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Nintendo Switch fans could see the Nintendo Switch Online service get a major update this month. Rumour has it the House of Mario could be looking to majorly shake-up the selection of retro games on offer with Switch Online. When NSO first launched back in September 2018 it arrived with a library original NES games that subscribers could play, with this selection of 8-Bit gems getting added to over time.
A year after Switch Online launched the service saw a library of SNES games added in September 2019, which again has steadily been built up.
Currently, there are over 90 SNES and NES games that can be played via Switch Online.
It had been thought, judging by Ninty’s NSO release schedule, that Switch Online could have got another update last September which added N64 games.
However, 2020 came and went without another console getting added to the retro gaming library in Switch Online.
September last year, instead, saw Super Mario 3D All Stars launch – a limited-time release which included classic Mario games from the N64, GameCube and Wii eras.
Super Mario 3D All Stars was only available as a digital and physical purchase until the end of March 2021.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars teased by Nintendo in trailer
Now this cut off date has been and gone, you can’t get this collection of classic Mario games.
But Switch fans may have found out another way Nintendo are planning to satisfy that retro gaming itch.
As detailed in a post on Reddit, rumour has it that in April Nintendo could be launching a Virtual Console style service to Switch Online.
This NSO update is being tipped by a ResetEra user who correctly predicted things about the last Nintendo Direct, as well as revealing details about the unannounced Switch Pro revision which multiple media outlets went on to report on as well.
The ResetEra user has teased that the big Nintendo Switch Online update will see games from multiple consoles added to the service.
It’s been speculated that the NSO revision will take advantage of the N64, GameCube and Wii emulators created for Super Mario 3D All Stars.
And that the big NSO shake-up will reportedly see some legacy content get monetised via a new Virtual Console-type service.
It’s been speculated that a reveal of the Nintendo Switch Online revision will happen in April, with an announcement possibly happening as early as the first week in the month.
Rounding up the rumours, one Redditor posted: “A user on ResetEra who uses a lot of winking emojis and has correctly predicted some things about the last Direct and some things about the Switch revision coming up which have been confirmed by multiple media outlets now is implying that a big NSO update is coming, sometime in the next few weeks.
“So what’s new? Today he doubles down that the NSO thing is legit, although the exact date (I believe his first prediction was next week) may change but if it does not by much. Implies it’s games from multiple hardware coming to NSO. Says the NSO rumour will end ‘really good'”.
While in a previous thread about these claims another Reddit user added: “NSO will be revamped in the new Nintendo Fiscal Year, likely April. This will include leveraging the N64, GC, and Wii emulators created for Super Mario 3D All Stars Collection to monetise some legacy content Nintendo is not willing to give away for free. This may include the return of the 3D All Stars games and Fire Emblem localisation that are timed release for now. Any other updates about NSO (e.g. new pricing tiers, new console additions, etc. remain to be seen but might also be announced during this time).”
As always with rumours, it’s best to take rumours with a big pinch of salt until official confirmation.
But the prospect of a Virtual Console return, along with being able to play Nintendo games from a whole host of eras on the Switch, is a mouth watering prospect.
Being able to revisit N64, GameCube and Wii games (fingers crossed for Wii Sports) on the Switch is an announcement that would surely go down a treat with fans.
But besides home consoles, we’re holding out hope that classic handheld games could also make their way to a new Switch Virtual Console or to Switch Online.
Nintendo fans would surely love the chance to replay games from the Gameboy, DS et al on the Switch while getting the opportunity to play Virtual Boy games is a wishlist pick for us.
And there’s reason to think some Nintendo handheld games could soon be playable on the Switch.
In the run-up to Zelda 35th Anniversary in February Nintendo filed a trademark for DS classic Phantom Hourglass.
It seems a bit curious for Nintendo to suddenly trademark a game released back in 2007, so fingers crossed this is a sign that the almost too-good-to-be-true Switch Online rumours do turn out to be a reality.
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