Nintendo to release mini version of classic gaming system

Popularity continues to swell for the mobile game Pokemon Go, which lets players chase and capture Pokemon in the real world using a combination of Global Positioning System and augmented reality. No, it’s not the NX, silly-that’s still slated to launch early 2017.

The mini console will cost $59.99 and come bundled with a controller that works like the original NES gamepad. If you can cruise through Castlevania II or the original Ninja Gaiden, you’re far more skilled than I, at least, have ever been.

With a price tag of $60 according to gaming website Kotaku, this isn’t a purchase that’ll require you to slam your head into a coin box over and over. It’s very tiny compared to the original NES and comes with 30 classic games built in. We suspect they’ll be digitally downloaded on the hardware, but how sweet would it be to get mini cartridges instead? So you’ll be able to play Virtual Console NES games. And to be fair, what nerd, gamer, or ’80s kid wouldn’t love getting one of these in their stocking? You can also use the Wii’s Classic Controller or the Wii U’s Classic Controller Pro.

The system only comes with one controller so to play two player games you will need to buy another controller for about $10.

Among the games included: Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and 3, Final Fantasy, Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Excitebike, both Zelda games and Tecmo Bowl (not Super Tecmo Bowl, sorry). There’s still a ton of things we don’t know – is it an ARM chip with an emulator?

“Plug and play” game consoles of this sort, often using pirated versions of Nintendo’s games, have floated around the low end of the video game market for years and benefited from the tech world’s dedication to increasing data storage capacity. Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Do you think this’ll sell out during the holiday season? Why is Pokémon Go such a huge hit?