Was the Wii Virtual Console Really Better than Switch Online?!?

In this episode, we discuss whether or not the lack of a Virtual Console on the Nintendo Switch is as big of a deal now as it used to be. The question is Was the Wii Virtual Console Really Better than Switch Online?Show more

We recently posted a YouTube short discussing two new Pokémon games launching on the Nintendo Switch Online service. You can see that video here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/kSQfQ62ntPQ

One comment that stuck out to me was the following:
Doesn't stop Switch Online from being a trainwreck of a replacement for virtual console. Doesn't help they STILL haven't brought back the option to purchase each game individually (without the shoehorned online multiplayer). Nor do I get a good impression of Nintendo even caring to actually preserve their old games; especially Broadcast Satelleview.

This got me thinking, was the Virtual Console that much better than what the Switch offers with the Switch Online service and the Expansion Pack? I grabbed both my Wii and my Wii U to take a look at the catalogs of content that I had on each. At least in my example, I'm better off now than I was before. Here's why.

The Virtual Console for both the Wii and the Wii U had amazing titles in it, I will never say anything but that. It also had more systems available on it. We still don't have access to games from the Turbografx16 and PC Pngine, or the Nintendo DS either. What we do have is games from the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Gameboy Advance, Sega Genesis, and Nintendo 64. And not only do we have access to all of those games, you have access to them in the home or on the go, and you don't have to buy the games individually.

For the cost of the Nintendo Switch Online service, Family or Individual, monthly, 3 month, or yearly, you have access to some amazing titles. When you look at what I would have paid just for the NES games that I would play through the Switch Online, you equally surpass the total amount spent through the eShop versus what my annual cost is. Then you expand that to add in the games from the other platforms, and the value gets even better, at least for me. One of the points of the comment was that you don't have to worry about being shoehorned in multiplayer. I don't worry about that as it is, and I never, not once, used online multiplayer with any of the Switch online games.

I think it's also easy to state that the quality of the graphics of the Switch is much higher than on the Wii or the Wii U. Since the Wii topped out at 480p resolution and composite video, that's an easy statement to make. It's a little bit closer on the Wii U since it was 1080P HDMI output, but the clarity and the sharpness of the gameplay is definitely better on the Switch.

I myself have indicated that I wish that there would be some sort of Virtual Console return to the Nintendo Switch, I've said that for years and I still believe it to be true. That being said, however, things aren't as bad or as bleak as they used to be. I think the Switch online service is a tremendous value, not as good as it was when it launched but still good, and gives me access to games on their respective platforms that I want to play. And I don't have to buy them individually. The one major downside that I have is if I am ever disconnected from Wi-Fi the service cannot verify that I have paid for access and therefore blocks me from playing them. I can't play the Switch online if I'm flying for example. That needs to be fixed. Above and beyond that, I think it's a very good service and a fairly good replacement for the Virtual Console.

#Nintendo #SwitchOnline #VirtualConsole #Switch #SwitchOLED #SwitchLite