Nintendo had originally planned to continue its Virtual Console model from prior generations for the Switch before it decided to shift to NSO, according to a leaked email.
A modder known as LuigiBlood has shared information from leaked internal iQue emails that shed light on Nintendo’s early plans for retro game emulation on the Switch, revealing that the company initially intended to continue its Virtual Console (VC) model of offering users the opportunity to purchase and keep classic games before pivoting to the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) subscription service.
Codenamed Clipper, the Switch VC initiative began development in 2015 and aimed to expand on the Virtual Console offerings of previous platforms like the Wii and Wii U. The collaboration reportedly involved iQue, M2, and potentially NERD, with a focus on delivering individual paid game downloads, much like earlier VC iterations. Early testing included a range of NES and SNES titles, complete with thoughtful features like CRT-style animations and unique audio effects tailored for different regions’ consoles. The inclusion of new ideas, such as online play and controller shuffling modes, hinted at Nintendo’s ambition to modernize the VC experience.
However, by mid-2017, Nintendo’s plans shifted. An internal communication from NERD detailed the rationale for abandoning the Virtual Console model in favor of what would become NSO’s “Classic Game Selection.” High development costs, the inability to seamlessly transfer purchased VC titles across platforms, and player dissatisfaction with repeatedly repurchasing games drove the change. NSO’s L-Classics project, launched in June 2017, prioritized a more sustainable and cost-effective approach, bundling multiple classic games within subscription apps for long-term support and cross-platform adaptability.
This new direction required significant collaboration between teams like iQue and NERD, with a focus on automated testing, code unification, and emulator refactoring to ensure ease of maintenance. Despite these efforts, criticism of NSO’s retro game offerings, particularly its Nintendo 64 emulator, has persisted. The leaked emails highlight struggles with porting the Wii U’s N64 emulator to Switch, challenges with performance on the newer hardware, and a failure to fully exploit modern technologies like Vulkan for improved graphics emulation.
While the shift from Virtual Console to NSO may have streamlined operations, it remains a divisive move among those who value both accessibility and authenticity in retro games.
