Nintendo Classic Mini announced (1 Viewer)

[LeoA]

REDMOND, Wash., July 14, 2016 – If you see a Nintendo Entertainment System on store shelves this holiday shopping season, you haven’t entered a time machine. (Unless everyone around you is wearing acid-washed jeans and neon leg warmers. If that’s the case, you may have unknowingly walked through a rift in the space-time continuum.) The most likely scenario is you are setting eyes on the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, launching in stores on Nov. 11 at a suggested retail price of $59.99. That’s right: The NES is back! But this isn’t the same NES that you fondly remember. This new nostalgia-fueled system is a near-identical, mini replica of Nintendo’s original home console and plugs directly into your high-definition TV using an included HDMI cable. The console comes complete with 30 NES games built in, including beloved classics like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, PAC-MAN, and Kirby’s Adventure.

“We wanted to give fans of all ages the opportunity to revisit Nintendo’s original system and rediscover why they fell in love with Nintendo in the first place,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition is ideal for anyone who remembers playing the NES, or who wants to pass on those nostalgic memories to the next generation of gamers.”

The system comes packaged with an HDMI cable, an AC adapter and one NES Classic Controller, which is patterned after the iconic design of the original NES controller. But you really just want to know the full list of 30 games, right? Feast your eyes on the fantastic collection of NES classics included with each and every system:

Balloon Fight™
BUBBLE BOBBLE
Castlevania™
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest™
Donkey Kong™
Donkey Kong Jr. ™
DOUBLE DRAGON II: THE REVENGE
Dr. Mario™
Excitebike™
FINAL FANTASY®
Galaga™
GHOSTS’N GOBLINS®
GRADIUS™
Ice Climber™
Kid Icarus™
Kirby’s Adventure™
Mario Bros. ™
MEGA MAN® 2
Metroid™
NINJA GAIDEN
PAC-MAN™
Punch-Out!! ™ Featuring Mr. Dream
StarTropics™
SUPER C™
Super Mario Bros.™
Super Mario Bros. ™ 2
Super Mario Bros. ™ 3
TECMO BOWL
The Legend of Zelda™
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link™

There’s a little something for everyone: a nice mix of timeless favorites, cult classics and maybe even some games that you never got around to playing. Each is sure to bring back memories and produce plenty of new ones. You can even enjoy playing several of these games with two players by attaching a second NES Classic Controller, which will be sold separately at a suggested retail price of $9.99. A Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro can also be used (each sold separately).

When connected to a Wii Remote controller, the NES Classic Controller can also be used to play Virtual Console NES games on a Wii U or Wii system. Playing these retro games using a retro controller makes the experience that much more authentic. And if you ever need to step away from the NES Classic Edition in the middle of a tough level (or take a break to call one of Nintendo’s helpful Game Counselors*), don’t worry about losing any hard-earned progress. Each game has multiple suspend points, so you can start where you left off at a later time, no passwords needed.

What’s old is new again with the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition. Relive past glories. Finish off that boss you never beat. Save the galaxy and rescue the princess!

*Please only call if you have indeed entered a time machine. The Game Counselor program no longer exists in 2016.

It's about time that Nintendo enters this market. Hopefully a Super Nintendo Classic Mini follows in 2017.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It looks very cool. But since I can already download any game Nintendo has ever made for NES on my Nintendo Wii, I'm not sure that I'll be in a rush to go out and buy this. I'm afraid that I'd be super excited for one day, and then it would just end up collecting dust.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I'm all over this like a prom date.

 

[TravisR]

But since I can already download any game Nintendo has ever made for NES on my Nintendo Wii...

I haven't bought a video game system since the original X-Box so I'm definitely interested in getting this thing. I'll basically be getting it for the Super Marios, Pacman and maybe Excitebike though.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I'm curious if other titles will be available via download directly to the system or through alternate means like pre-loaded SD cards sold in stores. One can only hope. Still if those are the only 30 games it will ever have I'm still in. I owned 20 of them when I had a NES many years ago and they were some of the best games I ever had.

 

[LeoA]

No add-ons have been confirmed.

The system doesn't have internet connectivity, the USB port is just for powering the system, and Nintendo has said that no external storage options like SD cards are supported.

 

[Bryan^H]

Great list of game(but why leave out Castlevania 3?). It appears the controller is an exact repro of the original NES version. Pity it has a different plug. I would buy a handful of new controllers (as mine are pretty worn out) if they fit the original system.

 

[Clinton McClure]

No add-ons have been confirmed.

The system doesn't have internet connectivity, the USB port is just for powering the system, and Nintendo has said that no external storage options like SD cards are supported.

That's too bad because a lot of people will probably skip it if you can't add games.

