Why The GameCube Switch Online Is Saving Switch 2 Launch For Me – Editorial
I had one of the smoothest preorder experiences possible for the Switch 2. Mostly because instead of fighting a losing battle against 200 million bots, I went to a physical location and preordered there. (It was GameStop, which contains store-like substances.) But I’ve been trying to figure out what my main launch day game is going to be, and since I got the Mario Kart World bundle you’d think that would be it. Or maybe I get something for review. But assuming I’m still not playing Xenoblade Chronicles X, I’m not really sure what else from the Wii U-esque list of day 1 games I’m going to try. Especially when Nintendo’s standard MSRP for Switch 2 games in Canada is “one launch day Square Soft SNES RPG” before tax.
Thankfully, there is something I’ve already paid for that will provide my respite from explaining why I remapped the C button to any other function: Soul Calibur II and F-Zero GX. My main tryout game for the Switch is going to be the NSO Expansion Pack’s GameCube library.
Historically, I have been a bit of a GameCube hater, to the point that it’s a miracle I lasted six months here, let alone a decade. It’s still true that if given the opportunity to mix literary metaphors I would punt the GameCube controller into Mount Doom and consign its creator to Room 101. But I also admit that I didn’t get it until after I began university, which is where I entered the perpetual state of dealing with Some Stuff and most of the games I cared about at the time were over on the PlayStation 2 or the GBA. Sure, I rented Soul Cailbur II when I had the opportunity, and I was still playing Pokemon heavily so I did one run through both Pokemons Colosseum and XD. But only one. And aside from that, I basically used the GameCube for compilations for reasons I still can’t explain. You may have experimented with drugs and sex in college/university; I experimented with Mega Man games on a controller in no way designed for them.
I did miss a lot, though. Specifically Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, F-Zero GX, and Chibi-Robo among the games going into the NSO library. They’re not all winners – Wind Waker in HD but without the Swift Sail and an abridged Triforce hunt is no bueno. And on the 20-80 scale used in baseball evaluation, Super Mario Sunshine is a 4. But it’s still a chance to see these things that passed me by.
And perhaps best of all, it’s an INEXPENSIVE option comparatively. I run a family plan so I have to shell out $100 for Expansion Pack level NSO but it’s split six ways, and it’s still a cheaper top level than comparable services on the other consoles. The cheapest I can get a year of maximum benefit GamePass for is $220 before tax, and PS+ Extra just went to $230 for a year in Canada. And if I wanted to try out the games I’m interested in on the local Cube, it’s not pretty. According to completed auctions on Ebay (Canada) as of about noon ET on Friday, April 25:
- F-Zero GX is $85 – $90 just for the disc, with “complete in box” or CIB versions coming between $100 and $150
- Soul Calibur II is comparatively inexpensive, roughly $10 – $20 for disc only and $40 – $60 CIB
- Chibi-Robo is between $200 – $270 for disc only, $280 – $400 CIB
- FE: Path of Radiance is $180 – $220 disc only and $180 – $370 for CIB (“like new”)
- Pokemon Colosseum is $180 – $210 for disc only and $190 – $400 for CIB
- Pokemon XD is $180 – $235 for disc only and $250 – $450 CIB
Even the least expensive options for playing on a GameCube for that group of games added together are more than just buying a Switch 2 and the Expansion Pack right now. That’s probably more of an indictment of the insane costs of pre-2013 games, though: I’m peeking into the market for things like Pokemon 4th generation games or Black / White 2 and it’s even worse. But it’s still possible for me to look at Switch 2 as a fair price, considering the cost of just this set of alternatives.
And given that two million-plus people signed up for preordering the Switch 2 from Nintendo’s Japanese store alone, apparently I’m not alone in this regard.
