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Ars Technica reports that Nintendo, citing "high demand," has decided to cease production of its NES Classic Edition game console, also known as the NES Classic Mini. According to the story,
Nintendo has announced that it will cease production of the 30-game NES Classic Edition plug-and-play system by the end of the month, even though retailers have been unable to keep the system on store shelves for pretty much the entirety of its six-month run on the market so far. In a statement provided to IGN, a Nintendo representative said:
Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product.
[...] The fact that the miniature unit could be hacked to run any number of NES ROMs (or even to run Linux) may have had something to do with that surge of interest.
Also at The Verge.
Previously: Famicom Classic Mini Console Sold 263k Units in Japan
Nintendo to Bring $60 "Retro" Video Gaming Console to U.S. Market
(Score: 2) by ledow on Friday April 14 2017, @06:07PM (1 child)
Emulators are on every device you can imagine (hey, why would you want Apple anyway?).
The app stores have them, or they are a two second download, and then you just search for a game and "ROM" and you'll find something you can use in minutes. It's been like that since the late 90's.
RetroPie - £30 and you have a complete, silent multi-system HDMI / wireless / bluetooth machine set up for emulation for almost all systems classic systems from NES to PS1. Hell, a couple of menus and you can install Kodi on the same thing (don't know whether it has all those modules that let you see everything, because I don't use it).
Yes, I know it's not legitimate. I'm one of the few people who DOESN'T pirate stuff. But it's there, it exists, it's cheaper, better, modern and "just works". If you have anything approaching a USB controller, even XBox 360 controllers, etc. then it can just use them so you don't have to pay out.
In that market, you could make a killing just selling legal versions of the original ROMs. But Nintendo and others have never even tried that. Instead they pay someone to recreate all the above, license a ROM, put it into consumers hands, where it gets hacked to be like the above in days, and then they discontinue it and try to shut them down.
In that climate, you cannot just sell a box that plays a very limited number of "classic games". It's dead in the water.
But I bet you could make a fortune selling official "Nintendo" NES/SNES/N64 controllers that have a USB plug on them, or even wireless.
Nintendo et al lose on everything but the legitimacy and branding. They don't play on it, either. Sell "official" Nintendo retro merchandise, including ROMs and controllers and even empty shells of the classic machines, and you could make money. Hell, tie it into the modern stuff so if you have an account that bought the Super Mario 3 NES ROM, you can play it on Wii Console, etc. too for free and vice versa.
When StarROMs started up, I thought companies were learning. But nothing big ever came of it and it disappeared. I *want* to play my old games, on the old controllers. Unless I break the law, cobble it together or pay over-the-odds for very limited equipment, I can't.
(Score: 2) by julian on Friday April 14 2017, @06:20PM
Yes, I know it's not legitimate.
It's not strictly *legal*, but it's not unethical if you've bought the games before.