When Nintendo announced the NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini would be returning to stores for the rest of the year, they also made sure to state very emphatically that the two systems will be available in stores only through the end of the year—presumably to give fans enough of a heads up to actually get one if they want, and to make sure expectations will be managed properly.

But since then, the two systems have gone on to do exceptionally well at the market, even topping the NPD Charts a few times. Surely that may have caused Nintendo to change their mind? Apparently, no. Speaking to Hollywood Reporter, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime reconfirmed that the NES and SNES Classic Mini will both be gone after this Holiday season, pointing to the Nintendo Switch Online service as the destination for classic Nintendo content going forward.

“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,” he said. “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. 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 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.”

It’s a shame that Nintendo won’t be selling them on an ongoing basis, especially given how well they do, but at the same time, I can understand that they want to funnel people into buying a Switch, and then subscribing to their online service. I can only hope that, in the end, the much rumoured N64 Classic Mini will fill in the void that these two systems’ discontinuation will inevitably leave on the market.

To no one’s surprise, it seems like the PlayStation 4 ended up topping hardware charts in the United States in the month of October, according to the NPD Group’s report (via VentureBeat).

Buoyed, doubtless, by Red Dead Redemption 2, as well as the ongoing success of Spider-Man (as well as the Spider-Man Black Friday bundle), which launched just the month before, the PS4 ended up seeing the most dollars spent on it in terms of hardware during October, the most hardware units sold in October, the most units it has sold in October since it launched in 2013, as well as the most any PlayStation system has sold in October since the PS2 in October 2002. Whew lad.

The NPD Group also noted that the Xbox One was up year on year, and that the NES Classic and SNES Classic were huge drivers of hardware spending. Overall, it sounds like the industry is in a very healthy place right now. With November coming up, bringing with it a bunch of major launches, as well as the Holiday shopping season and discounts, next month’s NPD results will be particularly interesting to see.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the NPD software results for October as well.

With sales like these, it’s no wonder Sony wants to jump on board on the Classic mini consoles craze. Nintendo announced in its earnings report that the NES Classic Mini and the SNES Classic Mini’s combined worldwide sales are now at 10 million units.

Given the cheapness of the products, the value involved in terms of the number of games you get out of the box, and the strong nostalgia factor included—which is compounded by the miniature hardware replicas that these consoles are—it’s no wonder that these machines have been so successful, especially since Nintendo has now been working to keep them in stock too.

In fact, Nintendo’s President Shuntaro Furukawa cited those exact reasons as key to these microconsoles’ success.

“Combined global sales of the NES Classic Edition and the Super NES Classic Edition have now surpassed 10 million units. The Super NES Classic Edition, released last fall, and the NES Classic Edition, re-released in June of this year, both continue to sell as must-have products, and the fact that they are so affordable suggests that they will be in even greater demand during the holiday season,” he said.

Nintendo will continue to sell them through this year, so if you didn’t buy them already, but do want to get your hands on one, you still have time. If you’re more of a PlayStation guy, then as noted, PlayStation Classic comes out on December 3.

My issue comes from something else entirely—how these Classic microconsoles represent a change in how Nintendo and Sony approach backwards compatibility. You see, both companies used to be known for their extremely pro-consumer attitude in terms of library continuity and backward compatibility. Sony made sure the PS2 was fully compatible with the PS1, made sure the PS3 was compatible with both at launch, made sure that its digital PS1 Classic purchases would carry over across to PSP and PS Vita on one license, and then made sure the PS Vita would be as compatible with the PSP as possible in spite of a format change.

Nintendo, similarly, made the Gameboy Color fully compatible with the Gameboy, the Gameboy Advance fully compatible with Gameboy and Gameboy Color, the DS compatible with GBA, the 3DS compatible with the DS, the Wii fully compatible with GameCube games and controllers, and the Wii U fully compatible with Wii games and controllers. It was a very healthy attitude towards their legacy content and systems—both companies acknowledged that their customers likely had already spent some money on games, controllers, memory cards, and so on, and that that shouldn’t be annulled just because there is a new console on the market.

"The Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 are complete, clean breaks from every other console or handheld that has come before. Admittedly, there are good reasons for both—the PlayStation 4 switched away from the exotic and frankly problematic Cell architecture used by the PS3 towards a more industry standard x86-64, while the Switch moved from PowerPC to ARM (and also saw a change in format)."

But that changed this generation entirely. The Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 are complete, clean breaks from every other console or handheld that has come before. Admittedly, there are good reasons for both—the PlayStation 4 switched away from the exotic and frankly problematic Cell architecture used by the PS3 towards a more industry standard x86-64, while the Switch moved from PowerPC to ARM (and also saw a change in format). So, fine—for both companies, direct backward compatibility with their respective previous consoles or handhelds was not possible. That’s admissible.

