In spite of what Nintendo fans have been hoping for, Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, has all but confirmed that a Nintendo 64 Classic console is not in the works. In an interview with Kotaku released earlier today, one of the first questions asked of him was where the N64 Classic announcement was. Fils-Aime was very direct in answering, stating that the first two Classic systems were “limited time opportunities” used as a way to bridge the gap between the end of the Wii U and the launch of the Nintendo Switch. He also noted that in terms of playing classic Nintendo releases, the company is continuing to head towards a more subscription-based service model. For those disappointed by the news, Fils-Aime did add that while the concept of an N64 Classic is not currently on Nintendo’s radar, he won’t rule it out entirely.
MY TAKE: This interview comes almost exactly a month after the most recent “leaked images” of the N64 Classic were circulated on Twitter. It looks like it’s safe to say that those are not legitimate after all. From what’s been said today, it appears that our best hope for playing N64 titles on modern televisions (outside of using upscalers or emulation) is to sign up for Nintendo Switch Online and hope for some to appear. And hey, who’s to say that we won’t see some special N64-style Switch controller get released if that happens?
