There’s always plenty of demand for classic Nintendo games, but with the Nintendo Switch, the company have taken a different route, shelving the notion of a range of Virtual Console games in favour of bundling NES titles and remixes into the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Now, dataminers have seemingly dug up mention of a range of SNES games that could be destined for the service, as well further emulators.
Here’s what KapuccinoHeck’s dig into the code revealed:
I was finally able to look around NES Online's strings a bit myself and noticed the sheer amount of SNES games planned.
Here's a list for you folks out there:#NintendoSwitch— Kapuccino (@nb_zeraora) January 13, 2019
Star Fox 2 (lol)
Super Punch-Out!!
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Super Mario All-Stars
Breath of Fire 2— Kapuccino (@nb_zeraora) January 13, 2019
While we should take this with a pinch of salt – Nintendo haven’t announced anything and these could easily be related to the company’s reuse of the NES mini emulator for Switch Online – that’s a hefty list of games that would add to the questionable appeal of Switch Online subscriptions.
However, it could easily go beyond just NES and SNES games, as fellow dataminer SnowmealDeal found mention of two more emulators. Kachikachi relates to the NES mini, Canoe to the SNES mini, but then Hiyoko and Count could pertain to later consoles. As much as we’d love for N64 and GameCube games to be dropped onto the system, Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance would be much more likely fodder for Switch Online.
I was looking through the NES Switch app with @KapuccinoHeck and @Simon1844. I found four emulator types:
Kachikachi (NES Classic)
Canoe (SNES Classic)
Hiyoko (???)
Count (???)This could mean there will be two new Classic consoles and/or three new consoles for Switch Online.
— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) January 13, 2019
What do you think is happening here? Are these remnants of code left in by Nintendo from other projects, or a sign of things to come? And would having SNES and Game Boy games on Switch Online change how you feel about the service?
ron_mcphatty
I really hope for Nintendo’s sake that they’re planning staggered emulation all the way up to GameCube. They’re already basing a large proportion of their big releases on the power of nostalgia, hoping that the Deluxe Wii U remakes lead to more love than annoyance. They really need to keep the punters happy and surely, surely SNES and GameBoy games are cheap to polish up and emulate?
Stefan L
I think it’s easy to dismiss the Switch for having too many remasters, but Nintendo are balancing them well against new games. So last year there was DKC Tropical Freeze, Captain Toad, Hyrule Warriors, and Bayonetta 2 re-released, but there was also Mario Tennis Aces, Super Mario Party, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Octopath Traveller and (obviously) Smash. They weren’t creating new series or making groundbreaking new shifts, but were fully fledged sequels that appeal to a broad mainstream audience. 2019’s got Yoshi, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokémon, Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, which will be one hell of a year if they all come together nicely. A few remasters in with that is great for people that missed them on Wii U.
But yes, for Switch Online, they do need to try and bring more value into it, and bringing SNES and Game Boy games into the mix shouldn’t be too difficult for them to do.
ron_mcphatty
Yeah I know why you mean, sorry I wasn’t dismissing the Switch for that reason, I used to have one and loved it but after Zelda and Splatoon has run their course I just had more games I wanted to play on my PS4. The remasters are fine, a totally understandable approach, but the console is approaching difficult third album time though it’s frustratinf to sit here willing Nintendo on and seeing them missing the mark as often as they hit it! I think they could do with bombarding us with ports of beloved oldies now, from as many generations as possible, and coming up with some sort of tiny pocket Switch as a PSP style DS replacement and proudly standing their ground. No more Steep style ports that don’t quite make it, that was a big waste of their time and money.