But what about digital purchases, and digitally offered legacy content? Sony and Nintendo have both dragged their feet on that front this generation. For instance, Sony has completely eschewed the PS Classics program, which offered downloadable PlayStation games, on the PS4, even though the console is more than capable of playing those games. Not only that, but the new PS2 Classics program that have instituted does not acknowledge a customer’s purchases made previously (so if you already bought GTA: San Andreas via the PS2 Classics program on PS3, you will have to pay full price money for it on the PS4). It’s blatantly anti-consumer, and totally belies how digital continuity works, well, literally anywhere else.

Then there is Nintendo. Nintendo have entirely discontinued their Virtual Console program (so there isn’t even a question of them acknowledging your previously made purchases), and the most you can get in terms of legacy content on the Switch is NES games, offered as part of the online subscription, and with online play added. But that’s it—you can’t get SNES, N64, GameCube, Wii, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, DS, or 3DS games on the system, in spite of how perfectly suited to retro gaming the Switch is as a console (something that third parties like Sega, Square Enix, SNK, and Capcom sure seem to recognize, given how much retro content they dump on it on a routine basis).

In both cases, the companies seem to have decided that selling these microconsoles is a better way of monetizing their legacy content than their digital services and backward compatibility. And you know what, these microconsoles are good, they’re very successful—it’s hard to argue with the results when the NES was the top selling console in June 2018, thanks to the incredible success of the NES Classic Mini, for example. But why can it not be both? Why is it one or the other? Why can I not also buy PS1 games on my PS4, in addition to getting the PlayStation Classic? Why can I not buy SNES games on my Switch, in addition to getting the SNES Classic Mini? Why is it one or the other?

"The most amazing thing is how both companies are being schooled by Microsoft on this front—Microsoft, previously the company that has been least likely to provide compatibility, is going above and beyond on the Xbox One."

The most amazing thing is how both companies are being schooled by Microsoft on this front—Microsoft, previously the company that has been least likely to provide compatibility, is going above and beyond on the Xbox One. Microsoft is offering backward compatibility with Xbox 360 and Xbox games, with a catalog that is ever expanding, and they don’t charge a single penny for it. If you already bought these games, you can play them on your Xbox One, and get enhancements along the way. If you bought the disc, you can play them on your Xbox One, and get enhancements along the way. While Nintendo and Sony are more than happy to sell full priced remasters of games not even half a decade old on their new machines, Microsoft offers full 4K upgrades for far older games for absolutely free on the Xbox One X.

As digital libraries and ecosystems become more and more important going forward, something that Sony and Nintendo are both acutely aware of, maintaining continuity and compatibility like Microsoft does will become ever more important. With the Switch and the PS4, Sony and Nintendo might have been able to get away with their clean breaks and their hard resets—they even had some good excuses—but this isn’t a stunt they’ll be able to pull off a second time. If the PS5 and Switch 2 are not compatible with their predecessors, you can bet customers will be far less understanding than they’ve been so far. Best to just avoid that situation.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

The Nintendo Switch ended its first calendar year in the US on a very strong note, selling 1.5 million units in the month of December, and becoming the highest selling system of the month in the country in the process. This, in spite of it having absolutely no discounts, and being far more expensive than the PS4 or Xbox One.

Interestingly enough, the Nintendo 3DS, which had its seventh Holiday on the market, ended up with a remarkably strong showing as well, with 750,000 units sold in the US in December. This represents a YoY and MoM increase, and also was probably aided by the release of Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, and also the New Nintendo 2DS XL model.

Put together, the Switch, 3DS, and SNES Classic Mini accounted for half of all hardware sales in December in the US. Nintendo software was no slouch either- on the individual format charts, ranked on a unit sale basis, Nintendo had almost all its major software rank- Super Mario Odyssey at No. 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at No. 4, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at No. 9 and Splatoon 2 at No. 16. Additionally, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon for Nintendo 3DS finished No. 13 and No. 14, respectively.

So, yeah. It looks like Nintendo is well and truly back, ad strongly crushing all competition right now. Let’s see how the PS4 and Xbox One plan to counter it- the release of Monster Hunter World this month may be able to help…

The Nintendo Switch has topped hardware charts in the US again, the NP Group reports. For the month of October, the Switch was the highest selling system in the territory, outselling the PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and even the novelty SNES Classic Mini. Collectively, Nintendo systems comprised of 2/3rds of all gaming hardware sold in the US last month- for the second month running. They also pushed consumer spending on hardware to 1 million units collectively in the month of October, something that previously had not happened since 2011.

That wasn’t all, either- Super Mario Odyssey topped the individual formats hardware unit sales chart, edging out heavy hitters like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Shadow of War, and Wolfenstein 2; however, on the all formats revenue chart, Shadow of War topped charts last month, followed by Assassin’s Creed, and with Mario in third place. Forza 7 outsold Gran Turismo Sport (though both did poorly), and Wolfenstein 2 has flopped, not even placing in the Top 10- something that breaks my heart.

