I own all past Metroids, but without checking, I can’t be certain. I feel like both gba metroids came to Wii U.

@SwitchVogel Agreed. They're far too archaic and simplistic, not unlike the NES games, and I'm struggling to think of any game on the GB that's better than another game on stronger hardware.

Outside of Tetris, I never really cared for the original Gameboy games as a kid. Anytime I would play a Mario Land game, it just made me want to play one of the NES Mario games instead. Of course I would give them another chance if they do come to the NSO, But the Gameboy Advance was the 1st handheld system I really enjoyed playing. So many good memories

I’ve commented it before: Nintendo and their back-catalogue are in separate universes. It’s just not much of an exaggeration to say that. The gumption and, in the case of third parties the all-in-one businesses opportunity, seems to not be there. Not any longer at least..

@BloodNinja I don’t mind the slow drip as there are people,not if games I can play and plenty in compilations as well. Not saying I would not like more constant releases, but let’s be honest, this is part of an online that in itself my friend is not thst expensive, my son, my fiancée, my sister, my self and two alternate acoustic to use a switch family account for 35 bucks, that’s not a bad deal IMO. The game son the service are a bonus IMO.

@CharlieGirl cause some people don’t like emulation in the none official.Mind you there is nothing wrong. With the ever drive cartridges but there is a certain convenience for he ability to play an old game on your switch on the go. But then again that goes into murky territory depending how said person uses switch, as some don’t take it off the dock, others do, myself I use it both on and off, some have lites etc etc

Is it too much of a conspiracy theory to think GB or GBA has been delayed because of the Link's Awakening remake?

• Including Link's Awakening on the GB NSO is a given.
• But they might reason that including it would hurt the remake's sales.
• But if they add GB to NSO and not include Link's Awakening people would be like "aha! see, they just want you to buy the remake!"

So they were like "Gameboy? Never heard of him."

Bit of a stretch?

@Edu23XWiiU Technically they wouldn't be free because you're paying monthly for the online service. How about they just bring back Virtual Console and let us buy what we want to play?

Because then people could readily play Metroid 4 leading up to the release of Metroid 5, and Nintendo ain’t about easily obtained continuity.

@StuTwo i really don't have any care about this online service when i still have my own gb carts which are still working to this day, i own them and nothing including nintendo can take them away hiding the service behind a subscription model which can be taken down at a future date, not wise to invest in on something like this long term.

@Themagusx1 That’s a good point, especially for someone with a family. I live alone so for me it’s not worth, especially since I already have those games elsewhere. Hope you’re having/had a great day

@ThomasBW84 good read! But Link’s Awakening was rebooted 2 years ago already instead of last year stated in the article.

Yes, time flies and we’re getting old fast

@Luigi_Skywalker it's one of my favourite systems too also brought my original gba at launch with super mario world, still remember that, own 100+ gba games, will never need a subscription service to play any of these games, happy about that.

@Purgatorium exactly my thought. I’ve laid out a lot of games in my comment in the ‘rumour’ article of this morning. Nintendo is rebooting / remastering the games that are worth remastering, and when that is done they release the original games on the service / virtual console.

If GBA emulation comes to the switch...I can't wait to play, Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros. Can you imagine?

In all seriousness, I've played all of those old games so much, I don't care to play them again. I'd rather play a remake, or even better, I'd much rather play a new addition to a series (how many times can I play the same game?).

@BloodNinja Exacttlt some services are not worth it for some folks. I see exactly where you are coming from. As for the nes games, what’s great is they have allowed my fifteen year old son and I to play o,d games together. Because of that service he and I have an absolute love for both Mario Bros. And Balloon Fight. pro tip: Never play the vs version of Balloon fight it’d garbage. hope your day is going well my friend.

GOLDEN SUN.

that's all I want from NSO, Nintendo

We would have the virtual console on Switch if Iwata were still alive and in charge.

@Don Come on, man. That's just disrespectful.

@Friendly I wonder if that's something Nintendo would do. The time they'd want to give for a remake to sell might just run out the clock on the Switch's lifespan.

It would be odd to have og gameboy games, but not gba games. But Nintendo does work in mysterious ways...

Anyway, whenever I feel an inkling to play Metroid Fusion or WarioWare and the like, I guess I can always dig out my WiiU, or get one of those portable emulation devices the kids are always jabbering about these days..

Tbh i dont get the counter to gba at all. Its cause its easy to rerelease some games for money, bringing up the advance wars remake.

But quickly forgetting the link’s awakening remake and the rumoured oracle remakes.

Nintendo dont make sense in this regard and they put themselves in a mess. If its about rereleases and all that like nate suggested, gb and gbc would have to be ommitted by default

Why not wait on the Steam Deck, then?

Until then, instead of waiting on Nintendo to release your old favorites, there are a bounty of emulators and rom sites where you can download those old titles to any device you want.

Why not give it a go?

@SeantheDon29 Because then Princess Peach won't invite you to her castle for cake.

