If you’re like me, you love the “mini” console phenomenon that’s going on right now. Nintendo started off the craze by releasing the Nintendo Entertainment System Classic (NES Classic). This system launched in November of 2016 to immediate acclaim and sales. It sold out instantaneously. Following this, Nintendo had to reissue the console. It went out of print in December of 2018.
Nintendo set off a bomb to the gaming industry. Companies that formerly made consoles were in the market for these mini-HD consoles. After all, retro gaming on an HD screen sucks unless it’s been optimized or modded. Nintendo followed up on this with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Mini (SNES Classic). That mini console released in September of 2017. Nintendo learned their lesson from the NES Classic though. They printed many more copies of the SNES Classic.
Flash forward to today, and we have the Playstation Classic, the Turbo Grafx 16 Mini, and the Sega Genesis Classic on the market. These consoles all sold relatively well and besides the Playstation Classic, were well received. So what’s next in this craze?
Why You Won’t Be Getting An Nintendo 64 Version
The final bit for why there probably won’t be an N64 Classic, is a smaller reason. The NES and SNES controllers are already small and compact. They were easy to remake for the modern audience. Nintendo 64 controllers are huge and cumbersome. So you would have a tiny console, but a massive set of controllers? You can’t make the N64 controller any smaller without it being laughable to hold. In the realm of badly designed controllers, it takes the cake in my opinion. So to keep the “mini” aesthetic going, the controllers would be an issue.
Think More For N64 Remasters Or Remakes Instead
The Nintendo 64 was my first home console. It’s what got me into gaming in the first place. I would love more than anything for an N64 Mini. If it was $150, I wouldn’t even think about not buying it. That doesn’t mean that Nintendo is just going to come out and make one though. I also collect retro games. Nintendo 64 prices, especially in quarantine, have exploded. The console combines low print runs with huge demand. So you see games like Mario Kart 64 that sold incredibly well, still going for $40-60. The prices are insane, so getting 25-30 of the best games on the system for $150 would be a great deal. If Nintendo starts going into making the different colors for the console or controllers, just take my wallet now.
In the end, it would just make more sense financially for Nintendo to do what they did with the Virtual Console. If they charge $8 for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Switch, that’ll probably sell more than any number of N64 classics would. That’s just the truth. So maybe for all of us N64 fans, it’s just better to hope for some Switch ports of our favorite 64 bit games. It’s one of the most popular consoles from my youth, and it could definitely have used all this support when it was in it’s life. But sadly, we’re just left with the memories and expensive games.
For more on the Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, Retro Gaming, or any other general pop culture, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.
Source: Modern Vintage Gamer
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