But, that’s not all- for the year, the PS4 still remains the highest selling console in total (though it does have a two month headstart on the Switch, which launched in March)- one has to wonder how long that lead will hold, though. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is now the tenth highest selling game of the year, replacing Mass Effect Andromeda, while Breath of the Wild remains in fifth place. Destiny 2, NBA 2K18, Ghost Recon Wildlands, and Madden 18 are the first four games on that chart.

Of course, the charts for the month of November will be fascinating to see- Call of Duty and Battlefront are launching (as is Pokemon!), while the Xbox One X finally makes its debut (and is doing well, by all accounts). Will Xbox take this month? Will PS4’s strong bundling with Battlefront and Call of Duty push it to the top? Will Nintendo carry forth its Switch momentum? This will be a very interesting month- see you in a few weeks to see exactly how it went.

[Thanks  Venture Beat]

If there was any doubt that Nintendo is now back in a big way, the new NPD numbers, which Nintendo trumpeted in a press release today, should put it to rest. Nintendo announced today that the Switch topped hardware charts again last month in the US, being the highest selling system on the market for the third month straight, and the fifth month total out of the seven that it has been on the market.

This is an especially impressive feat, because the Switch achieved this in the month that FIFA and Destiny launched- which should have pushed the PS4’s hardware sales by all accounts. The Switch was buoyed by a number of games, too- Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (which was seven on the individual SKU charts for the month by unit sales), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (number 10), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (number 11).

Incredibly enough, Nintendo’s success last month doesn’t end there- the sales of all Nintendo hardware put together (3DS, Switch, SNES Mini) account for two thirds of all hardware sold last month. Not just that, but the 3DS exclusive Metroid: Samus Returns did well as well, placing in the top 10 charts.

So, it sounds like Nintendo has managed to stage a hell of a comeback in the last few months- and going into the Holiday season with a stacked lineup of exclusives and multiplatform games, they should be able to sustain and accelerate that momentum even further. It will be interesting to see this all play out.

The NES Classic Mini was absurdly overpowered for its job- the hardware inside the box, meant to perfectly emulate Nintendo’s 8-bit console, was so powerful that it could realistically emulate games from well beyond the NES console era.

And it looks like Nintendo has leveraged that fact with the SNES Classic Mini- because it is using identical hardware under the hood as last year’s unexpectedly popular NES Mini. Digital Foundry discovered this in their technical analysis of the console, noting that the system comes with an Allwinner R16 SoC chip with four ARM Cortex A7s, combined with an ARM Mali 400 MP2 GPU, a 256MB DDR3 module, and 512MB of NAND storage. All of this is actually too powerful even for an SNES- so there is actually a possibility we see this same hardware in a hypothetical N64 Classic Mini, should that ever pan out.

The SNES Classic Mini launches tomorrow- it will cost $80, and it will come with over 20 of the SNES’s finest games (many regarded as some of the greatest games ever made), including the previously unreleased Star Fox 2.

The NES Classic Mini was meant to be a timed novelty item; so was the SNES Classic Mini (though Nintendo claimed to have learned from the incessant demand for the NES Classic Mini, and promised to have more in stock this time around).

Apparently, the sheer demand for these systems has changed Nintendo’s mind on the status of these systems, however- in a new statement, Nintendo has confirmed its intent not just to continue selling the SNES Classic Mini beyond the end of this calendar year (which was when it was originally slated for discontinuation), but also to bring back the NES Classic Mini next year, too.

The NES Classic Mini’s availability was a total mess, with the system being produced in extremely short supplies, and being sold out, then being flipped on auction sites for exorbitant prices. Nintendo has previously emphasized that the SNES Classic Mini would not be a repeat of that, with Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime very explicitly urging would be buyers to not resort to buying from scalpers.

The exact date that the NES Classic Mini will return to being sold next year is unknown for now- Nintendo has promised to share more details on this on a future date.

The NES Classic Mini last year was a total trainwreck in terms of having enough stock available to meet the ravenous demand people had for it. When Nintendo announced the SNES Classic Mini earlier this year, they promised everyone that there would be more stock available- something that was not evident with the disaster that the pre-orders for the system turned out to be.

However, speaking in an interview with The Financial Times (via GameSpot) Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime emphasized that the company will in fact have more than enough stock to meet the demand for the system, strongly urging people against purchasing the system at inflated prices from scalpers.

“I would strongly urge you not to over-bid on an SNES Classic on any of the auction sites . . . You shouldn’t [have to] pay more than $79.99,” Fils-Aime said.

Hopefully he is right, because I have not managed to pre-order one myself yet (and I do want one)- and also because, frankly, the constant shortages endemic to each new Nintendo product launch are frankly tiresome, and I would really rather that this company, which has been in business for over a hundred years now, get its act together as far as stock and supply go.