With Nintendo Switch 2 On The Horizon, Abandoning The Virtual Console Isn’t The Switch’s Only Failure

After years of waiting and speculation, the Nintendo Switch 2 was finally announced last month, although its short teaser raised even more questions than answers about the Switch's successor. While fans will have to wait until early April to find out more about the new console, if the rumors are true, the Switch 2 could be another massive success for both Nintendo and their players. Despite looking nearly identical to the original Switch aside from the redesigned controllers, there's still plenty of hope the Switch 2 can improve on the failings of the original console.

While the Switch has been praised over the years for innovating the mobile console market and offering a great selection of games, the console is still far from perfect. One of the biggest areas of disappointment was the Switch 2's lack of customization and backward compatibility, which could have easily elevated the system to even greater heights. Even if it's unlikely Nintendo will completely change its recent business or pricing strategies, the Switch 2 is the perfect chance to improve on the Switch's biggest shortcomings.

Nintendo Selects Haven’t Come Back For The Switch

One Of The Many Features That Never Made It To The New Console

Unfortunately for Nintendo fans hoping to take advantage of bargain discounts, the Nintendo Select program seemed to die off with the release of the Switch, with the last wave ending in 2019. The Nintendo Select program was a fantastic way to get a quality discount on some of the best first-party Nintendo titles, similar to Sony's Greatest Hits and Microsoft's Platinum Hits branding.

With the Nintendo Selects tag decreasing the price of games like Ocarina of Time, Animal Crossing New Leaf, or Super Mario 3D Land from $49.99 to $19.99, Nintendo Selects were a great way to build up a library of quality games at a drastically lowered cost.

Given that it's been years since any releases were made for the program, it's clear the Nintendo Selects discounts won't be coming back anytime soon. Even if most Nintendo games tend to be highly polished experiences with few to no microtransactions, players still have to pay the full price for most first-party games, even smaller-scale ones like Mario Tennis Aces.

While it's nice to know that Nintendo games will continue to hold value over time, unlike its competitors, it's hard not to be frustrated that Nintendo has offered so few options to provide more affordability for players after nearly a decade of new games, aside from limited-time sales or bundles.

Nintendo Games Are Expensive, Especially For Kids

Making It Hard To Justify Buying New Games

Even if the cost of Nintendo Selects would still be higher if Nintendo Selects were around today solely due to inflation and modern gaming prices, it still would have been a great way to celebrate the best Switch titles. Given that Nintendo has strived to create memorable gaming experiences for all ages, kids can suffer the most from the lack of budget options, making it even harder to justify buying new games for parents.

While Ninitendo's Holiday sales can be a good way to reliably find discounts for most games, it struggles to compete with the often astronomically lower prices on other game stores, especially Steam.

With gaming seemingly getting all the more expensive each year, bringing back the Nintendo Selects program would be a fantastic way to give a competitive edge to the Switch 2, helping it stand apart in the expanded handheld console market. The Nintendo Selects program would also be a fantastic excuse for Nintendo to re-release some of the best Switch titles for the Switch 2, giving fans more incentive to make the upgrade.

Selects & Virtual Console Offered More Accessibility

An Expanded Library Would Have Been Great For The Switch

Nintendo Selects wasn't the only accessible program abandoned by the Switch, as the concept of a Virtual Console was drastically changed with the Switch. Rather than having the ability to emulate older games individually from past consoles, the Switch opted for an online subscription service that offered a curated selection of retro titles. While the program sounded like a great addition at first, it faced plenty of criticism for missing countless beloved titles from the N64 while being much more expensive.

With the success of the Virtual Console on previous Nintendo systems, it seems like Nintendo is wasting a massive opportunity by not including the Virtual Console on the Switch.

The idea of being able to play all the best Nintendo titles anywhere players went seemed like a surefire direction for the Switch, but after nearly a decade, the features are drastically underdeveloped. Some games were even improved on their emulated counterparts in the past, adding new Virtual Console functionality that took advantage of modern hardware for a much smoother gameplay experience while adding new features.

Given that the Switch 2 has already been confirmed to continue the same Nintendo Switch Online model as the Switch, it will likely still suffer from the same fatal flaws as its predecessor. While the news is disheartening for the prospect of Nintendo adding some much-needed accessibility, a new console with the Switch 2 could be the perfect chance to bring back the Virtual Console or Nintendo Selects program in addition to their current offerings.