Nintendo announced the “NES Classic Edition”, which is a miniature NES, that has an HDMI port, and controllers based on the original designs. It also comes pre-installed with 30 classic NES games, some of which are absolute favorites of mine: Metroid, Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Star Tropics, Zelda, Zelda II, and the list goes on for a bit. However, while I do want one [and will have one], I don’t really think it addresses the real issue at hand here. And what is that issue? Let’s talk about emulators and emulation. Emualation is a bad word for some people, a foul, odious word. Only thieves and awful human beings emulate, right? For those of you who aren’t privy, emulators are programs that play downloaded versions of video games. Typically NES, SNES, GBA, Sega, all the way up through PlayStation 1 and 2. In almost every instance of these games, the person does not own the game, or sometimes even the console its on. It’s not making Nintendo any money.
So what did Nintendo do? They released a miniature, portable machine with a bunch of ROMs [the games in question] so that players can have those retro games for a decent price. I think it’s a great idea, and that it’s a step in the right direction, but it’s not really addressing the issue of Emulation. The idea behind emulating on a PC is that you can have all the games you want at your fingertips. No worrying about buying a portable like the Vita or PSP or DS [though there have been homebrews for those to play emulated games. . .] and instead you can play them whenever and wherever. Nowadays people can play Pokémon, EarthBound, or a host of other games on their cell phones with the greatest of ease. But it’s not really portable, now is it? You still need something with an HDMI port. What Nintendo ought to do is release something similar, maybe designed like a GBA with the ability to download/purchase Nintendo games? Just a thought, anyway. At least that way, they still make money, and while of course people will still emulate, they will wind up making something out of it. Their idea is really good, and I like what they’re putting out, but I don’t know if it’s enough. Will we get more titles? Or different ‘versions’ to purchase? Or is this a matter of “too little too late”? I love the NES classic again, but ultimately I don’t think they’re addressing the issue of Emulation in quite the right manner.
What do you think? Will you get one? Do you think it’s dumb? Let me know below!
