Nintendo considering extending Switch Online library beyond NES

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has told shareholders the company is considering extending its Nintendo Switch Online library beyond the currently offered NES games to other legacy platforms. During the company's AGM, he also acknowledged the growing number of Switch redesign reports.

[_SilverHawk_]

Lol. I have a switch and everything about it feels like a scam. The ps vita that was released 8 years ago has a lot better features than the switch and the online is free and better. The nes library of games are worth probably five dollars in total or even less but Nintendo thinks its necessary to spoon feed its fans that rubbish library and charge for the games that people cant own. I still dont understand how people support all the overpriced games that are of lower quality and performance on the Nintendo switch. Nintendo should be selling at least 80 percent of their past catalog of games on its store from nes, snes, ultra nes, gamecube, Wii, and Wii u.

[slate91]

Nintendo has such a vast amount of past classics. You can't over expose them. What they're doing is keeping them in demand. If they released all of them at once it might interfere with the draw they bring to people. Just speaking from a business perspective.

[Automatic79]

@slate

Not worth giving a "different perspective" most won't understand or appreciate. They will automatically dismiss and disapprove.

I am on opposite side of my comments above. I truly respect what you stated. Agree button clicked.

Thank you.

[CorndogBurglar]

People won't understand that. If you release it all once people can't afford to buy everything they want. It's not rocket science.

[slate91]

@Automatic79 Appreciate the kind words. Thank you

[JunMei]

While I disagree with that kind of approach, I agree with your comment, and it is indeed in their best interest. Holding it back on purpose can be used to gain sudden attention/sales when they determine it.

[Indigon]

Trickle feeding it's called.

[Glak18]

Well Nintendo has been "trickle feeding" since the Wii...

I opened my wallet and said "Take what is necessary". Nintendo responded with "Naaaaah".

So I bought a Raspberry Pi with EVERY single Nintendo game made loaded on a MicroSD card and haven't looked back since.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

The Vita also bombed hard and killed itself with terribly priced memory cards and a lackluster lineup outside of two to three genres that are niche at best.

[Sirk7x]

It functions better as a PSP and PS1 machine than it does actually offer great exclusives. Although Persona 4 Golden in itself is damn near worth the price of admission. Best bet is to find one cheap that needs joystick replacements and do it yourself. Sony should have put more effort into supporting it, and getting more exclusives fit for a handheld market though. I have mine hacked, and even with the entire library available, there's maybe five games that interest me outside of the PSP and PS1 classics.

[Rekkr]

Vita might have bombed but it still has superior online features than the Switch. That’s what he stated, Sales have nothing to do with what Psvita can do versus the limited online Switch features.

[NiteX]

First off, the Vita has zero features.... unless you call a rear touchpad a "feature". Second, everyone knows it's the games that matter. Vita never got any worthwhile exclusives.

[BanginTunes777]

Vita had better online features than Switch like party chat and friend messaging, web browser and video apps, PlayStation Plus games each month and various PS1 classics available to buy. Exclusives are what matter but Sony's failed system offering things that Nintendo's successful one isn't, is disappointing. I'd play my Switch more if the games weren't more expensive on it than other systems

[Master of Unlocking]

"Ultra NES"…?

[CyberSentinel]

N64 was actually called the "Ultra 64" when it was in development.

[EddieNX]

Key difference. Switch is amazing and has killer games, Vita was awful.

[abovetheclouds]

Coming from the biggest Nintendrone on this site.

What a shocker!

[Sirk7x]

It's not awful, just underwhelming. Needed more good exclusives, fit for handheld gaming. People that want to play God of War and Uncharted are going to want to play those on home consoles instead, as they are meant to be cinematic experiences. Just doesn't translate well and seems unnecessary for a small screen.

[Knushwood Butt]

@ awd

Yeah, but the Switch versions are the best because they are portable.

[Angyobangyo]

Calling the Switch itself a scam is vastly unfair and downright silly. Their online service, yes is terrible compared the their rivals.

As great as the vita was, it failed regardless of how good and feature packed it was. The price set for 3rd games on the system are set by the publishers not Nintendo.

Why aren’t console games cheaper because they run at 30fps 1080p whilst PC can play 60fps+ at higher resolutions? You see how silly your argument about performance vs cost is.

