Switch Online could gift Nintendo fans what they really want in 2019
The Nintendo Switch Online multiplayer service could soon offer subscribers access to SNES games, according to hints spied within the service’s code.
One intrepid Twitter user found references to 22 Super Nintendo games – including some of the all-time classics – hiding in pain sight within code strings.
The strings posted by @KapuccinoHeck over the weekend show references to games like Star Fox, Super Mario Kart, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, F-Zero, Super Metroid and Super Mario World.
Adding SNES games to join the NES titles already available on Switch online would help to explain why Nintendo has decided to discontinue the massively popular Classic Mini consoles.
The company will be keener to boost annual subscriptions to the online platform for the current-gen console, rather than sell the retro consoles from which no further revenue can be brought in, despite their popularity.
Related: Best Nintendo Switch games 2019
Here are the games listed within the code: Super Mario Kart, Super Soccer, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Demon’s Crest, Yoshi’s Island, Stunt Race FX, Kirby’s Dream Course, Pop’n Twinbee, Star Fox, Contra 3, Kirby Super Star, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Pilotwings, F-ZERO, Star Fox 2, Super Punch-Out, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Super Mario All-Stars, Breath of Fire 2.
The only outlier there is Star Fox 2, which was never released for the Switch, but arrived on the SNES Classic Mini.
Currently the Switch Online service only offers games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), with new titles being added monthly. This week, Blaster Master and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link will join the following 80s classics:
Metroid, Mighty Bomb Jack, TwinBee, Soccer, Tennis, Donkey Kong, Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber, Dr. Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. 3, Double Dragon, River City Ransom, Ghosts’n Goblins, Tecmo Bowl, Gradius, Pro Wrestling, Excitebike, Yoshi, Ice Hockey, Baseball, Solomon’s Key, NES Open Tournament Golf, Super Dodge Ball, Wario’s Woods, Ninja Gaiden, Adventures of Lolo.
Would the addition of SNES games encourage you to sign up for Switch Online? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.