"We Thought It Would Be Fun" - Nintendo Explains Why Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen Aren't On Switch Online

More like "The Pokémon Company doesn't want NSO releases and would rather charge for a re-release. We can justify it as it connects to Pokémon Home"

I don't mind them being a stand alone purchase rather than on NSO. Frankly it's nice to be able to own them rather than be tied to the subscription. I like that they went for these versions rather than OG red and blue - played those enough personally so I'm excited to have access to these again.

Generally feeling positive and eager to dive in but, no online play? That's a bit lame when you're charging for these and already integrating local wireless play, no?

"We thought it would be fun to charge 20 a pop for these. People will buy them anyway, because nostalgia." — Nintendo, probably.

And yes, I will buy Leaf Green, probably... But still, their reasoning is as sound as ever...

At least do both. Some people want to rent them, others wanna buy them. Apps like Clip Studio Paint already offer this and it's meeting everyone's needs

Nintendo knows when Nostalgia hits hardest. It’s in your early 30’s. So, the people who were 8-12 when playing this game. It’s just easy money that they just have to grab.

At least we've got Home support confirmed I guess. The biggest question I have is if they'll add a means to get Deoxys or the Altering Cave stuff.

I really hope they end up doing more of these. I'd be thrilled to buy HGSS and BW1&2 on the Switch if they'd make them available, and I'd most likely pick up Emerald and Platinum too.

@Lizuka sevii islands are part of the game according to the description - and it will probably be a situation where the ticket areas are unlocked, just like Celibi when crystal released for the 20th birthday.

I hope

"We thought it would be fun" is a pretty funny (not to mention meaningless) response to that question. I'm fine with them being standalone releases though - I'm not sure if I'll buy them any time soon but I'm glad to have the option to own them indefinitely, even if it does cost about £10 more (each) than GBA games did on Wii U.

Speaking of which, interesting that Nintendo explicitly namedrops Virtual Console in that FAQ. Not suggesting it means they'll bring it back, it's just not often that Nintendo acknowledges their old branding for things like that.

So if that is the argument, I guess we will get Twilight Princess for $25 on the e-shop tomorrow instead of a NSO release. Just for fun.

the simple reason this is a stand alone is simply it's going to make more money... nintendo really is greedy recently and I do not say this lightly. The xenbolade update für 5 bucks only to get higher resolution and better frame rate falls into the same category...

I enjoy the Gen 3 remake of these game. Fixed many of the problems that Gen 1 had. No online play makes sense Pokémon Champions will be Pokémon's main way of battling online. Glad they will have Pokémon Home compatibility. ^^

@RupeeClock more than likely, it's not possible to code 1 version of the game with the ability to change languages (either through how the original was made or just general laziness), and a product that's just "3 games in 1 (but all the games are just language variants of each other)" looks less polished.

Also, Masuda method isn't a thing in Gen 3 anyway, so it has no impact.

„If you're good at something, never do it for free“

The Joker

No online is tragic.

Yeah, I mean it's pretty obvious the reason they're releasing it this way is because they can charge $30 AUD, where they stand to not really make anything via NSO. Giving it 'special treatment' as a release in itself but confirming that it's not getting special treatment in any other feature-meaningful way kind of says it all.

That said, they know we'll buy it. It's Pokemon, and well received older titles at that. I think it's a pity though. I would rather see Johto get another decent remake. As it stands, Heart Gold / Soul Silver were awesome and well received, but given the DS dual screens, and the fact that it can still encompass so much of Kanto anyway, I'd rather have seen it (not that we can't have it also, considering how low effort this is)

Why do I get the vibe some of these answers are Nintendo avoiding the actual questions been asked?

The Pokemon games that were put on the eshop on the 3DS didn't have the rewind or save state features, when over titles did. It's probably too much work to disable those features when they're all part of the GBA app. Imagine the havoc caused by using the rewind function whilst trading with someone.

I was really hoping for online play support. I’m still excited to replay FireRed, but this does dampen it a bit for me.

