nintendo should start making SNES, N64, NES games again

[Lilani]

ok first of all i never said anything about re-releasing games on newer systems. I said what if they made NEW games for snes and n64 and stuff. i am kinda rethinking about them making games again for the nes. the snes had so many advantages over it and the snes is just more fun to play in my opinion. another advantage that the snes has is it is a TOPloading system, meaning that people that still have a snes probably have it in still working condition. sure, if they made new games for the snes and maybe the n64 it probably wouldnt get as much as media attention as say the "new" 9001 ds or whatever the crap their new system they release is gonna be called, (yes its OVER 9000) but what the heck? why not give it a try. they wouldnt have to get their whole team to go in on the project. maybe just a small team to continue the lifecycle of the best system (snes) ever made. just like they did releasing fifa 14 on the ps2 (which they stopped making games for years ago.) also retro gaming is becoming very popular. i bet they would get some sales. another suggestion is that they make a original system. not another system with a u or i at the end. so in conclusion, since most people that have a snes probably still have it working, why not give it a try? we need to make retro gaming cool in modern day society!

I'm pretty sure retro gaming is cooler than ever these days. The vast popularity of old games getting re-released on newer consoles and ported to Steam and GoG and such is a testament to that. However, the computing power and space on the old cartridges they used to make is a joke compared to what is made today. Nintendo going back and making those old cartridges and old consoles would be like Apple going back and making the Apple II. It would be more difficult and more costly to create those old systems exactly as they were than it would be for them to just remaster or port the games to their newer systems. All of the chips and processors that were required to run the SNES, NES and N64 COMBINED can now be put onto a chip less than the size of your pinky nail, and still run a hundred times better.

Nobody's saying old games aren't good. However, the most feasible way for Nintendo to revisit them would be to port them to their current consoles, both from a practicality standpoint and from a business one. On the practical side that means they can focus on making the games and not worry about consoles, and on the business side releasing a buttload of old games on their new consoles would bolster their libraries and potentially sell more of those consoles.

And again, Nintendo already has a pretty good track record for revisiting their old games. The Zelda games are getting remastered for the 3DS and Wii/WiiU, and didn't they do a Super Mario World for the Wii or WiiU? Anyway, Nintendo hasn't been avoiding remastering their old games. On the contrary, I think they have the most reliable track record of any dev for doing this, simply because they've been such a large company for so long and they have the assets to do it better than most other devs out there.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I wish Nintendo would start making N64 controllers again, the knock offs just aren't that good. Of course, I have zero confidence in that happening. There are plenty of functional N64 consoles around and they aren't that expensive, it's Nintendo brand controllers that are running low.

The first-party N64 controllers had the crappiest analogue joysticks of any era due to several problems including not using an absolute position like most others do but using a relative position from where it was when the controller was first plugged in. That would be fine if the self-centering mechanism didn't wear out after 5 seconds of use leaving an ever-increasing "centre" zone where there is no resistance whatsoever until eventually the mechanism just gives up completely and leaves the stick flopping about all over the place. And even if they did solve that problem then you have the additional problem that this system uses two wheels to keep track of the relative system which are so inaccurate that even if you left the stick in exactly the same position as it was in when the controller was activated you would still be getting random character movement from the system

I haven't seen any third party N64 controllers that work as well as the Nintendo brand N64 controllers.

 

[Michael Legault]

I wish Nintendo would start making N64 controllers again, the knock offs just aren't that good. Of course, I have zero confidence in that happening. There are plenty of functional N64 consoles around and they aren't that expensive, it's Nintendo brand controllers that are running low.

A couple years back I got a refurbished n64 controller off of ebay, it works great! The control stick is perfectly springy. It was from someone not Nintendo though I don't remember their name. It should last me the foreseeable future as I don't have 1080 snowboarding or Mario party 1 which as far as I am concerned are the worst games for N64 controller wear.

 

[Lightknight]

Selling the games online would resolve the need for almost any console. The only trick is key mapping and that can be taken care of with minimal time just like it has with all those emulators out there.

In the digital world I see absolutely no reason to manufacture new machines that can be emulated on a phone. I think they need to open up their old console games to a wider market online but beyond that, it isn't worth the factory space. I mean, MAYBE a device that can play every type of cartridge through the gamecube. We'd have to see what kind of demand was there for it.

As far as making 80's quality games. I don't think people would have liked the original mario as much had it been released today. We CERTAINLY wouldn't pay full game prices for it.

So new games for 80's and 90's consoles would be a terrible idea. Most people that have those consoles don't even have them hooked up. I mean, I have my N64 plugged in but I can't be typical in that.