 

[LeoA]

Great list of game(but why leave out Castlevania 3?). It appears the controller is an exact repro of the original NES version. Pity it has a different plug. I would buy a handful of new controllers (as mine are pretty worn out) if they fit the original system.

I had similar thoughts about Castlevania III.

Besides that omission, the lack of Contra also leaves me puzzled. Super C is fine and all, but why select that one over what people most remember and loved? But NES Contra also has never been on the Virtual Console despite Konami's continued support of it, so the mystery seems to run even deeper (The NES original however is available on Contra IV for the Nintendo DS).

I rather like that these NES styled controllers have Wii/Wii U compatibility though. Will go great with many of my Virtual Console downloads, Kirby's Dream Collection, Super Mario All-Stars, etc.

 

[Race Bannon]

Will have, no question

 

[Jeff Cooper]

If you have to just pick only 30 games and be stuck with only that; that's a pretty damn fine choice of games. I could definitely see myself picking this up.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Honestly, it's not for me, but those 30 games for $60 is not a bad deal at all, especially for people who either haven't bought a console in a very long time, aren't really big gamers, or want to buy something for their kids.

The added features (like save states) are neat, but I'll pass.

Also, if someone is really intrigued by the idea of this, for less than $60 you could get a Raspberry Pi, a case for it, and some USB controllers and load it up with an NES emulator. There are the legality issues with emulation and ROMs, but its more or less the same thing (arguably a lot better, actually).

 

[LeoA]

Compared to $5 a pop on the Wii U, this one is a great deal.

I love the official nature of it and the quality that should bring to the table over homebrew solutions, not to mention a controller with versatility that allows me to use it elsewhere on modern Nintendo hardware for classic gaming (And just maybe on the NX if Wiimote support survives for another generation).

I just wish it had Vs. Excitebike over the original Excitebike and Namco's Mappy Land over Pac-Man. I don't have a need for the two that they did include, but intend to spend $10 for this other pair on the Wii U soon.

Would've worked out rather well for me had they been included.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

$60 for 30 games really is a good deal, but what if I don't want all 30 of those games? Regardless of how many you actually want to play, you have to pay $60. That's the equivalent of buying 12 NES games on a Wii U or Wii (which, granted, is on top of the price of the console) and those games come with a lot of bonus features that the NES Mini might not have.

 

[LeoA]

That just comes with the territory where plug and plays, compilations, and so on are concerned. You take the good with the bad and if the percentage is too much towards the bad side to justify the purchase, you pass it over. But this lineup doesn't really have any stinkers in it though, which certainly helps.

While the value of this is indeed somewhat diminished for a 3DS/Wii/Wii U owner, I see another segment that might lead to significant sales for Nintendo. Past the markets you mentioned or the collectors market (This will sell to many such fans just on the boxart alone), there's the casual fans that have left the Nintendo fold through the years but remember the NES days of their childhood fondly.

I suspect a fair number of these will be sold to 30-40 year old adults and take up residence next to XB1's and PS4's. In essence, a physical extension of the Virtual Console program to bring it to fans that Nintendo's current hardware isn't reaching.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I can't imagine that someone won't hack the mini and add an SD card reader or USB port for ROMs within the first week after it is released. The legality issues always keep me from exploring that avenue but it would be crazy neat to see SD cards with tiny NES cart art on them.

Also, I'm 41 and the Mini will sit proudly under the tv beside my PS4.

 

[laser]

This isn't meant for core gamers. It's a mass market product for people who remember playing it in the 80's and hipsters. Will sell boatloads this Christmas at that price.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

It's my understanding that the Virtual Console on Wii/Wii U is not an emulator with ROMs, but actually self-contained program for each individual game. So I would imagine the NES Mini Classic is similar. It's probably not quite as simple as hacking it and throwing ROMs into the emulator. That said, it probably is as simple as hacking it and installing an emulator, but at that point you're just doing exactly what a Raspberry Pi and a 3D printed NES shell can accomplish already without hacking.

 

[Bryan^H]

They sure didn't skimp on the difficult games.
I know Ghost N Goblins is one of the hardest games ever created(NES version anyway) but it also has Castlevania(end boss Dracula in an exercise in stretching your swear word vocabulary) Ninja Gaiden, and Zelda 2 are also really tough.

 

[LeoA]

Morgan, it's still emulation either way. All that means by being self contained is that if you have 5 NES downloads on your Wii U, you also have 5 instances of the same NES emulator installed as well.

It's why homebrewers are able to "inject" other roms into Nintendo's emulators since the Wii days and play games not on the Virtual Console (including legitimate homebrews that don't constitute piracy, if I'm treading into forbidden territory here).

I don't think this thing will be hacked. It might not even be accessible if they go with a glob top.