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Do you think the Switch Virtual Console delay is artificial?

M

MThanded

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
I can't help but think that maybe the delay associated with bringing the virtual console to the Switch is artificial. I like the idea of both the SNES and NES classic but the reality is I would far prefer a seriously comprehensive virtual console approach on the Switch. It is likely there would be less interest in these mini consoles if this existed.
 
absolutely. they have tons of games coming out, plus snes classic. they don't want to cannibalize. save it for a 'drought' and people will lap it up even more.
 
Sure. The fact they got the rights to the third party games for both Classics might mean they're trying to build up the virtual console's starting line up.
 
Ever since they announced that VC games would come with an online subscription I've assumed that they've been holding the service off until paid online launches.
 
We know they are, ever since the online play for older games was announced we've known some form of VC is coming sooner or later.
 
They wouldn’t have gotten the ok to put games like FF6 or Contra or Megaman X JUST for SNES Classic. Same for NES-C too. Pretty sure they’re just building up a library so they can have a steady flow of content once they’re ready to launch Virtual Console.

With that said I’d have expectations for a small starting line-up when it IS ready, but with a steady flow of releases.
 
Don’t think they ever gave a release date for them. Just promised Classics when the online launches.

They don’t need VC this year in any case.
Too many eShop titles
 
I think thats Nintendo's reasoning yes.

And its a bit weird since anyone could install a NES / SNES emulator on just about everything without any hassle. People dont want the Mini consoles because its the only place to play those games. They want them because they are cool little things. They would still be sold out everywhere even if the VC was on switch.
 
Zen_Arcade said:
Ever since they announced that VC games would come with an online subscription I've assumed that they've been holding the service off until paid online launches.
Click to expand...
We know VC is coming with the online service.

I don’t expect it sooner.

funkystudent said:
I think thats Nintendo's reasoning yes.

And its a bit weird since anyone could install a NES / SNES emulator on just about everything without any hassle. People dont want the Mini consoles because its the only place to play those games. They want them because they are cool little things. They would still be sold out everywhere even if the VC was on switch.
Click to expand...

I was listening to the quality control podcast on polygon and one of the journalists there was talking about how he tried to set up a raspberry pi emulator to replace the NES classic and completely failed at getting it to work properly. I suspect there are a large number of people who simply couldn’t manage to setup an emulator and would rather have one of the mini consoles for ease of use.
 
It wouldn't be the worst idea to just set up the Switch online sub as an EA Access sort of deal with their old content. I know they announced a rolling NES game thing, but they should just go all out with as much content as they can. People are happy to drop a one-off $80 for 21 SNES games, for example... they'll be more than happy to maintain a subscription for $240 a year (or thereabouts) for inroads into the Nintendo back catalogue across as much as they can put out.

They won't, obviously, but it wouldn't be the worst idea if they did.
 
I think people complained about barebones virtual console way too much now they want to wait to release lots of games from the start
 
Yazzees said:
Because of the classic consoles I'm starting to doubt VC on Switch is ever happening.
Click to expand...

This doesnt make a lot of sense from a business perspective since you leave a lot of money on the table from people buying digital titles at any time.
 
Lol fucking of course VC is going to happen. I have zero doubt and it's likely going to be the most successful it's ever been on the switch thanks to it's dual functionality. Just be patient.
 
Absolutely, insofar that Nintendo knows sales of the Classic line are boosted by the lack of an easy way to play the same games on an HDTV.
 
Without a bit of doubt.


They could have easily should the same Snes package of games on the Switch, but the wouldn't have gotten 99.99 for them.


I'm not sure that VC is a lock on the switch anymore, unless its GameCube and Wii.
 
Honestly wouldn't surprise me if it ends up being the game that you get every month with the online subscription (whenever that starts) and nothing more.
 
I mean

Of course lol. It's not like Nintendo doesn't have multiple fully compatible in-house and commissioned NES, SNES, N64, etc.. emulators on hand that they could quickly port and release basically their entire library through at any time. They have just chosen not to, for whatever reason. I'm not necessarily convince the Classic line as too much to do with it though, as the demand for those would still be there regardless. And it's not like there aren't hundreds of games that have been or could be on the VC that will never be released on a Classic box anyway.
 
Uh, how could it not be artificial? The licensing is there, see the Classic consoles, and it’s obviously powerful enough.
 
Yes, but I don't believe the NES and SNES Classic systems are the primary reason.

I posted this in another thread:

OrbitalBeard said:
I'm fairly convinced some form of classic games service is coming to the Switch. It seems pretty apparent to me that Nintendo chose not to prioritize it in 2017, as they likely wanted the eShop to become a healthy ecosystem for indies and third parties. Whether anyone on GAF wants to believe it or not, releasing a Virtual Console close to launch hurts third party developers. I'm a huge fan of indie games and buy tons of them and even I would purchase far less of them if VC were currently available. My guess is Nintendo wants to create a healthy environment for indies and other third parties on the eShop and once that is established, a VC-type service will launch.

VC seems to be less of a priority for Nintendo each generation.

It launched day one with Wii
It launched three months after the 3DS launch
It launched five months after the Wii U launch (though Nintendo did release a few VC titles prior to launch as a sort of "preview" for 30 cents per game)
It launched 13 months after New 3DS launched (SNES games)

Of course there's the possibility it's never coming (beyond the NES games you receive for subbing to the online service), but I'm not even remotely convinced enough time has passed since the launch of the Switch to believe this is a certainty. Heck, Nintendo could launch the service out of the blue sometime in 2019 or 2020 for all we know. They do completely random things like this often. No one expected New 3DS to get its own subset of a VC and after many, many years of nothing Pokemon-related on the 3DS VC (and after an extremely long period of zero VC releases on that system, period), Nintendo and Game Freak surprised everyone.
Click to expand...
 
There isn't going to be a VC. Killing it on Wii/Wii U is the first step in erasing it entirely. Whatever they release going forward will be a clean slate, and users will continue to pony up the money for the same old games again.
 
OrbitalBeard said:
Yes, but I don't believe the NES and SNES Classic systems are the primary reason.

I posted this in another thread:
Click to expand...

It's almost certainly this.

Something as odd as Snake Pass suddenly becomes much less appealing when you can get all of your old favorites for a similar price. But Switch users have now been conditioned to support indie games, and I don't think launching classic games at this point will dramatically change that behavior.
 
Fuck yes it is and fuck nintendo. They just want to sell us mini nes’s and mini snes’s and then sell them to us again on their virtual console. They are the grand masters of supply and demand.
 
It's fucking bonkers to me that I can't portably play the entire SNES and GBA libraries unless I hack a PSP or just emulate on my phone.

Goddammit, Nintendo. Here's to hoping they throw some GameCube, N64, DS, and 3DS games up on it whenever it actually happens.
 
Absolutely. They are just waiting until there is a period with no big games coming out to release it and make tons of money.
 
Honestly I'd easily take the classic consoles over their method of drip feeding out new VC games every week or two and taking years to add new formats.
 
I think so, enabling VC could cannibalize their SNES Classic sales toward Switch owners.

Better make them pay twice once VC hits in 2018. :lol
 
robotrock said:
there's literally an NES emulator on the system already
Click to expand...

And they told us they're bringing retro games to the system with the online service.

It's coming and they're either still working on it or they're just sitting on it, but given that we have actual proof of an actual emulator with an actual rom on the system...
 
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