The cheap and cheerful Nintendo Switch Online service is nowhere near as comprehensive as its PlayStation and Xbox rivals, but one thing it does have going for it is a growing library of SNES and NES retro games for subscribers to pick up and play any time.
And now it seems that a couple of older handhelds are soon going to have their games added to the mix, according to Nintendo Life: the GameBoy and GameBoy Color.
The site cites two different sources for the claim. The first is “known insider” NateDrake, who discusses the imminent arrival of GameBoy and GameBoy Color titles “in the coming weeks” on his Nate The Hate podcast.
In it, NateDrake discusses four emulators discovered in the NES app back in 2019. The first two – Kachikachi and Canoe – are for SNES and NES games, which leaves Hiyoko and Count. The podcast speculates the former is for GameBoy and GameBoy Color, but doesn’t have any insights as to what Count could be. GameBoy Advance and N64 would be the next in line, going chronologically, but Nintendo doesn’t necessarily move logically when it comes to its lucrative back catalogue.
Nintendo Life then mentions it has confirmed the new handheld arrivals with “its own sources”. No date was given, but “really soon” certainly sounds like we’re talking a matter of weeks rather than months.
While some may balk at the monochrome visuals of original GameBoy titles, some games will still very much be worth playing in 2021. The Wario Land series alone should be worth the cost of a monthly Switch Online subscription – assuming it makes the cut.
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Unfortunately, Nintendo Life’s source is said to be “far less optimistic” about Game Boy Advance games following any time soon. That’s not down to technical reasons, but marketing ones, with the source noting that many companies are currently working on re-releases from that era, including Nintendo itself which has a remaster of the first two Advance Wars games coming this Christmas.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
