There’s a new Nintendo Direct coming in just a few hours—announced just a day in advance, as is typical of the company—and immediately following it there will be maintenance performed on the NES and SNES Online services. While this could just be routine maintenance to keep the services running smoothly, the timing is certainly interesting, and may hint at more exciting things going on. It’s Nintendo, after all, and the company’s motives are famously inscrutable.
Nintendo has maintained a balance of new titles and fan nostalgia by offering some of its classic older games on the Switch marketplace and through the NES and SNES Online services. However, many have pointed out that the back catalog for these services is lighter than they’d like, and doesn’t include some games that fans would see as obvious choices. For every Donkey Kong Country 2 the company adds, there’s an Earthbound that it doesn’t, with no explanation given as to why some titles make it onto the service and others don’t.
In the latest obfuscated move, Destructoid reports that Nintendo has scheduled maintenance for NES and SNES Online directly following today’s Nintendo Direct. As is the be expected, the company has said nothing about what that maintenance will entail. Given its propensity for announcing games with a release date of “Available Now,” though, it’s likely that this maintenance will, in part, add new games to the services, which could be announced in the Direct. This is speculation, of course, as Nintendo is as tight-lipped as ever. Gamers will have to wait until the Direct to find out what, if anything, this maintenance actually means. It’s just as likely that it’s nothing more than bug fixes, nothing to raise excitement.
The last update to NES and SNES Online was in July, adding Claymates, Jelly Boy, and Bombuzal. These aren’t the heavy hitters that many might like, such as Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana, but they continue the slow trickle of games being added to the services. There’s been a pattern of Nintendo Directs announcing additions to NES and SNES Online that receive lukewarm receptions, so there may be many who expect a similar situation today. All guesses are as good as any others, though, since, while alleged leaks abound, there’s been no official confirmation of any of the many rumors swirling.
Nintendo has a collection of some fantastic games under its belt, and with a service specifically designed to cater to nostalgia, it’s genuinely surprising that the company hasn’t gone all-in and let fans replay every single one of their old favorites. Hopefully this Direct satisfies the itch for both old and new experiences.
