StarTopic Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack |ST| New 2024 Poll Up

[Josh5890]

I am ready to declare that NSO patterns no longer exist. Nintendo is shadow dropping N64 games on Tuesday nights now lol.

Say, would anybody be up for teaming up with me for doing a N64 NSO badge event? I’m up for working on the challenges somewhat. But easier with someone to work with

I cannot do anything graphics wise (badges, banners, ect) to save my life, but if you are looking for any suggestions for game/badge objectives, I'd love to throw some ideas at you. Shoot me a DM if you want.

 

[fiendcode]

I wish we could hide games on the apps.

 

[~okapi]

Apologies if this is way out of date, but I remember that soon after N64 was included in NSO, there was a mostly blank list that dataminers discovered and filled out thanks to the game titles being in alphabetical order. Was it ever figured out if more games beyond what those initial “slots” allowed for were coming, or is it possible that number is still the final tally we’ll get for N64 games?

 

[bloopland33]

Apologies if this is way out of date, but I remember that soon after N64 was included in NSO, there was a mostly blank list that dataminers discovered and filled out thanks to the game titles being in alphabetical order. Was it ever figured out if more games beyond what those initial “slots” allowed for were coming, or is it possible that number is still the final tally we’ll get for N64 games?

IIRC that list would not have accounted for these if you slotted them into it but I could be wrong

 

[Barely Able]

Chances of getting Quest 64 went way up today!

 

[Tye]

Interestingly, the Japanese N64 NSO app lists Nintendo as the publisher for Blast Corps, not Xbox Game Studios… This isn’t the case for other Rare games on the Japanese app like Banjo-Kazooie, either. So…what’s up with this??

 

[Josh5890]

Chances of getting Quest 64 went way up today!

I rented that as a kid an wondered "what the hell is this crap?" I've wanted another Crack at that game for the longest time.

 

[Brofield]

Apologies if this is way out of date, but I remember that soon after N64 was included in NSO, there was a mostly blank list that dataminers discovered and filled out thanks to the game titles being in alphabetical order. Was it ever figured out if more games beyond what those initial “slots” allowed for were coming, or is it possible that number is still the final tally we’ll get for N64 games?

That was @MondoMega's work, but from what they explained is that the list is by no means definitive or locked; games can certainly be added beyond 38.

The N64 is now at 34 listed titles across Japanese and English libraries. From the top of the list to Dr Mario 64, we have:

• 1080° Snowboarding
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Blast Corps
• Custom Robo
• Custom Robo V2
• (one slot remaining)

Doc Mario to MK64 (already games slotted in that wouldn't fit, and with these ones specifically being alphabetical, it means games are already being added beyond the original scope of NSO) (highlighted are just my assumptions of the four that were last minute additions they didn't think they would originally get; despite B-K there really might not have been any guarantee future Rare games would come to NSO):

• Excitebike 64
• Extreme-G
• F-Zero X
• GoldenEye 007
• Harvest Moon 64
• Iggy's Reckin' Balls
• Jet Force Gemini
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
• Mario Golf

Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 1-2-3, Mario Tennis to Sin & Punishment:

• Paper Mario
• Pilotwings 64
• Pokémon Puzzle League
• Pokémon Snap
• Pokémon Stadium
• Pokémon Stadium 2
• (five spots remaining)

Wave Race 64 slots between SM64 and WinBack (so more than likely Super Smash Bros also fits in here unless Nintendo was gonna opt for one of the Top Gear games by Kemco instead), WinBack to Yoshi's Story could be anything from WWF Wrestling 2000 (global release) to Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate (man, that was a show of the mid to late 90s), and then the last one is obviously TLOZ: Majora's Mask.

In conclusion who the fuck knows what Nintendo is planning; at this point I'm convinced someone draws short straw once a month and decides on a whim what game to release (if they release anything at all)

IIRC that list would not have accounted for these if you slotted them into it but I could be wrong

Correct; I believe Mondo also mentioned when I asked them about potential games missing that shortly after the list became public knowledge, Nintendo scrambled the IDs for games that were uploaded to NSO shortly after so there's no telling what could really have been assigned on this list

That said I am still absolutely curious if the list were datamined now what it might look like, what games would show up where even if they were scrambled, and which empty rows from the original list still need to be filled

 

[MisterSpo]

Mega Drive remains the only NSO system not to get an update this year. Outside Japan:

NES +2 (71)
SNES +4 (63)
GB/C +3 (21)
N64 +3 (32)
GBA +3 (15)
MD +0 (44)

Pretty consistent numerically across the five Nintendo systems, with 15 titles added in the last four months. That means Nintendo remain on pace to hit the mode number of annual NSO additions, or 40 plus.

