Bilawal Bashir 
Recently discovered customs shipping data might have spilled the beans on GameCube games coming to NSO soon.
Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service much like the Xbox Live and PlayStation Essential services, which lets players go online on their consoles to play their games. Like Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo also has an additional and more expensive subscription tier, with NSO including choice games from a long of Nintendo and other consoles.
The Japanese gaming giant is constantly adding more games to the service, even adding a couple of Mature-rated games to sweeten the pot. The NSO + Expansion service offers games from the SEGA Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 consoles. Missing from the list is the Nintendo GameCube, which might be joining the service if the recent shipping data is any indication.
GameCube games may come to Nintendo Switch Online
A keen-eyed user on Famiboards discovered possible references to a GameCube controller in customs shipping data, which could signal GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online.
While not significant in isolation, the code names and parts are similar to previously released Nintendo Switch Online controllers, leading to renewed speculation. Another user backed the shipping data up but had reservations about what it could mean. The inclusion of code names and parts could just be a coincidence, as there’s no reliable data just yet.
Previously, Nintendo enabled support for old controllers on the Switch. Some controllers, like the NES controller, work fine in games, but not all in-game functions and features are supported. The GameCube controller support could be simple support functionality, possibly for the upcoming Switch 2, and nothing more.
How will Nintendo handle GameCube on Switch support?
All previous console games like the NES, SNES, and N64 are downloaded at once with Nintendo Switch Online, but GameCube games are larger and might need a different delivery system for the Switch.
The NSO + Expansion service downloads the entire available catalog of games to the Switch console. The delivery system works because older console games have lower storage demands. Unlike modern games like Call of Duty, older ROMs are significantly smaller and easier to keep. However, GameCube games came on a disk that could potentially store more than 1GB of data.
Nintendo could go the Xbox or PlayStation route and let players download only the titles they want to play through the service. There’s also a chance that the Mario maker might just remaster individual titles and sell them at a higher price. Nintendo hasn’t made any official announcements about GameCube games coming to NSO.
