Russians hack NES Classic Edition and more

russians hack nes classic edition and more 2017 images

Russians hack NES Classic Edition and more 2017 images

“Oh, those Russians”. That’s the last line of Boney M’s Rasputin song, which is pretty catchy. It was only a matter of time before someone managed to hack into the Nintendo Classic Edition which expands the mini-console’s library from just thirty games. It looks like the Russians’ hacking prowess has made it beyond allegedly hacking the US Presidential Election, thus TOTUS. It’s not just the Russians; the Japanese are also guilty.

The news on the Nintendo Classic Edition has been a roller-coaster ride despite Nintendo’s low revenues on the system due to low anticipation on demand. Projections may have been right with Nintendo itself but not with a lot of NES fans who could have gotten the perfect gift for the holidays. The company probably won’t be making the same mistake with the upcoming Nintendo Switch among others. But the biggest news with the system right now is the fact that the system was hacked by separate Russian and Japanese groups that managed to expand the console’s library. Specs released previously suggest that the NES Classic Edition can go well beyond its small library which is very much true if not for pesky copyrights and intended price point. It was only a matter of time, a short couple of months before someone expanded the system’s small library.

There are instructions on how to do it, in Russian, which by now can be easily translated but there’s a stern warning that doing so will void the warranty and can potentially brick the precious, difficult-to-acquire system. For electronics experts meanwhile, it should be quite easy to do other things to the system and get over its limitations like its short controller cables like putting the whole system on one’s hand. The small guts of the NES Classic Edition’s Japanese counterpart, the Famicom Mini enabled Japanese modders to put the whole system in an original Game Boy case, which is pretty cool. Like the Russians, they posted a YouTube video on how it was done for other electronics geeks to try.

Speaking of the NES Classic Edition and the Game Boy, the demand for the former increased the market for retro systems. A company known as Retro-bit just showed their Super Retro Boy at CES 2017. A Game Boy clone that can play games from the classic Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. It’s not dependent of ROMS but from original cartridges. The Game Boy Advance’s backwards compatibility with its predecessors also enables the Super Retro Boy to work. So why not just get a Game Boy Advance?

With Retro systems, Nostalgia is the main selling factor as the form factor of the Super Retro Boy is similar to the Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Advance’s shoulder L and R buttons are placed on top of A and B. The console will also come with a 10-in-1 cartridge out of the box. For 80 bucks, buyers can get a good deal of having three retro systems in one go. Additional cartridges are readily available on eBay, garage sales and flea markets.

And lastly, Nintendo recently trademarked the design of its dog bone controller for the Super Famicom which suggests that a Super Famicom Mini and Super NES Classic Edition maybe on the way. It would be wise for Nintendo to keep the retro trend going as many people in comments sections and forums are already pining for a Super NES Mini the moment the NES Classic Edition was announced. So it’s was possible to re-release these consoles and their greatest games? Yay! Bring on the Nintendo 64 Classic! But we’ll see what happens with the Nintendo Switch first. A major announcement about the system will happen shortly, and if things go well for the Switch, the new minis won’t be out for a while lest Nintendo cannibalizes its market where the old eats the new. Some mammals are known to eat their dead young.