It appears Nintendo isn’t quite ready to turn its back on the past.
The company plans to release a mini version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in time for Christmas, Eurogamer reports. The development of a mini SNES is a major reason why Nintendo elected to discontinue the NES Classic Edition.
The NES Classic Edition was highly popular, but Nintendo notoriously undersupplied it, as the console “wasn’t intended to be an ongoing, long-term product,” sources from the company recently told IGN. The SNES mini is expected to mirror the NES Classic in terms of its plug-and-play setup and having a library of pre-installed games, according to Eurogamer.
Specifics of the mini console are not yet known, including Nintendo’s plans for production volume.
In our opinion, Nintendo’s decision to use to new hardware to reinvigorate interest in its classic games is, while wise from a marketing perspective, detrimental to its newest home console, the Nintendo Switch. Although some retro games are available on Switch, the system at this time lacks a true virtual console, despite seemingly being a perfect vessel for Nintendo to provide fans access to vintage games.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Joe Haupt
