Nintendo has dealt a significant blow to GameCube scalpers with its recent Switch 2 announcement. Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that GameCube games will be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service when the Switch 2 launches this June at a price of $450.
This addition to Nintendo’s subscription service, which already features NES, Game Boy, GBA, SNES, N64, and Genesis/Mega Drive titles, is particularly notable because many of the GameCube titles slated for release are currently selling for exorbitant prices on the secondary market.
This is such a hyper-precise nuclear strike against retro gamecube copy scalpers it's not even funny lmfao pic.twitter.com/ADvKLhkl9s
— Mr. Thee (@PhillipWitz) April 2, 2025
Games like Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Chibi-Robo, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Colosseum have become prohibitively expensive for collectors, with some fetching hundreds of dollars on platforms like eBay. While this doesn’t guarantee that secondary market prices will immediately drop, it does provide gamers with an affordable way to experience these classics again.
It will no longer cost $500 to play Path of Radiance!#FireEmblem pic.twitter.com/Ep64eeukeC
— FEHology: The Study of Fire Emblem Heroes (@fehology) April 2, 2025
The first wave of GameCube titles coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack includes The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur II, and F-Zero GX, all available starting June 5th, 2025 – the same day the Switch 2 launches.
For retro gaming enthusiasts, this expansion of the Nintendo Switch Online library represents one of the most exciting aspects of the Switch 2 announcement, making the new console even more appealing while simultaneously undermining the inflated resale market that has put these beloved classics out of reach for many fans.
