It's been several years since Nintendo first released their NES and SNES Classic Editions. Otherwise known as Classic Minis, these dedicated consoles came with pre-installed titles from their respective eras, offering a smaller unit suited for modern TVs.
We've not seen any new developments since 2017, though other companies have since created their own variants like PlayStation Classic, Mega Drive Mini, Neo Geo Mini and PC Engine Mini. It's left fans wondering whether an N64 variant would ever arrive, though Nintendo's never commented on this formally. However, they aren't ruling out future Minis, and here's what we know so far.
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Nintendo Is Still Considering Future Mini Consoles - July 1, 2021
During a Q&A session within Nintendo's latest General Meeting of Shareholders, one shareholder mentioned that the Classic Mini series could reconnect older players with Nintendo again. President Shuntaro Furukawa replied, stating they'll always target players of all ages, before confirming:
We will continue to examine the possibility of offering classic content, such as with the NES and Super NES Classic Mini series, as well as our online services, as a way of communicating the appeal of our products to different generations.
While it's far from a guarantee of a new Mini, that shows Nintendo has at least considered the possibility of further releases.
Previous N64 Re-Releases
Nintendo's certainly no stranger to N64 re-releases. Having previously developed the Nintendo iQue Player for China, they also made their back catalogue available through the Wii and Wii U's Virtual Console format. While the Wii Shop Channel was taken down over two years ago, the Wii U's library remains active with 21 N64 games available.
Otherwise, all we've seen is the remake treatment for individual games. Super Mario 64 got a DS remake and more recently, an emulated version within Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch. Star Fox 64 3D is another notable example on 3DS, but unlike NES and SNES games, N64 aren't currently included within the Switch Online's retro library.
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