Officially Lame: Nintendo Switch Will Be Launching Sans Virtual Console

You heard that right, duders. The Nintendo Switch went from launching with no information about the Virtual Console to straight up launching with no virtual console at all. Nintendo finally confirmed that Virtual Console will, obviously, be on the Nintendo Switch...they just apparently don't know when?

At Kotaku:

“Virtual Console games will not be available on Nintendo Switch at launch,” the company said in a press release. “We will share more information in the future.”

To claim that this is disappointing may be an understatement. I feel as though every time I get some optimism about Nintendo they go and screw the pooch. This entire launch reminds me of the Playstation 3 except that I had optimism going into the launch then.

So, what is the over/under on Nintendo releasing an ambassador program like they did with the 3DS? I fully expect there to be something related to that. I suppose this is all just a minor speed bump if they do release VC on the Switch and it is what we've wanted all along. Nintendo did confirm that any balance you have on your account will transfer and be useable on the Switch's Nintendo Shop. You know, in case you really wanted to waste money on a digital copy of 1-2-Switch.

Thoughts? I personally went from, "Nah, I'm not going to cancel my (fully paid for) preorder because they will probably do something with the VC" to "Is this literally a Zelda machine now?"

Is it really that important to buy another copy of Super Mario World?

Nintendo certainly has their on the pulse of the video gaming industry.

@bobeta: With the Switch's horrible line up they needed everything they could squeeze out.

@bobeta: In all honesty, it was important to see if they let me transfer the copy I already own. Also, like @takayamasama said they needed something to round this system out so it is not just 3+ year old games and Zelda.

So is this why they haven't really said anything about the online component of Switch going forward despite the console launching in a week?

I'm hoping this means they're working on some sort of meaningful change to their established system. Let my nintendo ID give me free reign over where i play my VC games finally! Until we get some clarity this is just another reason I wont be buying a switch.

I assume/hope they'll have the VC and similar figured out by the time they launch their subscription model.

More concerning to me right now here in my weird country is the fact that a Switch with Zelda (540.48usd) costs more than a PS4 Pro (480.42usd) with 1 game. My pre-order is locked in for sure but I can't make the argument that anyone else should buy the Switch at this ludicrous price unless they already own a PS4/pro.

@geirr: is that true? Ps4 Pro is $400 + 2 $59.99 games (not counting used/discounted) and Switch is $300 with, mostly, $50-50 games.

Sorry, I updated my post for better fact checking and calculations. Switch + Zelda is 540usd and PS4 Pro + 1 game is 480usd.

I should also add this is Norwegian pricing which is always crazy, but this time it's a little extra crazy.

Thats crazy! Even stateside though, if you factor in the insane price of their controllers, the basically mandatory massive sd card you'd need, and some sort of carrying case/screen protector, this thing ain't cheap. As someone that thinks Zelda looks......overly westernized and with Mario not out until winter, I have absolutely no need for this fancy new thing. Someone tell me how the HD rumble is...

I've tried to justify the idea of "HD rumble" to something more than "feel my 4 balls" and it could be a little cool if say, you're in water and it could simulate splashes or waves or currents. Also, say, some spoopy game could send vibrations similar to little bugs crawling across your skin (only the inside of your palm.) OR maybe like a "VR rumble Surround rumble". It'll somehow convey rumbling behind you, or.. something. I don't know but it could maybe surprise some of us a little.

It would be nice to have those games on a good portable with a nice big screen. I was really looking forward to VC for the Switch for that reason. There was also talk of Gamecube games coming to the Switch and Luigi's Mansion and Mario Sunshine would have been fun games to return to during the long, long, long, dry periods between Nintendo games I actually want to play (So not Arms.)

They are adding Shovel Knight (which is obviously a great game but which everyone has played, though they have a limited exclusivity on Spectre of Torment) and Fast Racing RMX, which seems cool, but it's still a small lineup that Virtual Console could have bolstered.

Perhaps more importantly it shows just how much Nintendo does not have its shit together with this console, which was announced like 18 months ago and which they shut down all development on the Wii U and most on the 3DS to prep. Having virtual console (which is just emulators) up and running on a machine this powerful should be trivial for a software company like Nintendo. Microsoft is doing Xbox 360 emulation on the Xbox One! The original Wii had virtual console at launch in 2006! That's 11 years ago. There are people who were 7 years old when the Wii launched who are now in college.

Technology and expectations have marched on in those intervening years, but not for Nintendo. Instead Nintendo is putting Harvest Moon 64 on the Wii U this week.

Oh well, at least the game where you flap your mouth at an IR camera pretending to eat a sandwich will be ready to go when the system is. We've always got the sandwich eating game!

This.

They won't.

There we go! Thread solved.

@bobeta: I for one, who virtually did not buy any virtual console games (pun intended) because of the purchases being tied to the console instead of the account, actually wanted to start building a little virtual collection on the Switch now that that nonsense is gone... So yeah, I'm definitely a little bummed about that.

I mean it's not the end of the world or anything, since it's coming eventually, but still not great.

Virtual Console could have been such a slam dunk but this is just another moment of it being a let down.

