Nintendo Switch Online Report Card 2024: Winners & Losers

[@priorwitness]

I'm just happy that you've turned NSO into an opportunity to show what reviewers thought of these games when they released. I really enjoy the series ☺️

[@cyberpunknut1099]

I was stoked for all of those mega man gameboy releases. Overall was happy with it. QOTD, It was better than expected, but I came in not expecting much.

[@Mer.Saloon]

I think we'll also get some other surprise base NSO System this year. Maybe Turbo-Grafx, Game Gear, or Master System.

[@DefunctGames]

Before the Switch 2?

[@pattersong6637]

@@DefunctGames Any of those systems could easily come to both Switch 1 and Switch 2. I'd be more bullish about the Turbografx/PC Engine given the rumors that Sega's looking to do their own thing with their back catalog and might not want to launch new NSO systems while Nintendo's always been close to Konami, who between their own library and Hudson's library have most of the big Turbografx titles. I think any new system more advanced than that, whether a Sega platform like Saturn or Dreamcast if they do agree (doubtful, but probably not impossible) or a Nintendo platform like DS or Gamecube/Wii, would be Switch 2 only, though. Providing NSO games for systems already on NSO is probably one of the easiest ways Nintendo has to keep "supporting" the Switch 1 for years down the line even once production of new games stops.

[@Mer.Saloon]

@@DefunctGames Maybe around the time. I think big system changes like that will come during the launch period. For now it's just going to be filling out the slots to get to magic 300.

[@Mer.Saloon]

@@pattersong6637 SEGA may want to still have their stuff coming to NSO since they still get a cut of the expansion pack we've been told. While they may get more from their own service, like Microsoft they may not be opposed to getting the cash from elsewhere.

[@poil8351]

not sure sega knows what they want to do with their catalogue at the moment they only recently admitted they have no how many ip's they own. I believe they suddenly discovered they own a lot more than they realised.

[@ArcadeIsMyLife1]

Scott Stiener:"The numbers don't lie! One carry the two equals me and Samoa Joe at Sacrifice!"

[@UndeadEggmiester]

Honestly, this was a pretty good year ever if they had some weird choices and moves.

[@Bored_Barbarian]

1:17 having this in reverse order hurts my brain. 😂 I was like “how is 28 bigger than 45 from last year”….

[@goranisacson2502]

This was indeed the year of Rare, and considering they still have games to go I'm looking forward to what the year might bring. Even if it's unlikely we go back to the peaks of one N64 game per month (almost) of 2022... honestly, that'd be something I'd be interested in, even if I doubt the information is publically available- what different teams are working on the different consoles have to say about their work schedules. Does the N64 team slow down according to Nintendo's own plans, or depending on their own schedules? From what I've heard the Mega Drive emulation is handled by M2, and that means they have to juggle both their own projects and Nintendo's NSO requests. Were they perhaps super-busy with something this past year and a half? What about patches- we hear constantly how N64 emulation has some niggle or another, some of which gets fixed and some which persist to this day like frame rate issues with F-Zero X. Who handles that? What can be expected from them? And speaking of SEGA, they really are the big myatery here. I feel somewhat confident that Capcom can be swayed to increase their output on the platform- while they do release classic game collections every now and then, they seem to mostly stick to their big-name titles and arcade games. Maybe we could see Magic Sword or Kings of Round SNES versions someday, even if they're already on Capcom's arcade collections? Konami feel like they're more willing to actually just release collections- I did NOT expect a Sparkster collection over a NSO release, for instance. And then there's SEGA... honestly, their one drop last year is the only thing that's got me thinking they won't just pull their NSO games completely in favor of their rumoured streaming service. If anything, I think it's very unlikely we'll see Game Gear / Master System / Saturn games for NSO when Sega could just do that for themselves. A possible drip-feed of Mega Drive titles is a possibility... to tell the truth, a part of me wonders if it'd be more likely we'd see more SEGA games for the GBA than Mega Drive, with maybe Sonic Advance or the Shining-games released for NSO GBA. But, that's all speculation. As for what will happen, we'll see what the companies consider profitable... I for one hold out hope for a DS for Switch 2, but we'll see. I am curious what games will come in the future for NES / SNES when it feels like a lot of Nintendo's own games, including the early jank stuff like Urban Champion, is already out. It's like, where can you go when that barrel-bottom stuff is taken care of?

[@rafresendenrafresenden.1644]

Pokemon mystery dungeon can easily give you hundred of hours of play time

[@DefunctGames]

I have nothing against Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I'm just saying that it's not the classic Pokemon game that people want.

[@AsherTheModder]

@@DefunctGames those are not coming cus they want you to only buy the newest ones.

[@DefunctGames]

@AsherTheModder Yes, I agree that this is their reasoning. As stupid as it is.

[@AsherTheModder]

@@DefunctGames yes indeed.

[@Phisherman10]

It’s crazy how little is on there still. Probably licensing hurts it a bit, but man… wish Virtual Console made a comeback

[@kitestar]

in my honest opinion, yes, 2024 was a bumper year for NSO as a whole, while i agree genesis/mega drive have been neglected i have a feeling SEGA might be up to something else, which WILL corelate with the delistings (steam being the platform hit the hardest with the _collection_ being in an ala cart model)

[@ryanvandenberg3119]

I think they will add Game Cube Games to the NSO service around the same time that the next system launches. I do not think we will see DS games though... I feel like having touch screen based games would be difficult to pull of on a system that is not primarily designed for touch screen...

