Every Nintendo console since the Wii back in 2007 has implemented some sort of Virtual Console, including the Nintendo 3DS, which allows players to revisit classics they were fond of before or ones they missed entirely.
With the release of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has been pretty silent on the issue regarding a Virtual Console but many fans are still holding out hope for the system to be added in eventually. In an interview with Kotaku earlier this year, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America’s boss, was asked if a Virtual Console will be coming to the Switch in which he replied with an answer that wasn’t “no” but it definitely wasn’t a yes.
Totilo: Have you guys said if there’s going to be, aside from all that, a Virtual Console experience?
Fils-Aime: We’ve not used the term Virtual Console.
In true Nintendo fashion, the Nintendo Switch update 4.0.0 added a variety of new features but it also stealth added a few things that might intrigue fans. One of those things is the addition of GameCube controller support through the adapter introduced with the Wii U. This adapter will allow players to plug in their GameCube controllers and play their favorite Switch games.
Adding GameCube controller support opens the floodgates once again for the potential of having a GameCube Virtual Console. Although the team at Nintendo has never said anything about adding a Virtual Console, Eurogamer reported in July that Nintendo was working on the addition of GameCube VC and confirmed it with three separate sources. Eurogamer has a good track record in terms of reporting leaks when it comes to Nintendo so we’re a little inclined to believe them here.
The Eurogamer article even states that testing with Animal Crossing is currently being done in anticipation for a future release. Digital Foundry ran tests to see how the PC GameCube emulator Dolphin ran on the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip, the same chip that powers the Switch, and found that the results were pretty good.
No release date has been revealed for any of this so we are just going off speculation still at this point. Nintendo teased fans before with this and many players were holding out for a GameCube VC on the Wii U. Of course that never happened and expectations were shifted to the Switch.
We do know 100 percent that Nintendo is implementing a old-school game selection feature called Classic Game Selection once the paid online launches.
The Classic Game Selection (name subject to change) will allow subscribers to download classic titles with online play such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight and Dr. Mario with presumably announced in the future.
What do you think? Is the Virtual Console coming or are we just being led down the wrong path? Let us know in the comments!