First SMB, then Zelda, and next...?

[Pixelboy]

Nintendo released a Super Mario Bros Game-&-Watch device last year, this year they're doing the same thing with Zelda.

 

My prediction: A Donkey Kong Game-&-Watch in 2023, to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of DK on Famicom. It should feature the NES games Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Donkey Kong 3, and maybe the Donkey Kong Junior single-screen G&W game as a bonus.

 

I think it would sell. Anyway, just thinking out loud.  

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Pixelboy

[+thanatos]

I will probably get the Zelda one since it has 3 games, so I'll play them. The SMB one with just the one game isn't enough as just a novelty, I don't really collect stuff like that.

[Pixelboy]

34 minutes ago, thanatos said:

I will probably get the Zelda one since it has 3 games, so I'll play them. The SMB one with just the one game isn't enough as just a novelty, I don't really collect stuff like that.

There are actually two games on the SMB one, namely the original SMB and SMB2J (a.k.a. the Lost Levels) but I see what you mean. It would have been much more of a must-buy if they had put SMB, SMB2-USA and SMB3 on the device.

 

Looking at how they put Link's Awakening on the Zelda G&W, it makes me wonder if they could release "packs" of old Gameboy games in the G&W form factor. Pokémon would lend itself to that concept very well.

[NinjaWarrior]

6 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

There are actually two games on the SMB one, namely the original SMB and SMB2J (a.k.a. the Lost Levels) but I see what you mean. It would have been much more of a must-buy if they had put SMB, SMB2-USA and SMB3 on the device.

No, Keep SMB2J, Add SMB2U, SMB3 

[pacman000]

I’d like to see Hudson Soft’s weird home computer version of SMB.

[Tanooki]

Personally, given it's a US based wonder with these, not Japanese, I think they'd do Metroid.  Metroid Prime 4 should be out next year, it would be a good tease along side since the anniversary was missed.

[Pixelboy]

6 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Personally, given it's a US based wonder with these, not Japanese, I think they'd do Metroid.  Metroid Prime 4 should be out next year, it would be a good tease along side since the anniversary was missed.

With an exclusive full-color version of Metroid II included, this would actually be interesting. 

 

[carlsson]

Btw, didn't Nintendo say they would not do any more Mini consoles? Sure, a handheld LCD game is something else than a Mini console but to a certain part it attracts the same customers and from a wide angle look like products in the same segment.

[Pixelboy]

5 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Btw, didn't Nintendo say they would not do any more Mini consoles? Sure, a handheld LCD game is something else than a Mini console but to a certain part it attracts the same customers and from a wide angle look like products in the same segment.

Nintendo said they wouldn't do any more "Minis" because they were going full steam ahead with the Switch. They can change their minds about that any time they want. Now that they've got the tech and the experience with releasing these "modern" Game & Watches, it's up to them to make a profit with them... or not. There are plenty of ways they could exploit the G&W form factor, beginning with a 10-in-1 collection of old single-screen Game & Watches. They could do a Metroid one, a Pokémon one, a SMB3 one...

 

And if third-party companies were smart, they would jump on the same bandwagon: Imagine Capcom doing a G&W-style device with all the Mega Man games on NES, or they could partner with Disney to release special G&W devices with such NES games as DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, etc.

 

[carlsson]

However if the supply and variation becomes too large, each of those units would sell fewer units unless we expect most people buying one are looking to buy all.

 

For that matter, I suppose the Game Gear Micro kind of fits this trend too, though those were exclusively released in Japan.

[Pixelboy]

1 hour ago, carlsson said:

However if the supply and variation becomes too large, each of those units would sell fewer units unless we expect most people buying one are looking to buy all.

The form factor certainly lends itself well to that kind of "gotta have 'em all" collector market.

 

When you look at the full list of NES games, there aren't all that many that would be a good fit for modern Game & Watches. Capcom and Konami obviously have a really good library of games in that regard (Contra, Super C and Operation C on a Game & Watch? Yes please!) but beyond those and Nintendo's first-party offerings, there's not a ton of possible G&W that would be must-buys, in my humble opinion, so I don't think the market would become really cluttered, especially if these devices were released only periodically throughout the years.

 

[carlsson]

OTOH the NES controller pretty much is a glorified G&W with two action buttons instead of one. ?

[+thanatos]

On 6/16/2021 at 8:22 PM, Pixelboy said:

There are actually two games on the SMB one, namely the original SMB and SMB2J (a.k.a. the Lost Levels) but I see what you mean. It would have been much more of a must-buy if they had put SMB, SMB2-USA and SMB3 on the device.

 

Looking at how they put Link's Awakening on the Zelda G&W, it makes me wonder if they could release "packs" of old Gameboy games in the G&W form factor. Pokémon would lend itself to that concept very well.

 

Guess I never read the descriptions well enough to notice the 2nd game!

 

Well, Amazon has the Zelda one up for pre-order already, so, yeah...