The NES Classic Edition is still riding a wave of popularity (and it’s still out of stock!), but Nintendo might be preparing for another round of nostalgia. A Twitter account that keeps an eye on trademark filings has caught Nintendo trademarking an image of a Super Nintendo controller.
This could be nothing, or it could be the first glimpse of next Christmas’s must-have console.
[商願2016-136902]
商標:[画像] /
出願人:任天堂株式会社 /
出願日:2016年12月5日 /
区分:9(家庭用テレビゲーム機用プログラムほか),28(家庭用テレビゲーム機ほか) pic.twitter.com/q1V4t338Ny— 商標速報bot (@trademark_bot) December 24, 2016
A SNES Classic Edition would make all kinds of sense for Nintendo. Hardware-wise, the current NES Classic Edition is just a basic board inside retro packaging with a bunch of pre-loaded games. To turn that into a SNES Classic Edition would mostly just require writing different emulator software, and pre-loading different games.
Oh, and a different controller — which might be what you’re seeing here.
I don’t really have to answer “why would Nintendo want to re-release another retro game console.” The NES Classic Edition has been sold out since its launch, and Nintendo would have to be run by a deaf bat to not see the opportunities here. The Classic Edition is meant to retail at $60, but consoles are going on eBay for upwards of $300. Releasing the SNES Classic Edition would give people another console to covet, but also allow Nintendo to sneak the price up a little if it wanted.
In any case, this is just idle speculation for now, and could be nothing more than Nintendo moving to protect its intellectual property from knockoffs. But I find myself hoping — along with the purchasing managers for GameStop — that it’s something more.
