A Nintendo 64 Classic Would Actually Be a Terrible Idea
EdTremblay
intendo's Classics line has been nothing short of a success, even if that success only means that the limited stock that was initially released - and in some cases, already replenished with fresh units - have been quickly and completely sold out. At the very least, people are keenly and acutely aware of the SNES Classic and its infamously-under-produced-and-forthcoming-again predecessor, the NES Classic. However, people are already looking forward to theoretical successors, and the Nintendo 64 seems ripe for the Classics line treatment. After all, the N64 had a healthy fan-base and some notable games, but are these qualities really enough for it to actually make for a good “Classics” machine?
Well, no, not especially and there are quite a few factors that support this.
First, let's discuss the Nintendo 64 itself. The Nintendo 64 was launched in North America in 1996 to a voracious crowd that decimated its supply in the kind of way you'd expect of a Nintendo's launch; seemingly under-produced, rarely restocked... you know the drill. The system itself had four controller ports built in, relied on cartridges (with a woefully small capacity compared to CD ROMs) and other features like analogue controllers, expandable bits that increased the system's power and, of course, a decent selection of strong first party games over the course of its lifetime. So, all of the ingredients that would make a great classic mini system right—still no, and not all the nostalgia in the world could prove otherwise.
