Nintendo fans have long assumed the company would introduce an N64 Classic this year, but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen. In a new interview with Kotaku, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the retro console is "not in [Nintendo's] planning horizon."
File-Aime's comments directly contradict a recent rumor that claimed Nintendo would introduce the N64 Classic at the end of this month. Considering how popular the NES Classic and SNES Classic are, it's a surprising revelation. Why has Nintendo decided not to introduce something for the N64, arguably its most beloved console ever?
"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 the Nintendo Switch," Fils-Aime said.
Now that the Nintendo Switch is out, Nintendo has other priorities. Without a lull between console generations, Nintendo doesn't feel the need to release new hardware. Instead, Nintendo fans can likely anticipate the company's extended library to be available through Nintendo Switch Online.
"We'll see what comes next," Fils-Aime said. "As you have already pointed out, we haven't even made the full library of NES games available yet. So this content has to be optimized for the Switch environment."
Even with no N64 Classic in the immediate pipeline, it's possible we could see something down the road.
"I would not ever rule something out," Fils-Aime said.
