Nintendo Switch Online customers in Japan and South Korea will lose access toSuper Formation Socceron March 27th. This is a harsh reminder that subscriptions are not a replacement for ownership, and that legacy game publishers are not motivated by preservation.
Super Formation Soccer, known asSuper Soccerin North America and Europe, was originally developed by Human Entertainment and published in the early 90s. The Super Nintendo (SNES) game was popular during its initial release and still enjoys a fanbase in Japan, where it was featured on the Super NES Classic Edition miniature console in 2017.
This marks the first time that a classic game has been removed from Nintendo Switch Online’s service. Nintendo of Japan made the announcement on itsX accountand in a blurb at the bottom of itsSuper Famicom NSO support page. The company also clarifies thateveryonein Japan and South Korea will lose access to the game, regardless of their membership status or playtime.
Notably, Nintendo acknowledges that Super Formation Soccer is currently owned by Spike Chunsoft. The game development company, which recently had a big hit withDragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, may have pulled Super Formation Soccer from the Japanese and Korean NSO services in anticipation of a retro games bundle or some other re-release. Or, asPolygonnotes, Nintendo’s license the carry the game may have simply expired. We’ve reached out to both companies for clarification.
As for whether an expiring license agreement will affect the English-language Super Soccer—we don’t know. I haven’t had much luck finding the current owner of Super Soccer. And, because Nintendo handled the North American publishing for this game in 1992, Nintendo may retain some rights to the localized property. It’s also possible that Super Soccer is roped under a different licensing agreement than Super Formation Soccer and will leave NSO at a later date.
Frankly, the loss of Super Soccer would go unnoticed by most Nintendo customers in North America and Europe. It’s a good game, but it’s far from the most popular title on NSO. From a western perspective, Super Soccer may be best known for naming one of its in-game teams “Nintendo,” which is pretty unusual for a third-party title (although, to be clear, Nintendo is the one who inserted this name in the English localization).
