Nintendo is moving forward by looking back, and this is going to work because you desperately want to go back to being a kid again.
The publisher launched a new video promoting its NES Classic Edition throwback console, and it’s a neon-drenched clip that was built in a lab specifically to appeal to people who grew up in the 1980s. While this holiday won’t have any major Wii U games — Nintendo is preparing to move onto the dedicated NX gaming platform in March — the company is launching the NES Classic Edition on November 11. This is a $60 minuscule version of the company’s first home console that comes with 30 games. The company announced the device last week and is now rolling out promotional videos for it that tap into the retro-loving market of rapidly aging human beings trying to cling to their long-past youth … like me!
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The video uses throwback colors and interlace visuals in a reference to the aesthetics and technology of the 1980s. Nintendo isn’t alone in trying to appeal to this market. The recent reboot sequels for film franchises like Star Wars and Ghostbusters are for similar audience. On Netflix, one of the most popular new shows is Stranger Things, a look at 1980s sci-fi and horror through a Steven Spielbergian lens. This isn’t even new in gaming. French publisher Ubisoft applied a similar aesthetic to its Far Cry: Blood Dragon and more recent Trials of the Blood Dragon games.
This wave of nostalgia-based products and entertainment is finding success, and Nintendo will likely find itself selling quite a few NES Classic Edition systems as we move into the gift-giving holiday season.