One of the biggest announcements of Thursday's Nintendo Direct was the confirmation of an additional tier being added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. This subscription "Expansion Pack" will unlock access to a select library of Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games with an increased monthly cost, though the price was left unannounced. As part of the reveal, Nintendo teased several Nintendo 64 games that wouldn't be available at launch, but that are planned for release later on.
One of the biggest offerings that will be available when the new service launches in late October will be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It's only fitting then that one of the first confirmed Nintendo 64 games to be added at a later date will be The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the sequel to Ocarina of Time. Neither of these iconic Nintendo 64 Zelda classics are otherwise available for the Nintendo Switch, so it's an exciting occasion.
Several other Nintendo 64 games that were teased to be released for Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack at a later date. These games include Mario Golf, Pokemon Snap, F-Zero X, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Paper Mario, and also Banjo-Kazooie. Sadly, no Sega Genesis games were teased, so it's unclear if more games from the platform will be added later or not.
In comparison to what's been announced to be available for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack's launch, the teased releases for the future are surprisingly few. At launch, the service will offer 9 Nintendo 64 games, including Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, as well as 14 Sega Genesis games, including Ecco the Dolphin and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. That's 23 games available at launch with 7 more announced for the future, for 30 total announced at the moment.
Those excited for Nintendo's plans to make Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games available have another opportunity, too. Nintendo will be releasing special Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis controllers for the Nintendo Switch. A Nintendo Switch Online subscription will be required to purchase the controllers, which each costing $49.99. They are, of course, entirely optional.
Finalized details for Nintendo's rollout of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass have yet to be announced. That means that there's currently no price, nor is there a release date beyond late October. Nintendo did confirm that current subscribers will be able to add on the Expansion Pass or keep their current subscription if they want. There are no other announced Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass benefits other than unlocking the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis game libraries.