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Nintendo Is Launching a New, Tiny NES For $60 With 30 Games (engadget.com)
Nintendo, which has been in the news a lot lately thanks to Pokemon Go, has announced a new console. It's called the Nintendo Classic Mini, and it will ship pre-loaded with 30 games. The upcoming Nintendo Classic Mini will be priced at $60, and an extra NES controller will set you back by $10. The controller can be attached to a Wii remote for use and the Virtual Console on the Wii or Wii U. The console, which comes with an HDMI and USB cable (for power) will ship on November 11. Engadget reports about the titles: The full list includes Balloon Fight, Bubble Bobble, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Final Fantasy, Galaga, Ghosts' N Ghoblins, Gradius, Ice Climber, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Metroid, Ninja Gaiden, Pac-Man, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, StarTropics, SUPER C, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.HotHardware has more details.
I hope this isn't like the Retron 5, Genesis 4 or NeoGeo X. Shitty ass emulation. Needs to run fucking like a normal console.
You can buy a NES for $20 pretty much everywhere go do that ya whiny ass bitch
I'm sorry that all the joy got sucked out of your life. I hope someday you find it again.
Me: > :(
Me: I wonder if the controllers are prewired or...
Article: "extra NES controller"
Me: I can get BRAND NEW NES CONTROLLERS!?!? PICTURES NOW
Article: >
Me:
The wife is going to hate me for it but I am definitely buying this for my kids... yeah, yeah, you got me, it's really for me.
Will there be an app store for the chance to get more games?
They went too far back...why didn't they just make this a SNES too and include some Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter!?
I realize Nintendo wanted to update the unit for easy connection to modern TVs (HDMI), but they could have at least made the controllers backward-compatible. So much for using an NES Advantage on this thing...
Are retro Nintendo games available from their network on their current hardware? I guess $60 is cheaper than a used Wii?
So Nintendo is doing officially what the Chinese have been doing for more than a decade illegally.
They go by the name "Power Player" or "Super Joy" and contain dozens of NES games preloaded. The entire system is typically contained within the controller and the quality is very poor.
I'm surprised they included Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is a fairly terrible game overall, but neglected Castlevania III. It was really ahead of its time in many ways, and although it's one of the hardest games ever made (I've never been able to beat it without save states unfortunately), it's also incredibly fun and rewarding.
I have some thoughts about this NES re-release but I'll ponder it some more before I make a comment I'll later regret.
and then add a flash card and Hi-Def NES HDM
Shut the fuck up. Running Linux used to not be a given, asshole. It used to be a true accomplishment, and pardon us old guys for appreciating that.
For significantly more for $60.
SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
While proposed as a Troll, the NES games were more targeted toward children/teenagers as the main demographics.
Kids today will not appreciate these games as the new ones are far superior in most aspects. This is only targeted towards those late 30's early 40's with a nostalgic love for these games.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I second this sentiment. While I have better things to do with $60 than buy this, it's still tempting, and I can certainly see the draw of it. Small amount of money compared to an Xbox or Playstation, most of the popular games from it built right in, just plug and go. Also since no cartridges, none of the electro-mechanical problems that the original NES developed over time.
That same AC probably thinks bicycles should only be for children too young to drive, and that they should be outlawed from public roads, too. Sad, sad, sad person.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Too bad they're releasing the square controller instead of the better, redesigned NES-039 controller.
It's not quite the same, but if you have a Wii or Wii U, you can connect one of these controllers to a Wii Remote and use it with Virtual Console games or other games that support the Classic Controller and don't need X, Y, or the shoulder buttons.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is also a much more complicated game to emulate because it uses the MMC5 mapper to expand the NES's graphical capability. (I'll admit that CV3 underuses the MMC5 compared to some other games though. It was originally designed for the somewhat less complex VRC6 mapper, but Konami probably found it cheaper to use the MMC5 than to get the VRC6 certified.)
Powered by standard USB: Win
Controllers are usable with Wii and Wii U: Win
Controllers are dirt cheap: Win
Games are automatically saved at certain points allowing resuming after power off: Win
NES styling: Win
HDMI: Win
Two player support: Win
Ability to play additional games via cartridge or download: ???
Better known as 318230.
The connector is the same as that of a Wii Classic Controller (RVL-005), which is shaped somewhat similarly to the NES-039.
Introducing fewer products at once allows a company to gauge customer interest and not have to waste as much R&D and marketing money on products that customers are likely to reject. It also shortens the time to negotiate with third-party game publishers for permission to include the game. Finally, including Mortal Kombat would cause the whole collection to be rated M by ESRB, which shuts out the market of high school underclassmen.
You'll have to ask Blue Planet Software about that. When Nintendo first introduced Virtual Console on the original Wii, it mentioned GoldenEye and Tetris as games that would be unlikely to show up because of licensing difficulties.