[@DefunctGames]

Funny, I think we have the exact opposite opinion on this topic. I am 100% certain we'll get DS games, while I think there is basically no chance of GameCube. Nintendo has yet to include any CD or DVD-based system, so every game on the service is relatively small (in file size). If they are going to mine the GameCube, it's probably going to be as remasters and compilations.

[@avery-u1w]

I loved pmd red rescue team :(

[@Magic_Ice]

4:08 don’t diss my man dk jr math. Its multiplayer goes hard.

[@ZEKESPILLEDINKMUSIC]

Not to mention that Nintendo (finally) released a music app specifically designed for streaming their video game soundtracks for anyone who has an active NSO subscription. By the way, they just added the soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country 3.

[@HybridAngelZero]

NSO has been awesome in 2024. The Megaman Game Boy games, all the awesome Rareware stuff, and some personal faves that snuck in, too. Of course, my biggest source of bewilderment is the massive holes in the Game Boy library: Wario Land 1 and 2, the rest of the Game & Watch Galleries and most baffling of all the classic Pokemon games!

[@AsherTheModder]

classic pokemon is not coming cus they won't compete with themselves.

[@poil8351]

sega genesis actually did get an update this year. I guess they will just drip games out at a random rate. sega is kind of a weird company these days.

[@DefunctGames]

Hopefully it won't be another 500 days.

[@poil8351]

@DefunctGames proabbly November or December seems to be their preferred drop time frame for some reason.

[@gligarguy4010]

Last month Sega made quite the waves with a certain comment they made. If you missed it, they straight up declared "We are not a retro company". That probably is what led to the delisting of that Genesis collection. With an internal mantra like that, sadly I don't think the Genesis library will get that many updates in the future. Worse, no chance of Dreamcast joining in 😔

[@DefunctGames]

I'm not sure that is connected to the delisting, as Sega is still in the retro game business. There are rumors suggesting that they may flirt with a classic game service, perhaps similar to NSO. Plus, they've already announced a bunch of new games based on those retro titles, such as Golden Axe, Taxi Driver and Streets of Rage. I think that their declaration has more to do with wanting to be seen as a company on the cutting edge (like, say, Capcom or Sony or Nintendo) and not a relic from the past.

[@goranisacson2502]

​@@DefunctGames Agreed. Companies like Treasure, M2, Sunsoft and Natsume Atari (with the Tengo Project) are absolutely retro companies, their whole business is about digging up old IP's and remaking them in the same style as before but more polish. SEGA want to use their old IP's but in new ways- like how Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio are rumoured to be always-online titles, they're bringing old-school back but changing it up for modern audiences. Whether that fails or succeeds, they want their old stuff to be seen as new- not just old, but better.

[@byronlaw6491]

I totally forgot that Girls Aloud advertised the Nintendo DS. Very good year for the service. I do mostly play old games on the original hardware but like having them on here for the handheld nature.

[@pattersong6637]

Setting aside new systems (and I do think we'll get DS sooner rather than later, it's the most logical Nintendo system), my biggest hope for 2025 is more third party support from companies that have dipped their toes in but not turned on the floodgates. Konami and Capcom should both just start putting anything they don't intend to resell onto NSO. Capcom isn't selling Bionic Commando (NES or Game Boy versions) anywhere, why not throw them on NSO? Konami has tons of Bomberman games from its Hudson back catalogue that it could throw out. How about Castlevania N64 games (let's face it, NO one is buying a compilation of those) and Mega Man 64? Sunsoft's been pretty NSO-friendly, and Chameleon Twist 1 and 2 for N64 seems like a slam dunk. In terms of first party titles, the systems with the most obvious giant holes in their catalog are the GB(C) and GBA. People can scream about the N64 but in terms of first party that can actually be rereleased (sorry, Hey You Pikachu...given Switch 2 will have a mic maybe as a Switch 2 exclusive NSO release?), it's basically DK64 and Smash 64, and that's two games. By comparison, giant chunks of the Game Boy first party library are missing, from things like the original Wave Race (did you know Wave Race started on the Game Boy?), Kid Icarus, Balloon Kid (they love giving us Balloon Fight), Wario Land 1 and 3, and quite a few others. The GBA's missing first party titles are even more obvious (Fire Emblem Sacred Stones, Wario Land 4, Mario Tennis and Golf Advance, Mario Party Advance, etc).

[@WillyRosado]

You say 60 I’m going higher to say 80

[@DefunctGames]

I hope you're right!

[@WillyRosado]

@ I know right I’m hearing I could be wrong but Dreamcast mat be added as well as GameCube don’t quote me

[@JenMistress]

Considering that you are and still remain caught up with your showing old reviews for the games they add, hopefully they would only prove you wrong by adding 61 instead of 60. 😉 Anyways, as for the question, being a pure PC GamerGirl, many of those I play via ROMs and Emulators on the PC, don't have a Switch, but they do appear to be great games they added in 2024, so I'll say yay. And hopefully you have a fun and safe vacation.

[@JPD2587]

Love the channel and I’m happy Nintendo is releasing more games on the service…but this is the year they lost me to emulation. I don’t even look at the Switch for these classic games anymore. The Switch 2 needs to blow me away otherwise I’m just sticking with my Steamdeck.

[@priorwitness]

I'm with you. If they let me purchase the games and add some value to the games I'd purchase. But it's a glorified rental service. No thanks. I've got enough subscription services to pay for.