I’ll agree with you that the monthly NES games are terrible and something that Nintendo needs to address.

[TK-66]

"Calling the Switch itself a scam is vastly unfair and downright silly. Their online service, yes is terrible compared the their rivals."

Well charging for online is a scam but he unfortunately left out the part where he is willing to be scammed if its for a different platforms benefit.

[Sirk7x]

I'd like to offer some perspective please. It is very easy to emulate these games on a computer, but there some problems. One, emulation is not perfect by any means. Most emulators use high level emulation, which is basically hacking the game to force it to work. What you're playing is nowhere near hardware accurate concerning visuals, sound, what is actually going on with the code, etc. Many problems can arise, which could prove to be disastrous for a dedicated console. Glitches and crashes can cause damage, allow for exploits, etc. They all need to be tested and worked on, which costs time and money. Cycle accurate emulation, or something like 99.99 percent correct, is VERY resource intensive. To this day you still need a pretty beefy computer to run a cycle accurate emulation of a SNES game. Lots of the games on the VC in the past actually took a good deal of workload to release. Not only that, but then you run into licensing, publishing, advertisement, server maintenance, etc, which means that it could potentially cost the company more than they make to even release a SNES game if it doesn't sell well. The games have to run with little to no issues, they have to be released legally, royalties paid, advertised, everything. It's a whole different world from downloading a game illegally and then accepting inaccuracies with emulation. The Vita is a cool handheld, for sure, but it's already at the end of its life, and its library will be nowhere near what the Switch's will be in a few years. I have a Vita, but in 2019, I wouldn't recommend anyone buy one unless they planned on modding it.

[Rekkr]

I agree 100%

[TheGamez100]

Man the vita was truly a great system. So ahead of its time. Horrible shame people couldnt see how great the system was. And here we have the switch that has much less features than its predecessor and even the psp lol. Sure its all about the games but how the hell do you not have these features in this day and age? The switches operating system should have just been the wii us but better. Instead of course nintendo takes more steps back than forward when they get the hardware right. Botw is literally the only game ive loved so far on the switch so its been collecting dust quite a bit. I dont want to pay for overpriced ports that are of lesser quality and indies arent my thing. Am excited for future first party games but the wait will be long.
And seriously, why in the world have they still not added in virtual consoles from the nes-wii u as buy to keep and not a subscription? And please for the love of god add more beyond nes to switch online at least. A switch mini soon will be great too. The switch is quite heavy and uncomfortable to play in handheld mode, so the size of the vita would be great.

[King_Noctis]

About time. Bring over the Wii/Wii U titles as well while you’re at it.

[EddieNX]

The NES games do have online multiplayer and stuff which is why they've probably taken longer.

But yes, bring everything to the Switch.

[Knushwood Butt]

Ice Climber sucks.

[abovetheclouds]

"Considering" not "in the process of making it happen."

[Sono421]

Exactly... it shouldn't even be "considering" their online is god awful, and these NES games are not justifying it whatsoever. This should be a couple months away, not in the "considering" stage. Either drop this soon, or fix your garbage online, or make online free again, those are the only ways you can fix this Nitnendo... and I bet they do none of these.

[Sirk7x]

I'd rather just see Wii titles reworked into HD versions. Wii resolution was very low. I just want Xenoblade Chronicles HD...why Nintendo, why you no make this happen.

[Father__Merrin]

Can't believe ppl are falling for switch

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Can't believe they're owning a great system? You're missing out.

[ChristopherJack]

System? No. Iconic franchises? Yes.
Only reason I bought mine was pokemon, has been collecting dust waiting.
It was grossly overpriced but I felt like being a little wasteful.

[NiteX]

Why? I find it super easy to believe. It has great games.

[King_Noctis]

Falling for a great system is nothing wrong in my opinion.

[TheFirstClassic]

Honestly one of my favorite consoles of all time, despite its its shortcomings

[mamotte]

Can't believe ppl are falling for ps4

Can't believe ppl are falling for xbone

Can't believe ppl are falling for PC gaming

Am I doing this right?

[Sirk7x]

What do you mean? I own two. Also a PS4, Xbox One, Vita, 3DS, modded all my other consoles going back generations xD.
I still play my Switch almost every day, it's a great piece of hardware.