Personally I wouldn't yet rule out Mega Drive getting further updates. It might even be reduced to a single update per year, maybe 3 to 5 games at a time. Here's hoping it's not completely done.

 

[fiendcode]

God, I've been waiting FOREVER for a Genesis update do hopefully when it comes it's a big one (SVP Virtua Racing, Sega CD, etc).

 

[shoptroll]

Well there’s monkey paws and then there’s what happened yesterday. Dang.

The silver lining is that it seems like they’ve resumed adding new titles to the service in earnest… we just don’t have any clue what they’ll be.

Buckle up.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

So... seeing as NSO N64 is getting more NA exclusive games and 3rd party ones at that, what are the odds of us getting Starcraft 64? And then there's Clayfighter 64.

It's so surreal also that for once, NA is getting more games on a system than Japan. N64 was certainly not a popular pick in Japan.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

So... seeing as NSO N64 is getting more NA exclusive games and 3rd party ones at that, what are the odds of us getting Starcraft 64? And then there's Clayfighter 64.

It's so surreal also that for once, NA is getting more games on a system than Japan. N64 was certainly not a popular pick in Japan.

Well, we do have InterPlay games on NSO already with Claymates and Earthworm Jim 2... but I don't think ClayFighter are being re rereleased with their >actual racist< stereotypes

 

[Mandos]

Well there’s monkey paws and then there’s what happened yesterday. Dang.

The silver lining is that it seems like they’ve resumed adding new titles to the service in earnest… we just don’t have any clue what they’ll be.

Buckle up.

Hey the n64 has a ton of wild and cool overlooked third party games and I’ll happily take em. Especially if we’re back to bimonthly releases.


Tho imagine the salt if we get Megaman 64 on NSO instead of/before a legends collection

 

[Derachi]

Personally I wouldn't yet rule out Mega Drive getting further updates. It might even be reduced to a single update per year, maybe 3 to 5 games at a time. Here's hoping it's not completely done.

I like your optimism! Personally I feel like Mega Drive/Genesis is sadly done. Those updates were coming at a very steady pace, only for it to just stop. We’re basically at 10 months since the last update, so I’m not confident we’ll ever see any more. Which is sad! There are plenty of MD/Genesis games I’d like to see come to the service that haven’t made it yet, especially if we want to include some (not many, just some) Sega CD games.

 

[Josh5890]

Mega Drive remains the only NSO system not to get an update this year. Outside Japan:

NES +2 (71)
SNES +4 (63)
GB/C +3 (21)
N64 +3 (32)
GBA +3 (15)
MD +0 (44)

Pretty consistent numerically across the five Nintendo systems, with 15 titles added in the last four months. That means Nintendo remain on pace to hit the mode number of annual NSO additions, or 40 plus.

Personally I wouldn't yet rule out Mega Drive getting further updates. It might even be reduced to a single update per year, maybe 3 to 5 games at a time. Here's hoping it's not completely done.

The only GB/C update was back on Mar10 Day. smh

 

[Mandos]

I like your optimism! Personally I feel like Mega Drive/Genesis is sadly done. Those updates were coming at a very steady pace, only for it to just stop. We’re basically at 10 months since the last update, so I’m not confident we’ll ever see any more. Which is sad! There are plenty of MD/Genesis games I’d like to see come to the service that haven’t made it yet, especially if we want to include some (not many, just some) Sega CD games.

If it really is kinda expect a new system in the next big update to replace it then

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Well, we do have InterPlay games on NSO already with Claymates and Earthworm Jim 2... but I don't think ClayFighter are being re rereleased with their >actual racist< stereotypes

Good point there. Though does that really affect the SNES one which was more toned down than the N64 one wasn't it?