 

[elvor0]

I have been a collector of old video games for a while now and once you have played all of the "big" games on that system, things start to get boring. sure, super mario world's replay value is like no other game's, but what we really need is something fresh. let's face it, nintendo has a harsh competition against sony and microsoft, and straitfordly, they arent really winning. i think that if nintendo started to make games for these old consoles again such as the snes, nes, and n64, they might get do better in the gaming industry, or even go as far to say that they would be back to where they were in the 80s and 90s-on top of the world.so what do you think? if nintendo started reselling newer improved versions of nes and snes consoles (and n64)that DIDNT have a 64 pin connector issue, and made newer games for them, would they do good? i would love to see them make remastered consoles that could play both old regular console games such as super mario world, and could play newer snes and whatever console it was games. and they could make it where the old systems could play the new games too. what do you guys think about this? who else wants to see more nes, snes, and n64 games? i would probably become a nintendo fanboy again lol.

So why not just ask for games done in the style of NES/SNES/N64 games? You can play NES/SNES games on a phone and N64 isn't hard to emulate on the Wii U or 3DS. What on earth would be the point in releasing them for the SNES, when they could release retro style games on the virtual store and not delibrately limit their market to people who still have working NES/SNES?

 

[Artaneius]

*cough* just use emulators *cough*

 

[Michael Legault]

I have been a collector of old video games for a while now and once you have played all of the "big" games on that system, things start to get boring. sure, super mario world's replay value is like no other game's, but what we really need is something fresh. let's face it, nintendo has a harsh competition against sony and microsoft, and straitfordly, they arent really winning. i think that if nintendo started to make games for these old consoles again such as the snes, nes, and n64, they might get do better in the gaming industry, or even go as far to say that they would be back to where they were in the 80s and 90s-on top of the world.so what do you think? if nintendo started reselling newer improved versions of nes and snes consoles (and n64)that DIDNT have a 64 pin connector issue, and made newer games for them, would they do good? i would love to see them make remastered consoles that could play both old regular console games such as super mario world, and could play newer snes and whatever console it was games. and they could make it where the old systems could play the new games too. what do you guys think about this? who else wants to see more nes, snes, and n64 games? i would probably become a nintendo fanboy again lol.

Has anyone shown you the retron? The newest plays nes snes genesis gba, I think it plays famicom games as well. Old controllers plug into them too and the newest has wireless controllers as well as the old style ports. As for them making newer games in the old styles, I think that's what nes remix is supposed to be? And indie games should fill any need for old schooley type games.

 

[Lightknight]

*cough* just use emulators *cough*

Right, from what I understand, if you actually own a license (aka usually a physical copy for this type of situation) of the game you can legally emulate it as long as the license is never being used more than once at any given time.

However, you have to make sure that it's the same license that the emulator was made from. For example, Final Fantasy VII was made on both the playstation and the computer. If for some reason you want to play the playstation version on a computer that's emulating the playstation then you should legally own a copy of FFVII that isn't currently in use. If you ever sold the license you purchased then any copies/files of the game should be destroyed.

However, things change quickly so I could already be wrong and not know it. But I generally follow a rule of, "Did I pay the right people to play this game?" (the right people being those that obtained the license legally and so can sell it legally)

The problem really lies in where you get the game files from. That's the part that is illegal from what I understand. Illegal to distribute or obtain unauthorized licenses. However, the obtaining bit has been made pretty grey because of the "unauthorized" part and what it means if you have legally acquired a license to the same game. You should be able to get this in that scenario but it's still questionable.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

While I can certainly get behind Nintendo making more retro styled games, and actually releasing the ones they DO make on the 3DS where they make a hell of a lot more sense, I'm more than content with the newly released Shovel Knight.

Seriously go buy it, scoot!

 

[Lightknight]

Nintendo uses emulators as part of the "Virtual Console" service on the Wii, Wii U and (apparently) 3DS...so there's always that...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Console

Sure, if I want to rebuy games I bought for full price when they originally came out when a free a legally viable option is available.

 

[7904589501]

"Post Removed"

 

[Bad Jim]

This is nostalgia speaking, not common sense. Some might say old games are better than modern games, but modern hardware is unquestionably better than old hardware. Far, far better.

The NES, for example, has just 4 hardware sprites, and when there are more than 4 sprites on one scanline, it can't draw them all. Usually they flicker annoyingly. Sometimes you get hit by an invisible enemy. It's bad enough suffering that kind of thing in Virtual Console games like Gradius on hardware that could easily have thousands of sprites. It's something else to have those issues on a newly released game.

And the N64 gave us early 3D. Games like Ocarina of Time were great, but still suffered low polygon ugliness and horrific framerates. And the developers worked hard to make it as smooth as it was. The 3DS version has a smooth, consistent framerate and would not have required much optimisation.

Why suffer the limitations of old hardware in a newly released game?

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Making games in that style - sure. But why regress back to far worse hardware? Making a game like Super Mario Bros. is not only totally possible on modern hardware, it would be way, way easier than making it for an actual NES. No need for all the workarounds that were a necessity on the old consoles.

The total backwards compatibility you were talking about would be nice, but probably not feasible.