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Nintendo fans fear European Switch Online N64 games will be 50hz

"We have nothing to announce on this topic."

Nintendo fan excitement at the impending arrival of N64 games for Nintendo Switch Online has been tempered somewhat in Europe by confusion over whether we will get the region's original 50Hz versions.

A rewatch of last night's Nintendo Direct and comparisons with the versions shown in North America and Japan suggests the segment on N64 did use European PAL footage to advertise the upcoming Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass.

But it remains to be seen whether Nintendo will offer a simple switch between different localised copies, or offer the US 60Hz versions of games alongside the European 50Hz originals.

Cover image for YouTube videoNintendo Direct - 9.23.2021

When contacted for more information on all of this by Eurogamer this morning, Nintendo UK replied: "We have nothing to announce on this topic."

This is not the first time European fans have complained at the idea of 50Hz versions of retro games being offered to them by Nintendo. The same situation popped up on the Wii for its Virtual Console service, with Nintendo ultimately providing 60Hz versions of some games where possible.

Why does this all matter? The faster 60Hz versions were developed as the definitive option, and fans don't like the changes to game speed or screen size which sometimes left 50Hz PAL versions running slower or in a letterboxed form.

Of course, existing Nintendo Switch Online apps for the NES and SNES can be downloaded from other regions to access their catalogues - which are sometimes different. There's a good chance this may also be the case for N64 when it arrives.

Nintendo is still to announce the pricing for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass, before it launches late October.