 

[MisterSpo]

The only GB/C update was back on Mar10 Day. smh

Probably because Nintendo remembered SNES existed. It's had two separate updates this year so far, versus one in the entirety of last year. I suspect the base tier will continue to get something most months of the year, and most of that should hopefully be for the GB/C. My expectation is we see GBA and GB/C updates in May, before a new Expansion Pack selection is announced in a June Direct, probably containing some higher profile games to launch in 2024 and 2025.

I do think today's N64 update though is another signal that NSO is here for the long haul, if anyone still doubts it. Two relatively low profile third party games out the blue is a change in tactics, but it helps Nintendo spread their N64 support over a long term, especially if more such titles are coming. Similarly, what we're seeing across the board is updates every couple of weeks for different systems, so each library has only grown by 2 to 4 titles, but overall they're close to averaging an NSO game per week (15 games added by the 17th week of the year). Gradually updating multiple systems is going to enable them to continue to hit 40 to 50 games added per year as they transition to new hardware.

 

[Derachi]

If it really is kinda expect a new system in the next big update to replace it then

They gotta do PC-Engine.

They gotta

 

[Brofield]

Odds on Saturn being added to EP, or is that gonna get too expensive at that point for Nintendo to pay Sega for licensing?

 

[Derachi]

Odds on Saturn being added to EP, or is that gonna get too expensive at that point for Nintendo to pay Sega for licensing?

Low to zero. I think those games would be more likely sold a la carte on the eShop.

 

[TheQuietone]

I think Nintendo/Sega saw the low engagement and downloads of the Genesis app and decided it wasn't worth it. Which is a shame. At least I got my mom's favorite game before they abandoned it.

 

[Derachi]

I think Nintendo/Sega saw the low engagement and downloads of the Genesis app and decided it wasn't worth it. Which is a shame. At least I got my mom's favorite game before they abandoned it.

Absolutely is a shame. Plenty of banger games on that app. I wonder why people didn’t want to engage with it?

 

[Brofield]

Low to zero. I think those games would be more likely sold a la carte on the eShop.

Part of me wonders that too; I mean a 32-bit game isn't gonna have a major glow up. Would it be really more cost-effective for Sega to put in the work to offer some modern graphical enhancements and sell the games individually, or just wrap them in a catch-all emulation shell with no need to update really anything?

 

[Mandos]

Low to zero. I think those games would be more likely sold a la carte on the eShop.

They are it’s called S-tribute XD

 

[TheQuietone]

Absolutely is a shame. Plenty of banger games on that app. I wonder why people didn’t want to engage with it?

If you look at the recent announcement of N64 games you see people just want 1st party/Rare/big 3rd party games and calling the games bottom of the barrel. Not even looking into if the games are good or not. They're just bad games because they've never heard of them.
And this is expressed everywhere the announcement is at. YouTube, Era, etc.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Absolutely is a shame. Plenty of banger games on that app. I wonder why people didn’t want to engage with it?

SEGA of America's constant Genesis collections has really devalued the worth of the Genesis, especially as a "Expansion Pass upgrade" even if these are the best versions of those Genesis games. When you can get Genesis best for pennies, why bother?

It also doesn't help the Genesis just has shakier design than the Nintendo offerings. SEGA leaning hard on that arcade mindset as well as cruddy rental market balance just leads to SEGA's best being lean.

 

[CyberWolfBia]

Good point there. Though does that really affect the SNES one which was more toned down than the N64 one wasn't it?

I think maybe they could get away with the SNES games, yeah..

 

[Josh5890]

Odds on Saturn being added to EP, or is that gonna get too expensive at that point for Nintendo to pay Sega for licensing?

Does SEGA even have the source codes for most of their first party Saturn games? I thought they lost them or something.

 

[Brofield]

Does SEGA even have the source codes for most of their first party Saturn games? I thought they lost them or something.

Oh damn, yeah I forgot about that. Not sure if there's a collected list of games where source codes have gone missing, but a brief Google search says they don't have it for House of the Dead and Panzer Dragoon at the very least

 

[fiendcode]

Expanding MD (SVP, CD, 32X) and adding PCE (plus CD, SCD and hell, SGX too) are my big platform wants. Well, other than Labo VR compatible Virtual Boy.

Saturn, DC, GC and DS can wait for Drake.


