Eurogamer reported today that Nintendo will be launching the recently rumoured SNES Mini this year.
Nintendo’s new official emulation device is reported to be scheduled for Christmas of this year with development already currently underway. Nintendo’s plans for the new unit are likely to be a major reason why the popular NES Classic was recently discontinued. Nintendo recently explained that the company never intended for the NES Classic to be a permanent product but as a cool novelty item for 2016. The SNES Mini is expected to use the same setup as the NES Classic, including a number of pre-installed games on a plug-and-play setup device.
The NES Classic has already been discontinued globally, after only six months on the market. Months after launch, the system suffered supply issues after quickly selling out, leading to a heightened resale market on eBay. Shipments of the NES Classic continued into this year but its production run ended as the SNES Mini production was decided on instead.
Late last year, Nintendo registered a new trademark of the Super Famicom controller. The trademark had many Japanese blogs speculating a new classic emulation device for the Super Famicom. The SNES is known for having an even larger software line-up, featuring many of Nintendo’s bigger sequels such as Super Mario World.
The SNES is best known for its RPG titles. Final Fantasy IV to VI, some of Square Enix’s most popular titles in the franchise were released on the console along with Chrono Trigger, a title many consider to be one of the greatest games of all time. Nintendo also created a number of their own popular RPGs for the console such as Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and their cult classic hit, Earthbound.
Eurogamer reached out to Nintendo for a comment on the upcoming SNES Mini but the company declined to comment.
