Today, Nintendo Switch Online subscribers got some disappointing news from Nintendo, and news that many of them will soon be out $20. More specifically, Nintendo has confirmed a long-awaited release is coming to Nintendo Switch, and it is a release you would expect to be available with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, even if locked behind the Expansion Pack tier. But the retro re-release will not be available at all with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, leaving subscribers to pay $20 for a game they assumed they would get with their subscription.
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More specifically, today Nintendo confirmed what rumors first revealed a while ago: Pokémon LeafGreen and FireRed are coming to Nintendo Switch, and doing so on February 27, which is Pokémon Day. This will happen alongside a new Pokémon Presents. There is no Nintendo Switch 2 version, but obviously, the pair of games will be playable on the system via backward compatibility. But you will have to pay for them, because unlike other classic Game Boy Advance games, they won’t be available via NSO.
Not Remasters Nor Remakes
Now, if this new release were a remaster of the classic Pokémon games or a remake, you’d expect Nintendo to charge for them and not include them with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, but this is just a standard re-release in the vein of Nintendo Switch Online re-releases. So it’s unexpected and disappointing, for many, that they will be locked behind a purchase.
The originals sold over 12 million copies, so there are presumably going to be millions lining up to buy these new rereleases, which is probably why they have not been included. If Nintendo sells even half this number of copies, that is $120 million made. That’s a lot of money for something that cost Nintendo virtually nothing to release. This isn’t the case for most retro re-releases done through Nintendo Switch Online, which is why they are released via Nintendo Switch Online and are not excluded, arbitrarily, for separate purchase.
This being announced before the Pokémon Presents suggests the presentation is going to leave an impression. This is a big announcement to remove from it, which suggests there are plenty of other big pops left in its place.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.
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