Nintendo is in the midst of a resurgence, and now the company is looking to capitalise on nostalgia with the launch of its latest gaming console – a retro NES console that comes with 30 of its classic games.
While it looked like Nintendo was struggling to hold on to its place as one of the gaming giants after its Wii U console failed to live up to expectations, it seems the company is now capable of doing no wrong.
Since the launch of the augmented reality (AR) game Pokémon Go just over a week ago, its share price has rocketed up 50pc, largely due to the fact the game has broken all records in terms of downloads. And it’s only just getting started.
Coming 11 November
In its latest move to entice older players who revel in nostalgia, the gaming giant has announced that, just in time for Christmas, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) will be returning to our shelves.
It has been 30 years since the NES was launched here in Europe, but love for the console remains incredibly strong among gamers, as it launched a generation of classic video game characters like Mario, Link and Donkey Kong.
In its announcement, Nintendo said that the NES Classic is not an exact replica of the original, but will feature updated hardware, such as the ability to connect it to a TV via a HDMI cable. The console will cost $60 when it launches on 11 November.
The NES Classic console. Image via Business Wire
Retro, but with some modern perks
Also different this time around is that the days of having to write down passwords to allow you to return to your last checkpoint are no more. Each game has now been coded to remember the point you had reached in the game before you last stopped playing.
Each console comes with one controller, but the console can handle up to two players, meaning an extra controller will need to be purchased if you want to play one of the several two-player games.
Nintendo has also allowed this new NES to work cross-platform in a sense, having revealed that, 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.
Nintendo’s decision to launch such a console comes a few years after entrepreneurial Nintendo fans took it upon themselves to release their own retro consoles on crowdfunding platforms and, in some cases, offered ways to turn your smartphone and desktop computer into a console.
30 games will be made available to everyone who buys the NES Classic, including, of course, many of the games that made the original console what it was. On that list are the first four Mario titles, Donkey Kong (which was Mario’s debut), Final Fantasy and Castlevania.
Even the box for the console is designed to look retro. Image via Business Wire
Original NES console image via Paul Stringer/Shutterstock