[porkChop]

SNES and N64 games with online coop/multiplayer would be nice.

[Shuckylad]

GBA also has an incredible catalog.

[abovetheclouds]

Keep dreaming buddy.

[porkChop]

About what? The NES games have online coop, so that's likely. And if Nintendo is looking to introduce more consoles the SNES and N64 would be most likely.

[Projekt7]

How about some old schoolsTurboGrafx-16 games? The Bonk’s Adventure series, Bomberman 93, Keith‘s Courage, Y’s book and even Splatter House. I’d be down for some TG-16 games.

[porkChop]

Never played TG-16 but yeah, why not?

[Sirk7x]

People would go nuts over Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 64 titles, and Smash Melee online. Would be fantastic.

[porkChop]

Mario Party with online would be great.

[WickedLester]

"considering?" LMAO well gee Nintendo. Don't be in too big a hurry or anything.

[Apex13]

Well bloody duhhhh. I'm a fan of Nintendo but Jesus lets not push the boar out too much. I have been waiting for snes, gamecube, n64, games for how long! In fact they should add the decent wii games to the library considering we have motion controls too. Sometimes I wonder who thinks or doesn't think for them.

[Father__Merrin]

How can nes games be done kind of special feature on switch lol

[porkChop]

It's not a special feature, it's just a service that people enjoy.

[Knushwood Butt]

It's 'special' for the Nintendo diehards.

Ooooh, Balloon Fight. We're not worthy.

[spicelicka]

Ninendo games are great but they are probably the worst with their pricing policies. Everything is always expensive. I get it the demand is always high and they only price things highly because they sell, but I'm just glad I'm not a part of that craze. I enjoy their games once in a while and that's good enough for me.

[AnotherGamer]

No s@#t lol!

[micdagoat19]

They NEED to strike a deal with every other wrestling company other than WWE, get the AKI team back together and make a new No Mercy type wrestling game

[Sirk7x]

No Mercy is probably still the greatest wrestling game ever made.

[micdagoat19]

all the N64 games are top 5 maybe with a Fire Pro game in there too

[milohighclub]

They'll have considered it when they built the machine, they will have it mapped out for years to come before we inevitably get most systems. Things like this are planned years in advance.

[dpxgn]

At least snes games please!

[iNcRiMiNaTi]

I'd get super metroid so fast if they did this

[abovetheclouds]

Why? You can be playing that game 10000 different ways right now if you really wanted to.

[akaFullMetal]

There is no excuse as to why other games such as SNES and even n64 games are not available by this time. An emulator should be easy to put on the switch.

[Sirk7x]

You'd think so, but it's really not lol. Companies can't just dump roms onto a shop and have an all purpose emulator, it doesn't work like that in the legal world. With licensing, working the code, testing, advertising, server fees, it all has to be treated like you're creating and releasing an official game. It might not make them any money, or they may simply not have the resources and staff available to work full time on releasing decades old games for $10 tops. I posted above going into more detail. It would honestly be easier for them to work on official ports for the games, rather than running it via emulation. Which they should do though.

[donotbeupset]

They don't need or use all purpose emulators, you'd know this if you looked into the Classic's emulation.
They use other people's work because it's widely available and free to use.
No need to work the code or test considering people have laid the groundwork for this YEARS ago.
A lot of what they need is already online, and they've pirated roms for the Classics despite being so against piracy.
It's implementation and that's never been Nintendo's strong suit.

[BadElf]

Why are we not playing n64 and Gamecube games yet?

[Xaevi]

Better late than never I suppose. Then again late is usually Nintendo's style

[shaenoide]

How generous ! *sarcasm*

[Uglyday]

They will release just in time for the next Nintendo system.

[Lighter9]

That is what I call a no-brainer.

[Tross]

Or, y’know, you could just roll out the Switch’s VC. It’s about time considering your previous two consoles and previous handheld launched with it.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Seriously. This is just embarrassing.

[xX1NORM1Xx]

Nintendo must have found the common sense pills i left on their door step...

It drives me mad that they don't do more with the games they have they have a library of games that will be remembered for 100s of years games that defined genres, games that created genres and what do they do with them? Sit on them doing fuck all for decades just drip feeding us the same safe choices every generation im so sick of it.

