Where is Nintendo Switch's Virtual Console?
The honeymoon is beginning to feel like it's over. Don't get me wrong, I love my Nintendo Switch and I'm excited for its future, but with my time in Zelda winding down, it's becoming more obvious that there just isn't that much to play on the console. I have a few Switch games and I've been enjoying my time with all of them, but nothing aside from Breath of the Wild strikes me as something I must spend my time on when I have a gaming PC and a PS4 calling me back.
It occurs to me that a Virtual Console on the Switch could change all of this. It's true that new consoles will always be plagued by a relative lack of games when compared to other platforms, but having a Virtual Console available at launch could have helped to soften the blow of a small launch library.
And yet, there is no Virtual Console to be found. There isn't even any talk of a Switch Virtual Console, outside of vague teases here and there. Why is that the case? It seems to me that Nintendo is missing out a huge opportunity by not having the Virtual Console active at launch.
Think about it for a second: even though I've bought all of these classic games on at least one other platform before, I'm ready to spend on them again. The Switch is the perfect platform for Virtual Console games because it would allow me to take the NES, SNES, and N64 games I loved as a kid everywhere I go. Being able to play Super Mario World or A Link to the Past where ever I wanted was the dream when I was 10 years old.
On top of that, Nintendo has it right where it should want me. I have a new console and I'm ready to buy games for it. I already have everything I want until Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes out at the end of April, and I'd love to have more options to the fill the space between now and then. Inexpensive Virtual Console games seem like a perfect fit.
READ MORE: Nintendo Switch review
The lack of a Virtual Console is another thing that suggests to me that the Switch's launch was rushed. It isn't as if the console is arriving in some poor state, mind you, but waiting until sometime like June would have been worth it if it meant that Nintendo's online systems would have been fleshed out a little more.
We don't even know if Nintendo is planning to release a Virtual Console for the Switch, but admittedly, its success on previous consoles means that it's almost a certainty. Why the delay then? Is Nintendo waiting until it fully launches its online system – monthly fee and all – to roll out the Virtual Console? That's a long time to wait and it seems like a bum deal to me.
Hopefully Nintendo gives us some more details soon. I'm quite happy with my Switch, but as I said in my review, Nintendo runs the risk of getting in the way of its success. Remaining so silent about when to expect things that have become critical components of Nintendo systems is one way to do that.