"You never are!"
I know, I know. But, if you know me, you know that I'm very hard to impress when it comes to Nintendo. I just hold them in such higher regard than the other companies, I expect more from them. Before we talk about why I'm unhappy, let's first talk about the SNES games that arrived on the Switch just a couple days ago. They are:
- Super Mario Kart
- Kirby’s Dream Course
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- F-Zero
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Super Mario World
- Star Fox
- Stunt Race FX
- Super Metroid
- Kirby’s Dream Land 3
- Pilotwings
- Super Soccer
- Super Tennis
- Brawl Brothers
- Demon’s Crest
- Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics
- Super E.D.F. Earth Defense Force
- Super Puyo Puyo 2
- Breath of Fire
- Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts
As you can see, that's a pretty solid list. There are plenty of iconic heavy hitters such as Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World 1 and 2, Link to the Past, Star Fox, Super Metroid, etc. One such gem is Breath of Fire, one of my favorite RPGs, and I have to find some time to play through it again. But well, most of the games could also be found on the SNES Classic, and that leads up to why I'm a bit unhappy with the SNES games on Switch. So here goes.
Even though a smattering of SNES games are now available for Switch's online service, it STILL is not worth the trade off of not having a proper Virtual Console. My main problem with these NES and SNES games is that they're being drip fed again, just like how Virtual Console first started out, but oh, what's this? Nintendo isn't even doing monthly releases anymore! We have no idea when to expect more NES and SNES games! What we will get if Nintendo ever decides to release more games for it? More stinkers like Clu Clu Land and Kung Fu Heroes?
The Virtual Console honestly should have been carried over to the Switch from day one. That's my main issue. The library would have been infinitely larger and would have spanned far more systems than just NES and SNES. Going to their new format, Nintendo has greatly reduced their software availability. Who knows if their Switch Online service will ever catch up to the Virtual Console.
But my other issue is something that I'm extremely passionate about: ownership. You do not own a single NES or SNES game on your Switch. For example, I have Super Dodge Ball on the Wii U, which I paid to own, and I have Super Dodge Ball on the Switch, which I have to pay a yearly fee in order to access. Does that make any sense to you? If you're like me, you like to collect games and along with collecting comes listing. Even though I have all these NES and SNES games on my Switch, I don't HAVE THEM have them; I don't own them. I can't list them in my collection. I may decide to not resubscribe next year, and then I lose access to all those games. Whatever was on my NES and SNES Classics, however, I do own. For keeps. Never have to check in online with Nintendo in order to regain access. Ownership, as it should be.
Yet, Nintendo doesn't want us to own these games for whatever reason. Nintendo loves money. They are so protective of their legacy software that they go out of their way to shut down Youtube channels and modders and fan makers. Yet, they don't want to sell us these games individually on the Switch, even if it means still charging 5 bucks for Clu Clu Land... I don't get it. Somewhere someone in Nintendo's accounting department realized that they'd make more money selling us games on Virtual Console than they would from charging people subs for access to them, yet there was someone higher up that shot them down.
I don't get it, Nintendo. You have charged us time and time again for these classics from the DS to the Wii U. You've packed them up in mini consoles and sold them to us again. Yet, you won't sell them to us on Switch. Why is that? We have money for you, Nintendo! Why won't you let us give it to you?
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to be able to play some of these SNES games on the Switch. For example, I remember having a lot of fun with Stunt Racer FX and that will probably be the first game that I take for a spin from the new service. But it still feels wrong. I'm playing a game that I don't actually own, and I'm very weird about that. I don't rent or borrow games because I simply just like to own. I guess it's just a very personal hobby to me.
So I'm not going to be like the rest of these Nintendo fans and get on my knees worshiping at Nintendo's feet whenever they decide to throw me a bone. I have expectations. I don't view Nintendo finally putting SNES games on the Switch as progress. I still see it as them going backward, and it's annoying to me that Nintendo fanboys don't ever take them to task on it. Instead of rebuilding their library, they should have continued to expand the one the Virtual Console had, and I want to be able to own those games instead of paying a yearly sub in order to have access to them. Not going to be happy when they bring N64 games to the Switch next year. Won't be happy when the GC games come in 2021, and that's only if we subscribe to the belief that they'll be adding a platform every year. I'll only be happy when a true and proper Virtual Console is released for the Switch where I can buy whatever I want and they can sit there on the Switch for the remainder of its life without having to check in every god damned week just to play them.
Seriously, you Nintendo fans that act like this are annoying as hell.
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