A recent report from Video Games Chronicle revealed that Nintendo is considering getting into non-fungible tokens and the metaverse, two contentious fields in modern media and video games. The company said in an interview that it feels there is “potential in this area,” but that it’s not sure “what joy we can provide” with the technology yet.
Nintendo Pass? Nintendo is the only of the three major console makers to not have some sort of subscription service that allows players to access a rotating variety of games. Sony has PlayStation Plus, a service that will likely see an overhaul in the next few years, while Microsoft has Game Pass, the clear winner here in terms of both price and selection. Both allow players to pay one monthly fee to access a select suite of titles, as well as add-ons and DLC for other titles.
Preserving its legacy If Nintendo were to revamp Nintendo Switch Online to feature a more Game Pass-like selection of current games, it would likely take away the privilege of accessing the retro titles that are currently included in the subscription tiers. This presents an opportunity for the company to do something it’s needed to do for years: Provide better and easier access to its huge catalog of retro and legacy titles.
To ensure that future fans have the ability to enjoy the games that got us to where we are today, Nintendo would do well to make more than its biggest, most popular legacy titles available for easy play and company-sanctioned emulation. While we’re all looking eagerly to the future of Nintendo, it’s worth keeping these titles accessible and playable simply in the name of preservation.
Speaking of Discord, incorporating a few of that platform’s best features would give Nintendo’s communication systems a massive leap into the future. Allowing players to stay in voice chat together across games and activities would be the bare minimum action to future-proof the Switch. Creating a two-factor authentication system where players must log in via their phones to use in-game open text and voice chat would also prevent young children from gaining access to these systems.
When did Nintendo even mention NFTs?