They are literally sitting on a gold mine and are too stupid to start digging, it makes perfect sense they could have had a game pass/xbl gold/playstation now/ps plus like netflix of games service a decade ago they just don't care its so frustrating watching someone miss out on success because they are too stupid to understand.

It's like seeing your little brother quit university and his job to lay about doing fuck all when he's capable of so much more he just can't see it and he'd rather sit around playing league of legends all day instead... ok that one might just be me but you get the point.

[abovetheclouds]

It sucks Nintendo killed VC to drip feed people classic games to keep them on their crappy online subscription.

Oh well. Hopefully Nintendo goes back to how good they used to be.

[Mister_Wolf]

I love it when people complain that switch doesn't have Netflix and similar features like that. Trust me, I own a Switch, I am glad it is a pure gaming device. You have apps on your phone's.

[PhoenixUp]

How long do they expect people to be content with just NES games?

[BadElf]

Considering? Been expecting Gamecube section, since before the Switch released. Nes-Gamecube.

Silly me for thinking that I suppose.

[CrimsonWing69]

Geezus why is this even a thing to consider!? We’re they planning on just leaving the library as NES games only? Nintendo has some massive brain farts, sometimes!

[RizBiz]

What a novel idea! Why hadn't anyone else ever thought of that before?!

[Knightofelemia]

Should have looked beyond the NES along time ago

[Spikeantestor]

I'd have assumed they'd ALREADY considered it and decided on something. I mean come on. It doesn't have to be something SOON, just have a plan!

[PlatinumGX]

Lmao Nintendo is such a joke nowadays, so mediocre and lazy.

[TheColbertinator]

Hurry up then

[donotbeupset]

Oh gee wizz, is the player count for your online service not to your expectations, Mr. Furukawa?
Did you think the only people that paid for the online service were looking to play NES games? It's welcome, sure. But since the Wii U, we've been itching for the return of the VC, with a console like the Switch capable of running all of the companie's previous consoles (thanks to hackers), you'd think we could get something more worthwhile.
There's 10 million subscribers to the service, I'll bet less than %10 of those play the games on the service on a monthly basis.
I hate it now more than ever considering I can't save a 2 player game of SMB3 and return to it again with my friend and pick up where we left off because the game doesn't recognize a 2nd controller regardless of controller.

[Positivelypositive]

It's a sad selection indeed and NES games are better with nostalgia but playing many of them in this age is a chore. I hope Nintendo does this all the way up to the Wii.

[execution17]

How about revamp that App so I can add funds and buy games or dlc from it and at least text messaging so I can actually ask people on my friends list if they want to play something

[Rekkr]

Nintendo prices are loco compared to Sony & Microsoft. Nintendo fans must love playing those rehashed Mario & Zelda adventures for a new price. Spider-Man came out for PS4 last September & now you can get for as low as $19.99, Mario Odyssey & Breath of the wild came out two years ago & they’re still $59.99. SMH. Nintendo online is just garbage, it should be free for what they give you.

[bamillington]

Good coz there NES games are trash

[Indigon]

That they are considering it is a bad joke. They should already have done so.

[william_cade]

Feel bad for those that got suckered into buying one of these. it's worth half the price.

[GrizToof]

Is this something they had to consider? Thought this was a no brainer. Not only should they have already gone way beyond the NES, the library of games should be triple the size its at currently. It's a subscription service, it's not like there giving away free games. The more games they offer the more likely people will spend money on Nintendo online service which at its current state is not good enough even at its current price point.

[Bleucrunch]

SMH, Nintendo a bunch of bullshit artist if you ask me. You truly pay for what you get, you pay 60 bucks to get live and PSN and they try their best (no good enough) to justify the price with the extras you get (although paying to play games online is one of the biggest scams in gaming history)

Nintendo offers a whopping $20 a year for their online and the proof is in what you get, SUB PAR EVERYTHING. So now Nintendo is considering offering more to the switch library outside of NES, what are they going to do charge us more yearly for access to games that came out already?

GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK!!!! Online was NEVER something Nintendo could figure out, with their entire workforce and all the resources at their disposal, they STILL cannot figure out how to make online work like it is supposed to....They are getting too much praise for mediocre shit...Its really insulting but these casual gamers are just part of the idiots that are born everyday.