"We thought it would be fun" is going to get memed to death to mock Nintendo now isnt it?

Thats fine, they kinda deserve it with some of their totally bonkers decisions, with this being one of them.

There is zero reason for these to not be on NSO other than greed. They could have released it both on NSO and seperately and everyone would be happy. Also do a dual pack physical release to really attract everyone to it. This just feels very lazy and a cash grab (that will unfortunately succeed).

@Samalik
Thats how it works on things like PS+ and gamepass too, the games on those services are also available to buy on their respective stores, even the retro stuff (psone, psp, ps2) on PS+

(this isnt a "console war" thing, i genuinely would love to be able to buy the retro stuff on switch, at least the games i really love)

The attitude towards consumers is bordering on contempt.

@Samalik

Exactly. The refusal of Nintendo to give people choice is one reason I've decided not to get a Switch 2.

@Kiz3000 “There is zero reason for these to not be on NSO other than greed.”

The biggest reason I can think of is to open up the release to more players. The reality is, not everyone does, or is willing to, subscribe to NSO. As one of those people, I’m happy with a standalone release.

It seems like they're adding at least some of the Mystery Gift stuff in as well, going off the eshop listing. I hope it turns out to be all of it.

I’m normally on the board of “screw them” - but at the very least they are being slightly more transparent since someone on their marketing team is WELL aware all these questions will
be asked - better to get out and ahead of the game.

I’m pro release of it being outside of the NSO, all titles should be as an option, but that also means I’d expect the opposite.

Price is also way too high, but they know people will pay for it so…

Otherwise - this is basically what people have been asking for goodness knows how long, so complaining about the finer things is pointless.

They delivered, and the execution isn’t perfect, but it never will be.

I have no interest in this as i only had nostalgia for Red/Blue which was catered for in Let's Go Pikachu.

This is no doubt a test release to see how well it does at that price point and gauge interest in re-releases not on NSO.

If you are not happy wait until it goes on sale. Or if you need it now buy eshop vouchers via cheaper cashback sites so you save some of your money.

They know this alone won't convince enough ppl to sub to the NSO+ expansion pass tier and TPC probably wouldn't allow it there anyway. Plus, people will pay the higher prices for these since they aren't part of a named service. Since they can't say that, this is them covering themselves.

@MathByThePixel And yet people clampored for games to be released stand alone instead of NSO. How the turn tables.

Also, I love they have nothing to announce about future Pokémon NSO titles beyond the ones listed...but they announced Colosseum and XD a year ago.

Is this a great deal? Probably not, but at least Nintendo is taking steps to make these games available. Have you priced a physical copy of these lately?

Again, all I care about is whether they are going to distribute special Pokémon like Mew and Rayquaza for these versions. I know that they say that online play is not supported, but what about online distribution? Or is that also going to be local wireless as well, assuming that they even do it to begin with?

"We thought it would be fun to price gouge some people who have nostalgia."- Nintendo

basically "we want more of your money" that's why they didn't do the pro consumer move and put them on NSO

"We thought it would be fun to give away something for free that we could charge decent money for"

... said pretty much no-one in the 2020s.

"We want more of your money than we already have, and we hope to convince more of our audience that Nintendo truly cares about its fans, so when people rightfully point out that we're just as bad as our competitors, our unpaid zealots will defend us."

Though honestly after getting away with charging money for Swtich 2 Welcome Tour, a game that should've been free, and also cheaping out on the Switch 2's screen and not-hall-effect analog sticks, I really shouldn't be surprised.

@MathByThePixel As said in my full comment, this should have been released on both NSO and seperately on the eShop. Releasing on NSO doesnt exclude a release from the eShop.

"Video Game Piracy is Good, Actually" by Lextorias remains as relevant as ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fu4pE46-zM

Well at least it will work with Home, not working with the Cloud save or proper on cart saves just so we HAVE to use Home is driving me insane. I just want to pay my games man, why won't you let me?!