And throwing my 3rd party N64 want list over here (non-licensing dependent, sorry WDC and ISS) so as not to portbeg all over poor Iggy's thread:

• Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (Treasure)
• Bomberman 64 (Konami)
• Bomberman Hero (Konami)
• Bust-A-Move '99 (Square Enix)
• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (Konami)
• Conker's Bad Fur Day (XBGS)
• Goemon's Great Adventure (Konami)
• Hydro Thunder (XBGS)
• Mega Man 64 (Capcom)
• Mischief Makers (Square Enix)
• Mystical Ninja starting Goemon (Konami)
• Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Square Enix)
• Puyo Puyo Sun 64 (Sega)
• Rakuga Kids (Konami)
• Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Ubisoft)
• Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)
• Ridge Racer 64 (Bandai Namco)
• Snowboard Kids (Sega)
• Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (Konami)
• Top Gea... er, Racer Rally (Kemco)
• Wipeout 64 (lets say Aniplex)

 

[Mandos]

Wonder if we’ll get another publisher batch like Rare with a multi-platform drop. Konami or Capcom seem most likely

 

[batfax]

SEGA of America's constant Genesis collections has really devalued the worth of the Genesis, especially as a "Expansion Pass upgrade" even if these are the best versions of those Genesis games. When you can get Genesis best for pennies, why bother?

It also doesn't help the Genesis just has shakier design than the Nintendo offerings. SEGA leaning hard on that arcade mindset as well as cruddy rental market balance just leads to SEGA's best being lean.

There's probably at least something to that, since most regions have had access to a ton of classic MD games for a long time now... but just kind of checking Japanese social media makes it feel like the MD era exploded in popularity in the last couple years with tons of new fan art, discussion, events, and whatnot popping up. Almost exclusively for games that were on the Minis or NSO, no less. Maybe we'd've seen a similar boost outside Japan if SoA hadn't released them constantly for decades to the point people are always moaning about the "same ol' Genesis games" instead of Saturn or Dreamcast.

Though that second bit, I find it kind of hard to say games you can just pick up and play and enjoy immediately "shakier" design. They're not trying and failing to do something, they're doing something else entirely, and are generally very successful at it. Rental market balance IS kind of a bother sometimes though... Maybe another reason it's catching on well in Japan where that issue doesn't exist.

Does SEGA even have the source codes for most of their first party Saturn games? I thought they lost them or something.

You don't need source code for emulation.

 

[shoptroll]

I think Nintendo/Sega saw the low engagement and downloads of the Genesis app and decided it wasn't worth it. Which is a shame. At least I got my mom's favorite game before they abandoned it.

Sega’s strategy with their retro titles has been absolutely weird. Like there’s at least three different options for playing Sonic 2 on Switch that I’m aware of.

If there’s low engagement it’s because there’s too many competing options between NSO, Sega Ages (which I think is multiplatform), and specific retro collections like Sonic Origins. And that’s largely a Sega problem at the core.

 

[Josh5890]

SEGA of America's constant Genesis collections has really devalued the worth of the Genesis, especially as a "Expansion Pass upgrade" even if these are the best versions of those Genesis games. When you can get Genesis best for pennies, why bother?

It also doesn't help the Genesis just has shakier design than the Nintendo offerings. SEGA leaning hard on that arcade mindset as well as cruddy rental market balance just leads to SEGA's best being lean.

Stares at owned copies of the PS2,PSP,PS3,Steam,Switch Genesis collections.......

 

[SeafoamGaming]

SEGA of America's constant Genesis collections has really devalued the worth of the Genesis, especially as a "Expansion Pass upgrade" even if these are the best versions of those Genesis games. When you can get Genesis best for pennies, why bother?

It also doesn't help the Genesis just has shakier design than the Nintendo offerings. SEGA leaning hard on that arcade mindset as well as cruddy rental market balance just leads to SEGA's best being lean.

It especially doesnt help that on the switch itself we have a shitty ass genesis collection from Sega Europe with ungodly amounts of input lag

And almost ANY time the genesis app got updated people on twitter or YT would just complain about the price of the EP + that dumb collection existing and recommending it instead because of more games even though it’s genuinely awful; maybe the worst of any sega collection a western corp outside of atgames put together