Don't think Game Boy Advance would happen, feel like they would just make a remake of an Advance game and stick it on the eShop instead also people that want Pokémon Game Boy games on the service yea that's probably not going to happen would be cool tho if they added SP versions of Pokémon games that uses a developer save that would be neat to explore

I'd expect it be like the nes/snes set up, GB/GBC "now" then GBA 6-12 months later

@mantarobuster300 Also, the d-pad on te Switch is much superior to the Wii U controller.

What?? You can't be serious.

Same reason we won't see N64 titles on Switch Online, Nintendo wants money. I bet their Switch online subs would double if they added GBA/3DS and N64 titles with multiplayer.

Dreamin' high, aren't we?

@Cr4shMyCar
How was the comment disrespectful?

❌I actually DON'T want the GBA to be added to NSO as I have 89 CIB GBA Games and I feel it would diminish my collection.

@huyi I wish I had hung on to mine. Sadly I am bad at keeping old systems laying around. I would have quite the collection if I did.

If Nintendo were Smart, and I know they are, they would Definitely release GB, GB Color, and GB Advance Games on Nintendo Switch via Nintendo Switch Online! Not only would it Boost Nintendo Switch Sales, but Much More people would pay for the Online Service! It's a Win Win! Please Nintendo, Make it Happen! Please and Thank You!

@SnesSwitch Can you Imagine playing Pokémon Red on Gameboy Color through Nintendo Switch Online!!! I'd be So Happy!!!

@SeantheDon29 I'd rather buy a used toilet than waste money on the steam d!ck.

@LeighDapa I actually DON'T want the GBA to be added to NSO as I have 89 CIB GBA Games and I feel it would diminish my collection.

It won't. Prices for Chrono Trigger (SNES) didn't go down when it was released on the Wii VC or on the DS. Prices for Earthbound didn't go down when it was released on the Wii U VC or the SNES Mini. Digital copies don't seem to affect physical values.

How about a Nintendo Game Boy Advance Mini / Classic?

A separate stand-along unit.

Same size as the original Game Boy Advance, but with a back-lit screen and some built-in games.

Then you have a pocket sized game console for when you don't want to (or can't) take your Nintendo Switch.

Or . . . the perfect gift for a younger daughter / son, or even a nephew / niece.

But gotta' have a Mario, Princess Peach, Zelda, Kirby, Yoshi, and Metroid game. A mix of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games. Tetris would be nice, but I guess I wouldn't hold my breath for that one. LOL.

Many GB games just copied games from SNES, so if people can play things like Dk country on SNes, nobody would want to play a damake of sorts from GB. I feel GBA offer more it’s own thing, since it went parallel with ps2 and GC. Where other consoles went 3D, GBA maintained a great flow of amazing 2D sprite work games. Except a few good GB, GBC games- GBA is more what Switch needs. I just would rather buy them, than having them online, only as long as I am subscribed to N eshop.

GB, GBC and GBA games should be in the same NSO app, in my opinion.

Hear me out: Puyo Puyo.

Pocket Puyo Puyo 1, 2, 3, and 4, that one tactics game, the mon-collecting game, Puyo Pop GBA, and Fever 1 GBA.

The F-Zero trilogy and the two Metroid games. They are the main desires for GBA. Konami should release the Castlevania trilogy. On GB, other than Donkey Kong 94 (and possibly a few other rare gems), I don't really care. The system and games are just too antiquated for today.

@SmaggTheSmug Yeah well what good are remakes of games or collections of games that don't exist. If not on NSO, then let's see those collections!

The switch is still doing great. But if I was in charge of marketing I would push for a significant overhaul of NSO games (nes, snes, Gb + color, advance, virtual boy- add them all!, n64... even Wii stuff. Then do an entire marketing campaign targeting retro gamers and selling this as a system just to play that stuff. A commercial showing people playing Zelda alttp Metroid castlevania advance games. Metroid fusion. It would sell even more consoles. During the Wii days I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t sell a $50 virtual console. A Wii that was tiny and only did virtual console. They have such a rich history and people still want to throw them $$$$$ I don’t get it.

They would put GBA games as well, but let's face it guys, do you really think Nintendo would want to deal with people's complaints after they don't put Mother 3 in the lineup of games for the GBA's lineup? Lol, I bet Reggie has something to do with this.

I'm sure a lot of people are happy about this but for me I wanted to see DS/N64/GCN games being mixed in but I guess that is never going to happen.

@Amrulez,

We know it's possible for Switch to play N64 and GC games. (RE: Super Mario 3D All-Stars.)

So . . . just a matter of time before more N64 & GC games start to appear.

Although probably bought individually. Not NSO.

Quite honestly, I wish they'd stop expanding the nso online apps altogether. Just give me the means to buy those games including the rumored gb and gbc games and I'll be set.

They should have just included all this stuff to begin with instead of this trickle-down nonsense.

Don't think the basic Switch quite has the horsepower. It will need to be exclusive to the Switch Pro.

@Purgatorium well, they’re stalling it now anyway. And people are okayish with their NSO service which is being dragged out as much as possible.

@NintendoDad they’re first rereleasing / remaking the games that are worth rereleasing / remaking.

