After Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition in 2016 and the Super NES Classic Edition last year, a Nintendo 64 Classic seemed like the next logical step. But speaking to Kotaku, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime suggested that it’s not going to happen soon, if ever.
“I would not ever rule something out,” he said, “but what I can tell you is certainly that’s not in our planning horizon.”
Fils-Aime explained that Nintendo viewed the previous retro consoles as “limited time opportunities,” which gave the company some new hardware to sell as it wound down the Wii U and ramped up the Nintendo Switch. In September, Nintendo launched its Switch Online service, which for $20 per year includes online multiplayer for Switch games and access to a library of original NES games. Fils-Aime said that service will be the main place for people to play classic Nintendo games in the future.
Still, the company has a lot of work to do to expand the NES library, let alone add games from later consoles. And yet, Nintendo has gotten more aggressive about taking down sites that distribute unauthorized ROM software for playing those games.
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