As a follow-up to Cam's post yesterday about the return (revenge?) of Pokemon, here's a few other bits of retro video game news.
First, let's assume that all those Pokemon Go players will eventually tire of wandering around poking their smartphone screens. They'll need to sit down, maybe on a couch in front of a television and perhaps they'll be anxious for something else that's both new and old. Nintendo already has them covered:
You didn't think Nintendo would be happy with just reviving Pokemon, did you?
Following a week in which it reignited interest in one of its classic games franchises with Pokemon Go, the video game company announced Thursday it's releasing a new, compact version of its classic Nintendo Entertainment System.
The new device, called the NES Classic Edition, is a shrunken replica of the console that launched in North America in 1985, which over its lifetime sold more than 61 million units worldwide. It will come pre-loaded with 30 games and one controller.
That's right, we're going back to 1985 and the original Nintendo console. Of course, the classic games preloaded on the Classic includes Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and 3--where would Nintendo be without its famous red and blue plumber?
Which conveniently brings me to the other bit of video game history this week: July 9 was the 35th birthday of the Donkey Kong video game. Introduced in 1981, it starred a colourful, pixelated King Kong doppleganger who was "chased by a funny little man in red coveralls and cap" originally known as Jumpman but later revealed to be ... (dramatic pause) ... Mario, in his first video game role! The Daily Dot has a infographic worth checking out, exploring the history of Donkey Kong and its many sequels.
If you can wait until November, you can play Donkey Kong on the new Nintendo Classic. If you can't wait, there are online recreations you can use to get that hit of retro gaming. I guess if you don't want to poke, you can kong.