Nintendo Could be Planning More Mini Consoles

A few years ago, Nintendo found significant success with the NES Classic Edition and the SNES Classic Edition mini consoles, leading many to expect versions based on the Nintendo 64, or possibly the Game Boy. Unfortunately, it's been a few years and Nintendo hasn't offered any retro consoles since. However, it seems Nintendo might still have plans to offer more in the future! In a new Q&A published to Nintendo's Japanese website, company president Shuntaro Furukawa left open the possibility. An official translation has not yet appeared on the company's U.S. site, but Furukawa's comments have been translated by ComicBook.com.

Q: "In connection with the basic strategy of 'expanding the population touching Nintendo IP,' a 'Mini Series' like the previously released 'Nintendo Classic Mini' could be a new frontier for parents who aren't playing games right now isn't it? Can you tell us about future developments with the Mini Series and any future developments online?"

Furukawa: "We always want our products to be played by people of all ages, from children to adults. In fact, as we have been in the video game business for many years, we believe that the number of people who can pick up Nintendo's game machines is expanding significantly. Regarding the handling of classic content in series such as Nintendo Classic Mini Famicom and Super Nintendo, and online services, we are now trying to convey the appeal to parents. I would like to provide details about this at a later time."

Furukawa's response doesn't offer anything too definitive, but it does seem to give fans some hope for the future! The Nintendo 64 turned 25 years old this year, which means that a lot of the people that grew up with the console probably have children of their own, at this point. If Nintendo is trying to get back parents that might have strayed from gaming over the last few years, that could be an excellent way of doing so.

While Nintendo hasn't announced any new "mini consoles" lately, the company did announce a new Game & Watch handheld at E3 that will contain multiple classic Zelda games. The device is similar to the one the company sold last year based on the Mario series. Clearly, Nintendo is looking at more ways of offering retro experiences for gamers that don't own a Switch!

Would you like to see Nintendo release more mini consoles? Which system should get the treatment next? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!