I can hear you already, “Oh great another opinion piece from Ben. Nothing we haven’t heard before!” Well if you would put your torches and pitchforks down for a hot second I think I’m on to something here. Now in the past I’ve written how Nintendo has been knocking it out of the park recently regarding their old school games. It may not be the BEST way to enjoy a vast library but having old school and classic games to play for free, if you’re a Nintendo Switch Online member, is still a step in the right direction. With this and the promise of Nintendo releasing more games for both the NES and SNES apps, there really is only one way to go.
Now you may remember back when the SNES Classic edition was released. So many people were championing either a SEGA mini to compete and restart the console wars of the early 90’s (Spoiler Alert , SEGA did and possibly did it better, but that’s an argument for another day) and rumors of a possible N64 Classic mini started to circulate. I would see people debate, yell at each other, and see some click bait articles on “The Best Games for the N64 Mini” for a good few weeks after the SNES mini came out. Well a few years have passed and it looks like Nintendo won’t be releasing a N64 mini, but here’s the thing. They don’t need to. It’s clear that Nintendo is going forward with their retro and classic games being available on their Switch apps, so the next logical conclusion (in my opinion) is that soon, we may hear about a new streaming app that will exclusively play N64 games.
Now I’m most likely NOT the first person to think that and this is purely me thinking about things that Nintendo should do to boost their system and their services popularity. After the release of all the current apps, a special wireless controller replicating the original controller would be sold to Nintendo Switch Online members exclusively. Imagine the amount of money Nintendo would make if the released the N64 controller with a N64 app? Granted the biggest problem facing Nintendo would be mapping the buttons like the C buttons and the solo Z button. They may have to constantly say that the games played on this N64 app can only be used with 2 Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller. Which is a bit of a drag since the NES and SNES games could be played with a single Joy-Con. Of course rereleasing a wireless N64 style controller (with a home and share button please) would solve a ton of problems and would get people who grew up with the system, like me, to shell out the money for one or multiple controllers.
Now logistics of controllers aside, the main draw to this imaginary app would of course be the games. What games would be available at launch and which ones would be added later on? Well of course you have the obvious classics like Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and possibly Star Fox 64. I would personally would love to see Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Snap, and Super Smash Bros. in the line up, especially Pokemon Stadium. Heck even now that Nintendo is rubbing elbows and playing nice with Microsoft and Rare Studios, we could see a return of games like Banjo-Kazooie on a Nintendo console. It’s a nice thought, especially for those whom have never played the game before and are scared of taking a risk on a open cart. Of course my usual argument for these apps is that the more time goes one, the more pricey these carts go for and the harder they are to find. I would be at my favorite used game store or collectible show and would see Mario Kart, Smash Bros., and Pokemon Stadium well above a $30 price tag, and thats just for the loose carts in decent condition. Once again this is just me grasping at straws and hoping someone at Nintendo is already doing this. If they are, great, maybe we can get Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance apps too. If not, well then we’ll just have to wait and see what Nintendo comes out with next.
Ben is a man of many hobbies. Aside from his deep love of video games, he also does 2 podcasts (The Fake Nerd Podcast and Basement Arcade: Pause Menu), reads comics, loves films, and studying up on video game history. His favorite eras in gaming are the Console Wars between SEGA and Nintendo, the early 2000’s, and the mid 80’s when he wasn’t even born yet.
