What do Sony and Microsoft have that Nintendo lacks? And no, “a successful console” isn’t the right answer. Let me make it more clear by adding EA to that list. Get it now? All three offer a subscription service, and Nintendo doesn’t.
It’s something that should be happening, but isn’t. Nintendo needs to be offering Wii U and 3DS owners something special and unique. It should offer a Virtual Console subscription service. You know, basically the equivalent of PlayStation Plus, Games with Gold, and EA Access, but only with Wii U and 3DS Virtual Console games.
Think about how great this would be. One of Nintendo’s greatest legacies is the company’s back catalog. There are all of these amazing NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and DS games waiting in the wings. Slowly, but surely, they’ve been trickling onto the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Consoles. Imagine how great it would be if, for say $6 a month, you’d get access to a few games each month or have the ability to draw from a well of set games as long as you subscribed. It’d be glorious.
It’d also give Nintendo a kick in the pants. Let’s be honest. The Wii U and 3DS Virtual Consoles currently pale in comparison to what people had access to on the Wii. We haven’t even seen Game Boy Advance games on the 3DS yet, despite some being offered as Ambassador titles to people who were early adopters. If a subscription service were in place, Nintendo would have an incentive to release more of its back catalog digitally.
That would benefit both potential subscribers of a Nintendo Virtual Console subscription service and regular consumers. Even if people didn’t subscribe, games would be able to be purchased separately. It’d boost our collections and make the systems more appealing. Though, more people would probably subscribe than buy, due to the current mark up on Virtual Console titles. But still, it’d be a profitable venture.
The Virtual Console is one of Nintendo’s greatest assets. The company needs to realize and tap into that. It could be a great market, and a subscription service would be a means of getting people to visit the eShop regularly, savor fantastic, retro games, and ensure a steady stream of classics for Nintendo’s current console and handheld.