What do you think will happen to the NES / SNES games on Switch once NSO ends?

[Koopa con Carne]

As many of you know, subscribing to the NSO enables access to a library of NES and SNES games that you can play and complete and feel proud of yourself for completing them.

However, it's uncertain how these libraries will be handled upon the service's inevitable end, years from now. Making them outright unavailable would seem reckless considering some people put effort into completing those games. I'm a completionist as well and I'd be a bit bummed if my work in Yoshi's Island is ruined should they decide Yoshi's Island is not available anymore on this console.

It is true that the save data you acquire from these games is stored onto your console and becomes a separate thing from the games themselves, so as long as nothing happens to your Switch, your progress on them will remain there for a long time. However, they become practically unusable once the NES and SNES apps are made unavailable.

How do you think Nintendo should handle this whole situation? I would prefer if they released these apps as purchaseable products in a similar vein to game collections, which is unlikely since they would lose a ton of money on games they could sell individually.

 

[Guy Rocketram]

I think they should have a thing where you can purchase them after the service is over. However in all likely hood they'll probably just deleted it, making their games unplayable again.

 

[Blue]

Or just keep it on the switches Of anyone who bought the service

 

[Ray Trace]

They're going to become unavailable. Simple as that. Plenty of online-only DRM games were killed by this industry pulling the plug on their servers, that's how I'd imagine the same would go down.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Same was what happened when the servers for the Nintendo Wii eShop went down. You won't get to play them any more (though unlike eShop you still can play the games since their availability is not reliant on the online service). That's the danger of linking content to an online server; it's all dependent on how the server's mood swings and the server's life.

Making them outright unavailable would seem reckless considering some people put effort into completing those games. I'm a completionist as well and I'd be a bit bummed if my work in Yoshi's Island is ruined should they decide Yoshi's Island is not available anymore on this console.

It doesn't matter. It won't affect their profit margins. They'll just make you buy their games again. The current set up where they drip-feed their content and have constantly failed in giving people a retro games equivalent of a Netflix is working completely fine.

How do you think Nintendo should handle this whole situation? I would prefer if they released these apps as purchaseable products in a similar vein to game collections, which is unlikely since they would lose a ton of money on games they could sell individually.

Implement Virtual Console in the first place.

 

[fantanoice]

We'll get Switch Successor NSO and you'll have to wait for them to trickle down releases once again.

I'm a completionist as well and I'd be a bit bummed if my work in Yoshi's Island is ruined should they decide Yoshi's Island is not available anymore on this console.

If you want to control your save data then buy the game. You don't own anything on the NSO app. You're a slave to whatever Nintendo decides.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

We'll get Switch Successor NSO and you'll have to wait for them to trickle down releases once again.

and who knows if they'll charge even more after gamers decided that getting ripped off for $20 a year is acceptable, just as long as the gamers get their service

 

[Koopa con Carne]

i was tempted to pay for that service, i 've only used 7-day trials to access it. but now, not so much.

i'm starting to miss nintendo's bumbling Wii U days. free online, accessible internet browser, virtual console (even then they drip-fed games, i guess that's just nintendo).

 

[MiracleDinner]

well i'm getting all this on my wii u and if i ever decide to install homebrew i can make pc backups so that i can keep playing so long as i keep those safe.
i'll still get NSO though, because of online play especially for SMM2.

 

[Teedgee]

im not really interested in nso. i tried a few free trials and the only thing that i think makes it somewhat worth it is the classic games (i found it really hard to find a good level in mario maker 2 so i decided fuck it). i recently played and beat yoshi's island and kirby superstar thanks to these free trials (i really enjoyed them btw in case you were wondering). I would be pretty bummed if this feature was removed once nso ends, but i think that's what's most likely to happen. however, they could figure out another way, like making the classic games paid or something, but i highly doubt it.

 

[Noct]

I prefer collecting physical cartridges for this very reason, nothing sucks more than having all your progress hand-waved out of existence when the server inevitably goes down.

Something I think Nintendo should do is eventually bring back Virtual Console and include a feature where if your Nintendo account says you've already bought the game once on a previous console, you can download it for free on any future console and transfer your saves over if you want.

 

[Ray Trace]

I prefer collecting physical cartridges for this very reason, nothing sucks more than having all your progress hand-waved out of existence when the server inevitably goes down.

You say this but in this era with the competitor's consoles (not Nintendo for clarification, but PS4 for example), all they serve is a download code rather than have the game's contents in it

 

[Lin Beifong]

They will do a happy little jig after lining their underwear with all the money they got from selling customers their own internet connections they already paid for to their internet providers. Then Nintendo will pull the plug, take down the games, and pretend they never existed while distracting you with the next shiny new thing.

This will work and nobody will get angry at them because Nintendo can do no wrong.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Something I think Nintendo should do is eventually bring back Virtual Console and include a feature where if your Nintendo account says you've already bought the game once on a previous console, you can download it for free on any future console and transfer your saves over if you want.

they should've since the wii days but they want you to keep buying the same games again, again, again

at least if you pirate it you keep it and even can play the thing on your homebrew Switch, phone, or raspberry pi; just need a program to play them. not sayin' you should pirate but if you do piracy you CAN do this. again, saying that piracy isn't morally good it is illegal and no one should ever ever do it ever and you should be ashamed to pirate. you wouldn't download a car.

 

[Lin Beifong]

Actually, pirate is a perfectly valid class, you get to dual-wield axes, and yo ho sign me the fuck up. Full endorsement from me. Let's embrace a life of freedom upon the waves where none can harm us or sell us subscriptions and live services.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

YARHAR. YA BE PIRATES. Software rated "industry standard", likely by "industry", itself be a drain on ye booty and be subscription based and online-only (adobe, thank you for plundering substance painter). Pirates be equipping vpn to stay safe at the seven seas.

 

[Noct]

Actually, pirate is a perfectly valid class, you get to dual-wield axes, and yo ho sign me the [bleep] up. Full endorsement from me. Let's embrace a life of freedom upon the waves where none can harm us or sell us subscriptions and live services.

Spoiler: Shiver me timbers

 

[Dr. Peach]

I don't think Nintendo will ditch the service. It will stay like Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus. The idea of ditching Virtual Console was a bad move to be honest. Nintendo should have kept the service and have the Switch Online have free NES and SNES Virtual Console trials. Virtual Console was much better than the Netflix like service that they're offering now. I get to keep the games without renewing my subscription. I'd pay for cloud saves any day yes, but for some old games, nah. I like to keep my games forever.

 

[The Green Knight]

Nintendo should make a 'game vault' like the 'Disney Vault' where they keep all the games. Im sure you would be charged to play them unless Nintendo saved the games until the next console.
In that point of view, I think that all the games will still be available, because Virtual Console still works for me, And besides that, Nintendo just can't resist making more money, they are bound to come up with another way to market the old games.