Nintendo has announced that the miniature NES Classic Edition will come out, its release date set in early November 2016. While the console is not designed to compete against the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, many gamers - casual and hardcore types alike - will surely take a bite once the product becomes available.
But before shelling out $60 to get a piece of the action, it's best to consider the essentials known so far about the device and five of which courtesy of Polygon's recent interview with Nintendo:
Compact-size console
Nintendo made clear that specifications of the Mini NES will only come out shortly before the product's commercial device, which is in time with the 2016 holiday season, but the Japanese gaming giant allowed that what will come out of the box is a compact device.
"It is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand," Polygon reported Nintendo as saying. The small package, as mentioned above, will lead to cash setback of $60 and another $10 for the optional extra game controller, which is a must for 2-player mode.
No expansion provision
Nintendo described the Mini NES as a standalone device - what consumers will bring out of the box is already playable as it is. There will be no option to expand later on, say additional memory capacity. "It does not connect to any external storage devices," Nintendo said.
Four ports will be found on the Mini NES. Two will be exclusive for the game controllers. The HDMI is for hooking on television or monitor and the USB is for powering up the device. There is no indication from its maker that the USB for other purposes, the report said.
30 games only
It appears that would-be buyers of the Mini NES will have to come to terms that the deal will only include the 30 built-in game titles for the life product. Nintendo said the device will connect to any form of storage, which ruled out the possibility of adding game titles apart from the on-board offerings.
The company confirmed too that game cartridges will not fit in with the device. "The 30 games included with the system were chosen to provide a wide variety of top-quality, long-lasting game-play experiences," the company said in justifying its decision to limit the game titles to come with the Mini NES.
No internet connection
As a retro device, the NES Mini will skip on modern gaming features and that will include the ability to connect with the rest of the world. No internet connection here.
No saving of game progress
Another major feature skip is the ability to save game progress. Sure, players can make use of the "multiple suspend points, so you can start where you left off at a later time," when gaming but the feature is not the same as saving game.
The Nintendo Mini NES Classic Edition will hit stores this 2016 starting November 11 with a $59.99 sticker price.