Take my money!
The Zapper relies on the 15.7 kHz horizontal scan rate of a CRT SDTV to detect light. The vast majority of HDMI displays are LCD, not CRT, and thus lack anything remotely similar for the Zapper to pick up. To work on an HDTV, the system would need to use a system similar to the Wii Remote and Sensor Bar to determine where the barrel is pointed.
One of my favorite quotes, from C.S. Lewis
“When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
far superior based on what? graphics? sure, sound of course. but gameplay??? im not so sure (when talking triple A games anyway) there is very little "new" you got 100 FPS games sports games and racing games, but very few games with good gameplay these days. I still find myself playing older nintendo and sega games over my PS4
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
$60 for what's basically a Raspberry Pi (i.e some custom ARM board) and only 30 games?! The knock-off fake NES consoles from the early 90s they sold in India had like 200 games and cost less than that.
They should be like $40 and come with 60 ~ 80 roms. The price doesn't seem worth it.
for real, I have so many accessories it would be so much nicer to use my turbo gamepad for one example. im sure someone will come up with an adaptor however https://upload.wikimedia.org/w...
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Can you please enlighten me as to why you believe this is an inferior product? I'm not part of the 'Retro' community, so I'd be grateful to know of any better alternatives.
seeing as the controllers are entirely new, and only *look* like the original controllers, nothing is stopping them building a 'zapper' with modern tech that would work with HDTVs, other than cheapness and laziness.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
If it included Contra I'd be in. I just bought an NES at a garage sale. I can't find a copy of Contra for less than $50.
Nintendo probably doesn't want to cannibalize sales of its current console that uses the pointing technolgy (Wii U). And the controller itself isn't necessarily cheap. Nintendo charges in the neighborhood of $35 for a Wii Remote Plus, plus whatever two clusters of IR LEDs on a stick would cost.
By far most of the new games today only have superior graphics and sound. Many don't surpass the stories that were written and very few surpass the size that many of those NES games had, especially when jammed into that little ROM chip. Keep in mind that the vast majority of today's games also handhold you all the way through. One of the reasons why games like Dark Souls or FTL are so popular is because even if you do everything right, you can still fail and that's the end of the line.
The big draw for a lot of people is that those older games, they don't handhold you. They don't put tips in the loading screens and so on. In the end, to each their own.
Om, nomnomnom...
Blowing isn't the answer; cleaning the contacts is. Nintendo once sold a Cleaning Kit that could be used for NES, Game Boy, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance Game Paks. Nowadays, you can just buy a small bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol and a box of cotton swabs. Wet one end and move it back and forth across both sides of the Game Pak's edge connector. Notice how much dust you picked up. Then do the same with the dry side of the swab.
You can even tell which part of the connector is dirty by how the NES misbehaves:
To clean GameCube, Wii, and Wii U Game Discs, wet a washcloth and wipe in and out between the center and edge, never around.
Obtaining the ROMs legally is a bit more difficult. You can't just buy the loose Game Pak and then download the GoodNES set off some torrent site (UMG v. MP3.com). Instead, to qualify under the "essential step" exception of 17 USC 117 and foreign counterparts, you have to buy a Kazzo board, hook it up to a computer, and find the appropriate dumping script for the mapper that each game uses.
That sounds about right: $20 for the BOM, $20 for royalties payable to third-party publishers, and $20 for retailer markup.
Guess you missed the article on the benefits of many games to the human brain. It is the cover article in the July Scientific American. Many are very beneficial to cognitive capabilities in adults, especially older adults.
Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer, Retired
I am shocked its taken them so long. Cheesy, probably illegal, 3rd party knock offs sold in malls and flea markets have been doing this for at least a decade now....and cheaper. Nintendo is honestly coming to market with a knock off of the knock offs for 6+ times the price of what I saw people buying them for 10 years ago?
I can't help but laugh.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Im not sure if thats true anymore. It was certainly true when they were sitting in water, rusting at peoples garage sales in the 90s and you couldnt give them away. However time, even a short amount like 20 years, does funny things.
On craigslist, a bare bones NES console seems to go for $60+ with no games.
i was at a retro gaming convention recently and the average price was about $100 for a NES console (controllers extra). A BNIB boxed one i saw selling for $900, but that was probably just for show.
NES games were going for at least $10-20 each. With some titles over a hundred dollars. There is a whole retro gaming scene that loves consoles! and at the retro gaming con that i went to there were at least a hundred tables of people selling old NES games. The con was packed, and many people had nes games and consoles under their arms as they left. I personally saw people paying $100 myself no problem plus $20 bucks for a nes controller or two.
Some people there were old 30-40 somethings like myself who owned a NES back in the 80s, but many more were 10-25 years old, and they were the ones who had no problem plunking down $100 bucks for a NES.
It was all a bit surreal..