We got some of the N64 games remade on 3DS (lylat wars, the Zelda’s), we got Mario 64, Pokemon Snap and stuff such as tony Hawk Pro Skater, turok, doom64, star wars pod racer on switch, we’re getting Mario Party this year. After that, not much to rerelease / remaster other than Rare’s games (which I still think will come in a rare replay package next year) and Paper Mario (which is rumored already) and a couple of niche games such as Sin and Punishment and Ogre64.

I expect a june 2022 release of paper mario (the usual June mario release). Then perhaps a n64-mini next year (next to switch pro, just as the SNES was next to the Switch), and maybe a few n64 added games on NSO in 2023.

@Aronin the xbox series x/s retro library is solid proof of that, my good fellow.

@Purgatorium but what if the cake was a lie?🤔

@Crono1973 😅Sorry, it's my fault as I should've elaborated much more.

What I meant was that if I could play my GBA Games on NSO, my phyical collection of 89 Games would wouldn't be needed much.

GBA is my favourite Handheld.

@CharlieGirl I think they do.

They put Tomb Raider and Metal Gear ROMs on them.

I had one for GB/GBC.

Unfortunately, I could only get an X5 so no Save States.

I eventually sold it on E-Bay and decided if I wanted to continue Retro Gaming via Emulation, I'd use my 'BittBoy: Pocket-Go' as the R4 Card/DS: Lite combination was a bit oldy-worldy.

Thank you for reading my story.

One big reason is Golden Sun

Like any of this will even matter because, going by what we've seen, the Switch 2 will probably just have us start from scratch yet again. ☠️☠️☠️

Rational arguments for why we should have certain games on NSO fail to recognize how irrational Nintendo really is.

I remember speculation during the Wii era about next-gen virtual console, with GameCube. How wrong they were.

@NintendoDad I hope they are bought individually. I have no interest in using NSO.

Imagine, instead of unlocking pictures or concept art, unlocking Zero mission, Return of Samus, Super and Fusion for defeating certain challenges in Metroid Dread. I'd prefer that to anything on NSO and it would make tons of cash for Nintendo. It would also help to justify Dreads $60 price tag.

@huyi That's nice for you - I still have most of the really classic SNES & N64 games CIB (but only a modest collection of GB games). However I know from selling physical games on eBay that even second tier games can cost a fortune to buy these days.

It's also the case that not everyone today has or wants to use original hardware. The Switch has a much bigger (backlit) screen, a better (built in) battery, it's more likely to be "out" and in daily use and save states can smooth over some issues with games (or at least let me pause and resume at my own convinience). I won't dig out my GameBoy and batteries from the cupboard if I've got 10 minutes to spare and fancy playing through Mario Land but I might drop into it on my Switch.

Again - you may not like the subscription model but I'd still argue it's a bargin if you just want to drop in to a wide selection of games. For people who generally spend less on buying games it's a much better model than the old VC and gets us the release of games that might never would have been offered for single release.

The free playing of these with the online subscription is a nice perk but for those who don’t want to pay for a subscription, they should allow them to buy any of these games to play offline at a small price (including the games already offered on NES/SNES).

@Kiyata Yeah. You can get Xbox games on GamePass, or buy them individually, or get them free with Gold, on console, or PC, on Steam or streamed. There's no reason it has to be one or the other.

@Friendly

Yes. N64 games IMHO make sense to sell individually on Switch.

A great way for gamers to be able to access more of the library of a particular character.

As for a N64 Mini / Classic . . . yes. +++ That is something I would be interested in.

I was playing arcade games in the arcade when the NES and SNES came out. So didn't get an NES or SNES. Instead got the Game Boy.

And the 1st console I got was the Game Cube when my oldest was old enough to play.

So I totally messed out on the N64 (except for the N64 games on the Wii.)

@Moistnado

It is an interesting situation.

I got NSO so that I can play Mario Kart on-line. And my daughters can play a couple of their games.

But for me, it's only once every couple of months that I use it.

NES and SNES games included in NSO, for me, means that when I'm not on-line, I'm still getting some use out of NSO.

But, yeah. If you're not into NSO, then it would be nice to access these games another way. Maybe if not individually, some sort of sets or packs.

@ThomasBW84

I would actually pay for the Nintendo online service thing if GBA games were available, even though most of the games I want to play are still hanging out in my house in physical form.

@BEEFHAMMA they had VC on the Wii U, and it didn't work, so, that's why we have the apps. And hey, the VC Metroid games were high sellers a couple of months ago, so you can still buy them over there, if you want to.

"Our pictured GBA has a fancy screen mod..."
I'd keep that to yourself Nintendolife, Ninty will make you take it down.

@Edu23XWiiU I know they had it on Wii U...I have a Wii U and used it a bit. I used it a lot on 3DS. How did it not work? You mean didn't make them enough money? I just don't really like how the online component of the Switch works in general, gaming or shopping. With the Switch as popular as it is, don't you think the VC would work a heck of a lot better than it did on Wii U?

@BEEFHAMMA it was a strong point on the Wii U, and peopl preferred to not buy the console, hence why Nintendo changed their approach of their treatment of their legacy content. And, like I said, those games still have value for them, in the sense that they can still sell them individually. Maybe at some point, but who knows?