“Sega Ages” sounds like a great package for retro fans, but it might also signal the end of Virtual Console as gamers know it.
Nintendo's mid-noughties revolution feels so distant now, even if its impact hasn't really dimmed. The touch sensation of the DS led in its own way to the iOS revolution, the motion controls of the Wii helped reestablish video games in the living room and push them towards the mainstream, and the reverberations of both are felt to this day. There's another facet of its revolution that sadly never had the same impact, and now is set to finally fizzle away.
yet another part of gaming where the past was better than what we get in the present/future.
Streaming services have become really popular in the last decade. Are subscription and streaming services right for Videogames?
Nintendo Switch Online has replaced the Virtual Console but is the service up to the standard of previous Nintendo offerings? Furthermore, do subscription services like Xbox’s Game Pass and NSO really suit video games? This article explores these issues and looks back at the Virtual Console.
I really miss the VC, I don't want more subscriptions that I have to, I try to keep as few as possible.
VC is better imo. I got games like Super Metroid for like 30 cents. If NSO allowed you to play online with anybody then I would give it the edge.
While that's valid, though, that old social media meme 'why not both?' springs to mind. Why not have subscription options and a Virtual Console eShop? With NSO being multi-faceted in its offering, it seems unlikely that everyone would drop that subscription in a heartbeat in order to buy Super Mario Bros. for $5.
Because a yearly flow of money is better than people buying specifically what they want. If online was also not behind a paywall you'd be surprised just how many people would drop the sub. When you're only given one option there's not much of a choice.
No reason not to have both. Consumers would have the option of buying separately like PS+ and Game Pass owners can or have access to it all with a sub
Of course there's no reason, and Nintendo fans have been very vocal about virtual console being brought back. I think however that those who really have an issue with how Nintendo has handled classic games have stayed with emulation. I know the appeal of being able to buy instead of the free alternative. As I see it, it sends a message that there's still an audience for these games, but for whatever reason it may be it's not been made easy to the consumer.
Just another reason why modding your Switch can fix almost all of the flaws Nintendo purposefully created on their platform. Save file back ups being another reason. Nintendo is the only company that forces you to pay money in order to back up your save files, and it doesn't even work for all games. Talk about anti-consumer B.S.!
Because it was only successful on the Wii. Both the Wii U and 3DS VC offerings were no where as successful. It was time to move on from that service. More and more 3rd parties devs started supplying older games in other ways on the Switch so there's no need. Look at all the Capcom collections for instance. Even Konami got in on it. Same with Neo Geo or Atari collections. I could go on and on.
Worried about buying 5% of the Nintendo back catalogue all over again for the 4th time on a different device until it restarts on another? I think you are worrying about nothing, Kappa
But in all seriousness you should have probably given up on this concept already, seeing as they have not done this correctly multiple times already.
At some point it becomes no longer financially worth it to sell 30+ year old NES games and before anyone says it a subscription fee for access to a completely NES library is logistically, financially and legally impossible.
Best option right now is for them to sell compilations on cards.
Just how many times do Nintendrones want to buy the same game? Switch is already about 50% re-released games, and now people complain about now being able to pay for 25-30 year old games yet another time. Wow.
I fail to see how this means Nintendo can't release their old games their way. Sure, Sega's beating them to the punch, but once VC is released Nintendo could just move those games over there. This is hardly the first time Sega's topped Nintendo on Nintendo hardware. They actually somehow wrote a better emulator for their Game Gear than Nintendo wrote for their Gameboy and Gameboy Color games on the 3DS, and now they're somehow managing to port their games to the Switch before Nintendo can port their own games over. I think all that's really changing here is that third parties now have more freedom on how and when to port games to Nintendo's latest system and I think that's a good thing.