Our Dreams for Virtual Console on Nintendo Switch
As well as more grounded speculation about the form it's actually likely to take.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
Improved emulation quality
Wii U's Virtual Console quality was awful for the platforms it initially supported, NES and Super NES. Especially NES. Let's not do that again. Over the past few years, Nintendo has done a much better job with its legacy platform emulation. Between M2 (who programmed the Game Gear emulator for 3DS and Wii U's Game Boy Advance support) and Nintendo Europe Research & Development (aka NERD, the team behind Wii U's DS Virtual Console and the software element of the NES Classic Edition mini-console), the standard of quality for classic Virtual Console games has improved considerably.
Wii U's NES and Super NES games still look pretty awful, though. Yes, especially NES — have a look at this week's Culture Brain releases for a depressing example. Nintendo really needs to take special care to avoid repeating this particular mistake. The NES Classic Edition pretty much nailed it. More of that, please.
Wider platform support
Virtual Console on Wii, for all its failings, was pretty spectacular in terms of breadth. Not only did we see Nintendo platforms — NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64 — we also had SEGA's Genesis, the TurboGrafx-16 (plus the Turbo CD!), Neo•Geo, SEGA Master System, arcade games, and even Commodore 64. Wii U dropped support for all non-Nintendo platforms, unfortunately, greatly reducing the variety and value of its Virtual Console. We need to walk that decision back.
In addition to restoring those two SEGA platforms, Neo•Geo, and TurboGrafx, Switch Virtual Console should add in other systems as well. Get some of those portable platforms like Game Gear and Game Boy on there, for starters — this is a semi-portable system, after all. And maybe SEGA Saturn? Atari 2600 and 7800? Atari Lynx!? There have been rumors of GameCube support — we should definitely get some of that, and Dreamcast, too. Let's go crazy here, because why not?
I'm OK passing on the C64 support, though. Wii's C64 Virtual Console quality and support was... not good.
Don't bother with DS/3DS
There are two systems we'd rather not see embraced on Switch Virtual Console, though: DS and 3DS. As much as it might seem to make sense on a general level to use a semi-portable device like Switch to reproduce handheld consoles, logistically Switch isn't really built to deliver a satisfactory reproduction of dual-screen devices. Wii U managed to bumble its way to a decent approximation of DS — the emulation was great, but even with a huge array of display options on tap (both screens on either the TV or Game Pad, one screen on TV and one on Game Pad, sideways orientation, etc.) not every game worked as well as you might have liked.
Switch lacks the ability to display on two screens at once: It's either docked and running entirely on television, or disconnected and running entirely on the portable screen. Neither solution will work for every game, unless you want a whole lot of dead space on the sides of the screen (you don't).
DS Virtual Console would work if Nintendo could come up with a controller option that allows you to use the Switch core in a sideways orientation, allowing you to hold the console in a vertical format and stack the screens one on top of the other. Like you could do with Bandai's WonderSwan. In which case... they should definitely add WonderSwam support for Virtual Console.
Special features in docked mode vs. portable
Apparently the "free" monthly games that will be available for subscribers of Nintendo's online service will allow people to play Super NES games online. This is a big deal! It's a new feature! Holy cow! I mean, sure, emulators have allowed netplay for a dog's age, but it's something completely new for Nintendo, a company known for having a profound allergic response to the internet.
Let's double down on that, and build on it. All Virtual Console games should offer a passel of multiplayer options — internet-based, yes, but also local ad-hoc options (something already present in some Virtual Console games for 3DS). Given the flexibility and portability of the Switch hardware, these features should work seamlessly. On wi-fi? Netplay becomes available. Other people's Switches show up within the same physical space? Now there's an ad-hoc option.
But let's go a step further. Switch Virtual Console should recognize whether the system is plugged in to the television or running free and adjust your play options accordingly. For example, maybe integrate some touch-screen interface options when the system is being played on the go. If Switch really does offer GameCube support, we'd love to see some effort made toward supporting that system's GBA integration for games like Four Swords and Pac-Man Versus, with one Switch connected to the TV to stand in as the GameCube, while several players control handheld Switches to mimic the GBA (but without the need for cables).
Support for accelerometers and other advanced features
And finally, let's talk about what those Joy Cons can do for Virtual Console. Yeah, it would be cool to have rumble pak features for Star Fox 64 and all, but it's the accelerometers that really interest me. Nintendo has released a handful of games through the years — mostly on portable systems — that players controlled with the use of accelerometers. Kirby Tilt ’N Tumble, Yoshi Topsy-Turby, WarioWare Twisted... yeah, let's get some of those on Virtual Console. Especially WarioWare.
Oh, and did yoy know the Joy Cons have a built-in IR camera? Let's expedite a way to make those work as a replacement for the solar sensor in the Boktai games, please.
