Nintendo has launched the Nintendo Switch 2 and its exclusive new Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack retro gaming app for the Nintendo GameCube. Let’s review this new feature and how Nintendo could benefit from using cloud gaming for it.
Why Would Cloud Gaming Be Helpful For The GameCube App:
Let’s start with the obvious point: the file size of games on the GameCube is the largest of any game system that is offered on any of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. The problem that the GameCube app has for users of the Nintendo Switch 2 is that as more games are added to the GameCube app, the larger the file size will be. Since the Nintendo Switch 2 only has 256GB, there comes a likelihood that fans would have to uninstall their favorite Nintendo Switch 2 games if they want to revisit classic games from the GameCube era. By using cloud gaming to stream these larger games onto the Nintendo Switch 2 platform, it would make it easier to play the games that fans want without having to download the other games that they’re not interested in.
Not every gamer who wants to play Super Mario Sunshine or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker will want to play games like Pokémon Colosseum or Chibi-Robo, so by giving players the ability to stream the games instead of having to download games they’re uninterested in as part of the app would be a huge win for Nintendo’s huge rabid fanbase.
Expanding Cloud Gaming To Classic Games:
Nintendo did offer the ability to use cloud gaming to play games such as Control, as well as several titles in the Kingdom Hearts series, via the original Nintendo Switch. However, Nintendo could easily build a cloud gaming platform akin to Antstream Arcade by utilizing its retro gaming offerings on its online subscription service. Nintendo owns six of the seven platforms that are on the Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack plans, which means Nintendo could experiment by offering cloud versions of classic NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and GameCube games and allow gamers to stream these classic game libraries via the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and potentially even other devices as the Switch 2 generation continues.
Do you think Nintendo should embrace cloud gaming for these classic games? Let us know on social media.
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