Nintendo Switch 2: Retro Remaster Revolution Still a Major Selling Point

Among the many announcements that came from one of the biggest Japanese game companies on April 2 was the reveal that the retro library of games for the console is getting a huge bump. As was announced, with the Switch 2, players will be able to access the much-loved classics of the Nintendo GameCube era, further enforcing the appeal of retro remasters right now.

Different from the General Entertainment Remake Trend

At the minute, remakes, reboots, and sudden sequels for media made decades ago are increasingly receiving eye-rolls. Particularly in film, but also TV show adaptations of old movies and shows, it’s seen as a cash-grab, banking on the affection for an existing IP without offering much by way of respect or coherence for what earned the brand its appeal. In gaming, however, it’s very different because of how the entertainment technology works.

Superb creative works that offer challenges, fun, and great stories have become locked to hardware that’s not accessible anymore. Further, those where it can be accessed, elements like the controls and visuals cause a classic to suffer. This can be seen across gaming, even in gaming that’s always been online. Take the ever-popular Rainbow Riches online slot game, for example. It was first released way back in 2009, but its developer has remastered it.

Now, with enhanced graphics and touch-screen controls befitting of the shift from computer to mobile play since its release, Rainbow Riches has reinstated itself as a go-to favorite. The fundamentals of what made it popular over 15 years ago – like its high top prize, low minimum bet, and stack of features – remain coveted today. You can see this approach to updating controls and aesthetics being applied directly in a recent remaster hit.

Upon the release of the remaster of a certain 1990s 3D platformer the involved saving Gobbos, it received massive praise for its polish and the restoration of a cult classic. You can see similar praise leveled at the stacks of games Aspyr – now seen as a champion of retro gaming – has remastered, and it reflects in the sales, too. The Tomb Raider I-III Remastered set grossed over $4 million, and that was just on Valve’s computer game launcher.

Nintendo Continuing to Tap the Rich Vein of Retro Hits

Their famed racer may be the headline act of the Nintendo Switch 2’s launch on June 5, but the success of retro releases and remasters was evident throughout the presentation. The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack getting F-Zero GX and Soulcalibur II brings two superb games that have been all but lost to the cartridge years of the Nintendo Gamecube. Some will even come with a retro screen filter!

Further, the hits of the Nintendo Switch generation will be given upgrade packs. This is one of the many benefits of the modern, more digitized space for gaming. The hit adventure games, released in 2017 and 2023, will be given upgrade packs that’ll make them even more refined for the much more powerful hardware arriving in 2025. It’s a move that clearly showcases the merits of remastering even recent classics.

Gaming technology has advanced tremendously even just over the last five or ten years, but that doesn’t mean that the creations of yesteryear are any less valuable than those being released today. The Nintendo Switch 2’s showcase further demonstrated the demand and value of remastering the greats of the past.