I've pre-ordered and I'm keeping my Switch cuz Nintendo but multiple bits of information just scream that this thing isn't ready and being rushed out the door, I'm just curious why. Are they not including expected things like Netflix and Virtual console (and more than 5 games, hah) because they didn't want to release in the more competitive holiday season against new games and Scorpio? That would be the obvious reason in my mind but again I'd really love to know straight from the source (which we'll obviously never hear) rather than people's personal opinions on Nintendo's rational.
*shrug*

Buying a Switch is going to be great when they actually finish developing it and bundle it with Super Mario Odyssey after it gets delayed to early January 2018. I'm not claiming I'm some sort of oracle here but c'mon, you know how this shit works by now.

@bollard: Oh, is this that biting "internet wit" I've heard so much about? ;)

@doctordonkey I fully expect them to do what they did with the 3DS and do another ambassador program for anyone who has a linked account before a certain date. I would certainly hope the virtual console stuff isn't delayed for 5-6 months...

What about new customers who haven't bought previous copies on previous hardware? Instead of 8 games they could've launched with the VC and touted the biggest available collection of games of any launch platform. Instead they did a Nintendo - and people are already excusing it as a Nintendo.

Man, this seems like an eff'd up launch. You know I haven't seen a single commercial for this thing, despite it being out in little over a week? Not on TV, not online. Pretty much the only reason I know of its existence is that I'm active on gaming websites. If I were just Joe Blow on the street, I think I would have zero idea that the Switch exists.

I'm starting to think at this point that Nintendo is run by Japanese Two-Face. All the decisions getting made are so completely random. Should we package in a game? I dunno, let's flip a coin! Virtual console at launch? Coin came up tails, I guess not. Hey, maybe we should market our new console? Oh, look, tails again! Guess we better can that ad campaign.

So not only is it launching with very few new games, it's also launching with very few old games? Tragic...

If Virtual Console is a thing anybody cares about enough (really?) then why buy a Switch anyway? The Wii U has all the old games on it that Switch is going. The same argument could be made for the whole bloody thing, to be fair. The whole Switch launch seems like a puddle of afterbirth anyway, they needed to launch with that new Mario to make it at all worthwhile. Or anything new that didn't render the console effectively a way more expensive copy of the new Zelda.

It seems like the launch is being rushed just to get Zelda out, so much about it seems unready. Virtual Console doesn't have much value to me at this point though if they are just going to release the same games in the same drip-fed manner they usually are.

I'm not sure Nintendo has enough inventory to bother. At least here in Canada, the pre-orders have sold out in minutes when they went up and have stayed sold out. Either the demand is really high (I doubt it) or Nintendo is not making enough of these things so they don't end up potentially sitting on stock.

I don't think lack of VC is too big of a deal. However, I don't understand why they feel the need to rush this launch. To get it out before the fiscal year ends? It feels that way with the little marketing, lack of new games, no virtual console, filling launch titles with old ports. I understand that the die hards will get this system day one, but that's not who Nintendo needs to win over for this thing to be successful.

@thewildcard: Virtual Console will support Gamecube games as well as other consoles so it won't be the same but obviously some of the same games will wind up on there.

man do people like to whine about the switch ...all i need is kameo and perfect dark zero and im happy (sarcasm of course)

no wait on second thought im too busy playing knack to give a damn about a switch anyway...

Yeah, but in all fairness, there was a Nintendo Switch commercial during the Super Bowl. Furthermore a number of my friends who barely play games and definitely don't read gaming websites seemed to know about the Switch and what its features were. I know that's anecdotal, but it seems like there is awareness of it.

I wonder why consumers keep letting Nintendo get away with their shoddy planning, limited hardware, and sparse libraries? I realize Mario and Zelda are fun, but come on. Eventually this company should be expected to do a little bit more other than put out overpriced, last generation hardware and come out with a handful of decent games a year.

This, pretty much. VC stuff would have been a sell point for me - or at least would have made me consider a purchase - because Nintendo's back catalogue is awesome and I've never dipped my toes much into the VC stuff. But now I'm especially glad I held off on a pre-order. Between one of the weaker launch lineups of all time and stuf like their general unpreparedness to embrace the modern era of games, I'm willing to wait a year or two down the line to pick up a Switch, if I do at all. I'm tired of gimmicks and overpriced accessories. Let's get Nintendo where they belong - making games for better consoles and out of the hardware business altogether.

@sammo21: from what i read about the switch you kinda need to do a new account or something about the names was said not 100% sure though here http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/02/21/you-can-claim-your-nintendo-switch-username-now

@darkvare: No, you don't. They literally opened it up for making your current ID open for Switch if you didn't already have one. You log into your existing Nintendo account simply set ID from the main page. You can do it already (though it requires, at least, a 6 character length ID).

is it really that important day one for a virtual console on that thing? Let it breathe and when its released let nintendo set the pace

Was anyone dying to get their hands on this hot new tech so they could download old games?

@hippie_genocide: I think seeing how people whine over backwards compatibility every time something comes up, you should be aware of people's feelings on that by now. I will say I was excited for the Gamecube VC stuff and playing a large library of available games in a portable fashion, legally.