I do wonder what this announcement will do to the retro gaming market. One of the big problems is finding CRT monitors for the light guns and era specific eccentricities (RF adaptors etc). I guess they didnt get duck hunt running on this thing...
As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
Well one might argue about exclusion of various games as favorites, however three things seem evident:
1) No mention of Wifi for loading new games, which probably means:
A) It doesn't have it
B) You won't be able to
2) The front cartridge bay at least from the pictures is fake, and considering not mentioned, doubly so.
3) It has 3 sets of ports: HDMI, USB, and Controllers. Only the USB might be used to load games, but it is being used for power.
So all of those things point to this being a one off stand alone product (which is still pretty awesome), and considering it is only 60$ there isn't really a whole lot to complain about really (the cost of one modern video game).
Also no Contra Waaaa! Though Super C, so not so bad.
Personally some omissions I see are:
Blades of Steel - Biggest omission. One of the best two player games.
Dragon Warrior - 2nd Biggest omission, though FF so not too bad.
Super Spike V Ball - Also one of the most fun two player games. Perhaps nixed due to lack of 4 player support.
Bionic Commando - I just have fond memories of this one.
Strider - Ditto
Some runner ups:
Ultima - Can't remember what it was like. Big frachise.
TMNT - Kids would probably like this. Probably licencing issues.
Wizardry - Can't remember what it was like, probably didn't age well.
The fact that you need to ask is a bad sign.
I work in technology. I have stopped purchasing consoles and "Exclusive" bits of hardware where ever possible. Console needs to die, not because I am a PC gamer, which I am, but because people should not be asked to shell out $$$ just to play on an exclusive platform. The different in cost and performance are less of the issue compared to vendor lock in with game titles.
Regarding the Retro community. There are many fans like http://byuu.org/ that focus on 100% accuracy with emulation. Compound that with available Up-scaling technology and you can make an older titles visually look better without altering the original code or game-play. I cannot tell you how terrible many game ports have been and show a clear trend that game companies do not respect their IP and would rather damage it in the pursuit of money than to do right by it or the gamer community.
Do we really need to get into Nintendo's terrible history against gamers to add more fuel to this?
From what I can gather, there is no game cartridge slot. Why? I want to be able to play my old games via hdmi. So, this is probably an emulator. Can you give it roms? Why not just plug the computer into hdmi if this is the case?
Jeri Ellsworth's C64-in-a-joystick that came out about 10 years ago was one of the first times I found one of these retro consoles to be accurate enough to run the games. What was especially fun is there werer some hidden pads on the C64DTV to attached external keyboard and floppy drive, making the toy joystick into a fairly functional classic computer.
So here's hoping that Nintendo's attention to detail has led them to putting the right people (probably a contractor) on this project and good testers who will make sure the games run perfect. The list of games they selected is an impressively good selection of excellent titles, I'm especially happy for Bubble Bobble and Baloon Fight to have made the list.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
You'd probably throw the US wall wart away and get a proper one for your country. I'm curious if it is the typical 5VDC barrel or 5VDC micro-USB, either of those ought to be easy for you to find. Let us hope it is not the 9VAC adapter that the original NES used.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
My credit card is ready.
How does this compete to buying a Wii and downloading those games via Virtual Console?
I think the Zapper only had a light filter
The photodiode's output runs through a resonator circuit, similar to that used by remote controls to demodulate pulses, to distinguish 15.7 kHz CRT scanning from other light sources.
and the games then had to make the interesting object bright and everything else on the screen dark during a frame to be able to detect the hit.
Or if the game makes the whole screen bright, it can time from the start of the frame to determine how far up or down it is pointed. A game can use this information in one of two ways: to narrow down how many "interesting objects" it needs to test, or to directly move an object up or down. The Zap Ruder tech demo shows this, and its Pong-like air hockey simulator called "ZapPing" feels just as responsive as "Laser Hockey" in Wii Play.
Because of that it was possible to cheat by pointing the Zapper at a lamp to get a guaranteed hit.
Hardly. If the photodiode sees light just before the start of the frame, the game sees it as a disconnected Zapper. (From the CPU's point of view, the resonator produces a 1 for dark and a 0 for light, and a disconnected input is pulled to 0.)
As usual, NESdev Wiki explains it in detail.
It will only take a few weeks before someone figures out how to mod it and load custom software on it. It's going to do a lot more than play those 30 selected games.
i missed that issue. i was playing mario kart.
An LCD with sufficiently low latency can do it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Twinstiq, game news
just get an rpi3 and retropie then. Same price, but you have the added benefit of any rom, almost any system you could want to emulate, kodi for media streaming, limelight for streaming from any supported nvidia card on a networked pc, network rom play, scummvm support, etc etc etc etc. Way more functionality at the same price, plus future benefits as more and more gets added
Didn't notice in the article: does it take the original cartridges?
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