Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has confirmed that the NES and SNES Classic Edition consoles emerged as a contingency plan. Due to the poor performance of the Wii U and the lack of successful titles, these devices served to sustain the business while the company prepared the launch of the Switch. The series did not continue because its main function was as a backup.
The technical development of an emergency plan 🛠️
The mini consoles were based on low-cost hardware with software emulation. The NES Classic included 30 games and the SNES Classic 21 titles, both with features like save states. Reggie explained that these devices were not conceived as a long-term product line, but as a financial buffer. If the Switch failed, the mini consoles would keep the company afloat. Once the new console proved its success, the plan was discarded.
Nintendo sold nostalgia, not consoles 😅
So Nintendo sold us nostalgia with a taste of emergency. While we thought it was a gesture of affection towards veteran players, Reggie admits it was their Plan B in case the Switch turned out to be another failure. Basically, we bought a life preserver shaped like a yellow cartridge with purple buttons. Good thing the Switch worked, or they would be selling the Nintendo 64 Classic with Super Mario 64 as the only title.