The fact that there is really only one game people want to play on the console, there is no backwards compatibility, and there is no Virtual Console (which is honestly a big deal for Nintendo people) is a big deal especially when there is no ETA on when to expect that stuff.

Hey now, I didn't say this is a good thing. Just that I can't understand the fervor about getting to buy old games... again. Besides, even if the Switch had VC at launch it'd still be a weak offering.

Also, for what it's worth, when they do eventually add VC, I wouldn't get your hopes up on them suddenly having a huge collection of games. It'll come in drips and drabs as always, since they'll need to do custom work to get it on the new hardware.

@franstone: I feel like the problem is that if they didn't get the Switch out now they would have nothing out on any of their other systems for another full year. That has been the case for the Wii U since September 2015 so going so long without any new products would basically throw them into obscurity. With that said, yes this looks like a similar case to the 3DS and will probably follow the same pattern.

It's disappointing and clear that Nintendo is trying to get the Switch out as soon as possible. But this will probably pay off for them, as it did with the 3DS. The Wii U's robust launch didn't help it. Getting that thing out in March is essential for Nintendo for this thing to work. Unfortunately that means this.

@excast: But their libraries aren't sparse, unless you're only looking for Mario and Zelda. Also it's a bit unfair to criticise the hardware for being limited when his is mobile hardware. I wish this thing was more fully featured and had a better online strategy. I'm not just going to zealously defend this thing, but I don't think the hardware or the games is the issue.

Fuck.

Dammit Nintendo, you totally learned the wrong lesson from PS4's and the Mini Nintendo Classic's success.

As much as I don't have strong feelings about the VC one way or another, Nintendo not having it ready for the launch of it's new console while also not saying anything about what their plans are for it beyond the weird PS+ style subscription service stuff is kind of a bad look early on.

Love it or hate it, we already know and expect the virtual console to be a part of any new Nintendo console so this just couples with some of the other weirdness going on right now in a way that might make people a bit suspicious. No doubt they will add it in fairly soon, and maybe it'll be better than ever. But right now, leading up to launch, there is reason to wonder.

I'm not getting one at launch anyway so this hardly bothers me if I'm being honest (mostly because Nintendo fails to surprise me at this point...), but this whole thing does seem like it's being launch somewhat prematurely.

@sparky_buzzsaw: I also just want to say, this would be awful for Nintendo and the industry. The handheld market would just die, for one thing. Additionally Nintendo would not make games like they do now because they would not need to drive hardware purchases. They also would not have the same funding to do so because they do earn money on all their systems, including the Wii U despite it selling poorly. Do we really want Nintendo to turn into Sega? Either way, they should be doubling down on the handheld market since they basically are that section of the industry at this point.

I'm not surprised. I also won't be surprised if they just make you re-buy all your games; they've been stingy with all the pricing so far when it comes to this system.

It does beg the question. What the frick have they been doing for the past few years?

Virtual console games have value on the move. Especially those with 2 player w/ the joycons. It just baffles me the 2 things I thought would see a hybrid console to joe average (the classic games and multiplayer mario kart at work/uni) aren't even there at launch.

I understand why people like the VC and while I would absolutely rather have it be there at launch, I don't really care. I didn't buy the Switch to play old games and I think that if you're looking at this thinking "now I'm going to cancel my preorder" then you probably shouldn't be buying the Switch at launch regardless.

This is how I feel. I'm keeping my Wii U that has some VC games but honestly Virtual Console has been fucking awful from the get-go when you take into consideration how much of a rip-off their pricing scheme is and limiting them to the console or handheld you bought the games on. It's fucking stupid.

Hopefully (but I know they won't) Nintendo takes that time to realize they could offer something incredible by introducing a subscription service to access all their old games or to give away some each month but tie it to the online membership like PS Plus and XBL.

I find it ridiculous that people would be upset by that news.

At least its been somewhat confirmed that when you buy a game on VC it's going o be linked to your account and not the device. That's all I really cared about with regards to VC and the Switch.

@excast: While I understand what you're saying and for the most part, I agree with the sentiment I think it's just comes down to opinion. I think that while there are definitely exceptions, Nintendo make incredible games that are so good they overshadow the company's faults. However, I'm a lunatic who bought a Wii U on launch day and never once regretted it.

There are so many faults with that system but it has some of my favourite games of the last 10 years on it.

I think the problem is that this is just the latest in a string of news stories that just dampens any hype I could have.

• The long wait for any actual details between the rumours and after the actual announcement five months before launch.
• Nintendo's online strategy: a free trial period at launch (for some countries...), followed by a paid subscription in late 2017.
• The app, which may or may not be required for voice chat, party invites, or even managing friends lists.
• The subscription service, in which you can play a classic NES or SNES game for a month.
• That launch lineup.
• Nintendo's ongoing troubles with third party developers.
• Reports of the left Joycon controller randomly desyncing or lagging.

Remember, this is Nintendo's third console in the modern, online era. There's something to be said in favour of Nintendo's innovations in the last few generations, but the lack of continuity and consistency in Nintendo's consoles and services just makes me wonder if they're just insane.