Say It Ain’t So! Nintendo Chief Kills All Hope For An N64 Classic This Christmas

Roughly a month ago, we got our eyes on what were allegedly leaked images of an upcoming Nintendo 64 Classic game console. The move was expected given trademark filings and the previous releases of the NES Classic and SNES Classic. 

Today, however, we’re getting some bad news straight from Nintendo of America Chief Reggie Fils-Aime. While speaking in New York, Fils-Aime made it clear that an imminent release of an N64 Classic is out of the question. 

“We were clear when we did the first two Classic series that, for us, these were limited time opportunities that were a way for us as a business to bridge from the conclusion of Wii U as a hardware system to the launch of Nintendo Switch,” said Fils-Aime in an interview with Kotaku. 

“That was the very strategic reason we launched the NES Classic system.”

Given the booming success of the Nintendo Switch, backed by its strong first-party game lineup, Nintendo isn’t exactly in a rush to continue its “Classic” series. 

“So while consumers may have been anticipating something, we view these as limited time opportunities,” Fils-Aime continued. He went on to add that he would never rule out a N64 Classic arriving at some point, but said “What I can tell you is certainly that’s not in our planning horizon.”

For the time being, those that want to experience retro-tastic Nintendo games — beyond the NES Classic Edition And SNES Classic Edition — can take advantage of the Switch Online service.