It’s been an interesting time for Nintendo. In 2016, the company appeared to be blindsided by the demand for its NES Classic, a palm-sized Nintendo Entertainment System pre-loaded with 30 games. Even though all its titles were decades old, the $60 console sold for hundreds of dollars due to a lack of supply and a surplus of nostalgia that created a secondary market. Then, Nintendo announced they were discontinuing the item, with final shipments arriving at retailers through the end of April.
One possible reason why: The company may be looking to replace it with an SNES Classic.
According to Eurogamer, Nintendo has initiated development of a reissued Super Nintendo Entertainment System that will share the NES Classic’s tiny chassis and pre-loaded game selection. (Hopefully without the accompanying fits of rage from gamers unable to get their hands on one without paying a huge mark-up.) The Super Nintendo was released in the U.S. in 1991. Fueled by the popularity of titles like Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country, and others, it went on to sell 49 million systems worldwide.
Nintendo has yet to issue any official statement on the SNES Classic. Instead, the company is putting their promotional weight behind the release of the Switch, their portable console that debuted in March.
[h/t Thrillist]
April 21, 2017 – 3:15pm