The Problem with Game Boy on Nintendo Switch Online

At the latest Nintendo Direct, it was announced that Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games were coming to Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

That's great. That's absolutely wonderful news. However...

Look, I appreciate that I'm not a typical customer when it comes to Game Boy games. While retro collecting has grown in popularity in recent years, I completely understand that the vast majority of people who want to play Game Boy games in 2023 will want to do it in a more convenient form factor, such as on the Switch.

And, indeed, providing these games as part of a subscription service that most people either have already signed up for, or genuinely can't be persuaded to try, does at least mean that the people who do want to play Game Boy games on Switch can do so in a convenient manner.

That said... there aren't a lot of these games on NSO, are there? Around 15 titles, give or take a few depending on which country you live in. It's a fairly small offering when there were previously far, far more Game Boy games available on the 3DS and Wii U eShops.

The decision to add Game Boy to NSO just so happens to come a little over a month before Nintendo removes the option for customers to purchase any first party Game Boy titles direct from the company in any way, shape or form. Where previously, it was possible to dust off a 3DS (or, if you don't want to develop a headache, a 2DS) and download a retro handheld game, soon that won't be an option anymore.

All of this means that Nintendo is pushing consumers to either take up piracy (while simultaneously suing ROM archivists for millions of dollars), or to take up retro collecting.

And, wow, retro collecting has gotten expensive in the past few years.

As someone who's watched retro collecting's explosion in popularity (and subsequent inflated prices), I would just like Nintendo to start printing more copies of their old games for original hardware. In retrospect, while it made sense to move on from older hardware at the time, now that a burgeoning second-hand market exists for retro games and consoles, it would be nice if Nintendo treated the Game Boy not as obsolete, but as a different style of play.

I would like retro game cartridges to be the new vinyl: a technology celebrated in its own right because of, rather than in spite of, its limitations. People are already collecting retro games in much the same way that music fans collect retro albums; the next logical step is to start printing new cartridges for old Game Boys, or launch a Nintendo branded equivalent to the Analogue Pocket that plays old games but with modern conveniences and screens and batteries.

This is the way that I would like to see retro games preserved for the future. It's clear that Nintendo's subscription system for a little more than a dozen games isn't exactly ideal for introducing new gamers to older titles.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of younger people who are finding these old games for the first time now, and who are desperate to buy as many as they can afford. I was lucky enough to a) be playing games when the Game Boy was modern, and b) have the wisdom to hold onto all my games and even their cardboard boxes, but not everyone had the good fortune to be alive in the Nineties.

So, let's bring these games back! Make new copies of old games, just as companies like Limited Run, Retrobit, and incub8 have done, to name but a few. This is to say nothing of new homebrew games developed for Game Boy and other retro hardware (I'll leave that rant/excitement for another day).

All I'm saying is: give us MORE, Nintendo. I don't care what "more" even means. More Game Boy games on NSO. Easier access to older titles. The opportunity to buy these games rather than just renting them as part of a subscription.

Or, if you really want to make me happy, print more cartridges.

That last one's obviously a long shot, though.

Thanks for watching.

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