NES Classic And SNES Classic May Be Retired In 2019
Got your NES Classic and SNES Classic yet? Now that they’re plentiful and easy to find, better get on it — because it won’e be that way forever. A new interview with Reggie Fils-Aime conducted by THR suggests the company may be planning to take them off the market in 2019, this time for good.
While he was at it, Reggie confirmed they weren’t continuing the line with an N64 Classic or anything beyond, which he’s stated before.
We worked very hard, both for the NES Classic and the SNES Classic, to really have the best games that defined that generation. We’ve said that the current systems are the extent of our classic program. We’ve also been clear that, at least from an Americas perspective, these products are going to be available through the holiday season and once they sell out, they’re gone. And that’s it.
Something else Reggie suggested previously was that Nintendo Switch Online is intended to be the company focus for satisfying the retro market, and he confirmed it here with his next breath.
The way that consumers will be able to continue participating with our classic content is going to be through Nintendo Switch Online, and we just released three new games (Ninja Gaiden, Wario’s Woods and Adventures of Lolo) from the NES generation onto that platform. We look at that as the main way that consumers will be able to experience that legacy content.
We’ll point out here, as we did before, that the amount of games available (and currently from just one console) is not satisfactory enough to replace what’s been offered in other formats. Plus, since it’s a stream of retro games and not a direct market, the consumer doesn’t own any of it — the licensing deal for Ninja Gaiden could expire, for example.
Hopefully some reporter out there will bring these concerns up with Reggie, but since he’s the Master of Spin, they may not get a straight answer.