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Nintendo to cash in on more nostalgia

Michelle Avenant
By Michelle Avenant, portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 15 Jul 2016
Nintendo will re-release is original console, the 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System, as the Nintendo Classic Mini in November.
Nintendo will re-release is original console, the 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System, as the Nintendo Classic Mini in November.

Veteran video game company Nintendo plans a re-release of its original gaming console, the 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), on 11 November.

Having hit on a nostalgia sweet spot with mobile game Pokémon Go, based on the popular Pokémon franchise that originated in the 1990s and a smash hit among young adults as well as children and teens, Nintendo looks to be casting around for more memorabilia to bring into the present.

"Relive the 80s... The classic NES is back in a familiar-yet-new form as a mini replica of Nintendo's original home console," the company urges in its announcement of the re-release.

The NES re-release, dubbed the Nintendo Classic Mini (NCM), will be smaller, lighter, and made up of fewer components than the NES. The NCM will plug into high-definition TV screens using an HDMI cable, and be powered via a USB cable.

Unlike the original console, which pulled games from separately-sold cartridges roughly the size of a piece of toast, the NCM comes with 30 classic NES games built in, including all three of the original Super Mario Bros games and The Legend of Zelda.

Nintendo's shares have soared in the days since Pokémon Go was originally released in the US, New Zealand and Australia on 6 July. In under two weeks, the mobile game has accumulated more daily users than Twitter and sees a higher average amount of time spent on the app per day than Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Nintendo shares have continued to surge since the game was released, and were up 15% yesterday morning after it announced the NCM.

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