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Switch launching without Virtual Console

Nintendo gives no window for downloadable retro game service, "will share more information in the future."

Nintendo today answered one of the big remaining questions about next week's Switch launch, confirming that the system will arrive without the Virtual Console downloadable retro game service. As reported by Eurogamer, there's no indication of how long early adopters will be waiting for the arrival of the Virtual Console, with the company saying merely that "We will share more information in the future."

Virtual Console has been a staple on Nintendo systems since the 2006 launch of the Wii. However, it isn't always ready for day one. Nintendo added Virtual Console support to the Wii U and the 3DS in the months following the launch of those systems.

It's also unclear exactly which old systems will be featured in the Switch's Virtual Console library. Nintendo's previous systems have offered games from the NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Sega Master System, Neo Geo, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS, but each new console has featured a different subset of those systems. Eurogamer has previously reported that GameCube games would be featured on the Switch's Virtual Console.

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Brendan Sinclair

Managing Editor

Brendan joined GamesIndustry.biz in 2012. Based in Toronto, Ontario, he was previously senior news editor at GameSpot in the US.