Nintendo has announced they will be releasing a plug and play system called the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition. Why is this a thing and why is everyone and their mother giving Nintendo universal praise for the idea? Nostalgia, of course. It is the only card Nintendo has left to play. So I advise everyone take a step back and keep the nostalgia from clouding their minds so they can see this for what it is, a poorly executed idea. Nintendo have made what could have been a brilliant idea into a lazy attempt to remind gamers how good they USED to be. The worst part is gaming sites (this one included) are already making lists of games that should be part of the Mini SNES and N64 editions. The Mini NES doesn’t need to exist, at least not in this form, and it’s very telling of what’s been wrong with Nintendo.
It should be Nintendo’s “PlayStation TV” done right.
Instead of making the Mini NES more in line with something like the PlayStation TV (great idea, poor execution) or Apple TV. Nintendo decides the Mini NES will not connect to the internet, not connect to external storage devices, or use physical media.
If the Mini NES connected to the internet and was specifically made to be a virtual console, it would make sense and I could easily get behind it. People that don’t want to spend the money on a Nintendo 3DS or Wii U have an option to access the Virtual Console easily and cheaply. I could see many hardcore gamers buying one in order to avoid using emulators. Had they done that it would have been a slam dunk of an idea. Nintendo’s greatest asset will always be its backlog of games. For it not to be able to download from the Virtual Console is a mistake that needs to be rectified. They also just need to be better at putting games on the Virtual Console. Everything that was on the Wii should have been put onto the Wii U already. Nintendo, get it together.
The games are already available on Nintendo’s Virtual Console.
The Mini NES comes with a total of 30 games. All of them arguably classics. It’s a good line up of games, I can’t lie. The problem is 28 of these games are already available on either the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U Virtual Console (some on both) and the two games that aren’t available on either (Bubble Bobble, Final Fantasy) are available on the Wii Virtual Console. Nintendo’s asking, yet again, for you to purchase something you most likely have already purchased.
When are people going to finally get sick of it? How many times do you have to buy Super Mario before you realize Nintendo is screwing over its customers? Sony has Cross-buy. How come Nintendo still doesn’t? Nintendo has been doing the handheld thing longer than anyone and Sony has outclassed them when it comes to sharing between devices. I am not spending a dime on any Virtual Console games until they fix this and packing them inside a cute little NES isn’t going to make me. If I bought the Mini NES and signed into it with my Nintendo ID and all of a sudden all the games it comes with are readily available on my Wii U or Nintendo 3DS, then Nintendo might get my purchase. However, with no ability to connect to the internet, that can’t happen.
Shouldn’t Nintendo be focused on manufacturing the Nintendo NX?
We have heard next to nothing about the future console for the company. The only game that we know that is coming out for the system is the new Zelda game (and possibly Dragon Quest XI, but that that has yet to be confirmed). If this thing hasn’t been delayed out of March, they sure are taking there sweet time to reveal the console. Wouldn’t this also take money and resources away from the Nintendo NX getting through production? Maybe, maybe not. All I know is for a company with as loose footing with the gaming public for its lackluster past few years, you’d think they would be more focused on what’s next. Or at least chomping at the bit to get the Nintendo NX out as fast as possible to wash those Wii U years off.
All I can really say is they need to focus on the future. The NES was a great console. It was my first console and it’s where my love of gaming started. I will always remember it for that, but this cheap imitation has no business getting the accolades its receiving. Nintendo shouldn’t be getting praised for releasing something they already have with the Virtual Console. The Nintendo I grew up with were innovators. The D-pad, shoulder buttons, and analog stick may not have been invented by Nintendo, but that’s where I used them on a console first. Nintendo is stuck in a rut, having been treading water for years. They need to go back to what made them great in the first place: innovation. Innovate with your games and your consoles. Stop reselling us the same things. Nintendo has to be better than this, a better Nintendo makes Sony and Microsoft better. And when the big three are going head to head to head, we all win.
