NES Classic Edition is a marketing win

The NES was the first console I ever owned, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. We currently have two NES consoles in our household, and we’ll be adding a third, much smaller one this November.

The NES Classic Edition, as it’s being called, is an adorable, pint-sized “plug-and-play” version of the console we all know and love. The console is not much bigger than a NES game cartridge and will include 30 pre-loaded games, including classics like Metroid, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, and of course Super Mario Bros. 1-3. I missed out on a lot of these games as a child and I am very excited to experience some of them for the first time as an adult.

Even though I’ll obviously be buying one, this console wasn’t made for people like me: it wasn’t made for someone who bought a Wii U on day one and still has their NES hooked up in their bedroom; this mini-NES was made for casual gamers and people who haven’t played video games in decades.

This is a brilliant move on Nintendo’s part. Nostalgia is powerful, and this baby NES will put controllers in the hands of people who never thought they’d play a video game in 2016.

Sure, I could be nitpicky and complain about the short cord on the controller (which could just be for the display model; no further information released at the time of writing) and no way to add more games to the console, but this console is meant to be simple and hassle-free. You plug in the console via HDMI and USB, turn on your TV, and you have 30 great games to get lost in. The NES Classic Edition Controller can also be attached to a Wii Remote for NES Virtual Console games on the Wii U. The Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro will also work on the new console.

I can only hope that this is the first in a brand new line of “Classic Edition” consoles from Nintendo; I would love a mini-SNES or even an N64. This could be a huge source of revenue for Nintendo, and it would please both casual and core gamers alike.