UPDATED 11:11 EDT / JULY 14 2016

NEWS

Nintendo’s next big nostalgia product is a $60 mini NES

The phenomenal success of Pokemon Go has proven that Nintendo Co Ltd’s classic IPs can still tap into a very large (and very lucrative) nostalgic fan base, and now the Japanese game company has revealed the next stage of its plan to capitalize on our childhoods by releasing a miniature version of the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Dubbed the NES Classic Edition, the new console has the familiar blocky, gray and white form factor of the NES but at about half the size. It also sports of few technological upgrades over its predecessor, most notably an HDMI port and an AC adapter that is not the size of a brick.

The NES Classic Edition comes with 30 games pre-installed right on the console, including a number of the system’s most iconic titles, such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, PAC-MAN, and Kirby’s Adventure. The console will retail for $59.99 and will hit store shelves on November 11. The system will come with only one classic NES controller, but you will be able to buy another for $9.99.

“We wanted to give fans of all ages the opportunity to revisit Nintendo’s original system and rediscover why they fell in love with Nintendo in the first place,” Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime said in a statement. “The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition is ideal for anyone who remembers playing the NES, or who wants to pass on those nostalgic memories to the next generation of gamers.”

Nintendo first released the NES, also called the Famicom, in Japan in 1983 and in North America in 1985. The NES is largely credited with almost singlehandedly saving the flagging home game console industry in the mid-1980s. Between 1983 and 1985, the game console market plummeted from $3.2 billion in revenue to only $100 million, a drop of about 97 percent. As the game industry was still relatively new at the time, many commentators believed that game consoles had been a passing fad, but Nintendo reversed the trend, selling nearly 62 million NES consoles worldwide.

Here is the full list of games that will be available on the new NES Classic Edition:

  • 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 GOBLINS®
  • 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
  • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Image courtesy of Nintendo Co Ltd

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