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Dataminers discover SNES games, more emulators for Nintendo Switch Online

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Dataminers have discovered SNES games and other emulators in the code for Nintendo Switch Online, raising the possibility that they are future additions to the subscription service.

Nintendo Switch Online , which was finally launched in September after being initially planned to roll out with the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, is similar to PlayStation Plus for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox Live God for the Xbox One. The primary purpose of the subscriptions are to enable online multiplayer, but they come with added perks such as free games.

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For Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo launched the service with 20 free NES games, with a handful of titles added since then. Dataminer KappucinoHeck, however, discovered a hint in the code for the subscription service that free SNES games may also be on the way.

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KappucinoHeck found a list of 22 SNES games in the Nintendo Switch Online code, all of which have full Japanese descriptions while Super Mario World has an English translation.

  • Breath of Fire 2
  • Contra 3
  • Demon’s Crest
  • F-ZERO
  • Kirby’s Dream Course
  • Kirby’s Dream Land 3
  • Kirby Super Star
  • Pilotwings
  • Pop’n Twinbee
  • Star Fox
  • Star Fox 2
  • Stunt Race FX
  • Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
  • Super Mario All-Stars
  • Super Mario Kart
  • Super Mario World
  • Super Metroid
  • Super Punch-Out!!
  • Super Soccer
  • The Legend of the Mystical Ninja
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
  • Yoshi’s Island

Most of these titles are on the SNES Classic Edition, including the previously unreleased Star Fox 2, through there are some new additions such as Breath of Fire 2. Nintendo, however, has discontinued the retro console, so Nintendo Switch Online will be offered as an alternative.

Another dataminer who goes by the name OatmealDome, meanwhile found references to more emulators coming to Nintendo Switch Online.

I was looking through the NES Switch app with @KapuccinoHeck and @Simon1844. I found four emulator types:

Kachikachi (NES Classic)
Canoe (SNES Classic)
Hiyoko (???)
Count (???)

This could mean there will be two new Classic consoles and/or three new consoles for Switch Online.

— SnowmealDome ❄️ (@OatmealDome) January 13, 2019

If the list of SNES games in the Nintendo Switch Online code means that the subscription service will offer them in the future, the code discovered by OatmealDome hints that there are two more consoles on the way. The speculation is that they would be the next two consoles released by Nintendo — the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameCube.

The trend of retro gaming will likely stay, due to the support from gamers for products such as the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition. Nintendo has not officially confirmed that SNES games and more emulators are coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but if they do, the subscription service will become an even better deal.

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Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
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