Mario Kart 64 coming to Switch via Online Expansion Pack subscription

During a recent Nintendo Direct presentation, the Kyoto-based video game company announced that classic N64 games – and, surprise, Sega Genesis titles – will be coming to the Switch via the Switch Online subscription.

Nintendo Switch Online is a monthly or yearly subscription that allows game saves to be store on the cloud, online gameplay for Switch games and access to a library of classic NES and Super NES titles.

Now that will be expanded with N64 and Sega Genesis games starting in late October 2021. For racing game fans that means Mario Kart 64 will now be on the contemporary portable console, with F-Zero X following at a later date. Nine other N64 games will also be available at launch including Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

14 Sega Genesis, or Mega Drive to those outside of North America, games will be released too, but no racing titles will be part of the initial batch.

The slightly disappointing news being it’s an Expansion Pack subscription, not bundled into existing Switch Online payment tiers. Current individual tier pricing for three months is £6.99/$7.99 or £17.99/$19.99 for the year.

Pricing for the additional game tier has yet to be revealed, as has the list of countries it will be available in.

To celebrate the news, Nintendo is also producing wireless facsimiles of the classic N64 and Genesis/Mega Drive controllers for the Switch priced at $59.99 each. A Switch Online subscription is required for purchase, although you do not need to use these controllers to play the retro games.

This is a particular bone of contention for our very own Rich Hutson as he predicted N64 games coming to the online service during our pre-E3 podcast. So close, yet so far, Rich…

What do you think? Does it hinge on the pricing of the new service? Let us know in the comments below.