Nintendo's new $60 game console features a different way to save games
Nintendo's got a new video game console, sort of!
The NES Classic Edition is technically brand new - the $60 console launched on November 11 - but it both looks identical to the original Nintendo Entertainment System and plays games from that era.
Rather than insert NES cartridges, you simply plug the little box into your TV and play the games that are built-in - 30 games in all, including the original "Super Mario Bros." trilogy, the first two "Legend of Zelda" games, and even third-party classics like "Ninja Gaiden," "Double Dragon 2," "Final Fantasy," and "Mega Man 2."
There's even a new version of the original NES gamepad:
Even with all the nods to the past, Nintendo made one incredibly smart, decidedly modern update in the NES Classic Edition: Nintendo calls them "Suspend Points."
The concept is simple: Save your game, in any game, wherever you want. Instead of leaving the console on, like some kind of savage, you save wherever you want. The next time you turn on the system, you can restart right where you left off.
You get four slots per game, like so:
With four save slots, multiple family members or roommates can save progress in the same game; alternatively, you could be a scoundrel and use suspend points to play a particularly hard part of a game over and over until you get past it. Not that we're suggesting that! But you could.
Since the NES gamepad doesn't have any additional buttons, you have to manually press the Reset button on the front of the console to lock in a save point. It's also just the main menu button - the "Home" button of the console, if you will.
Of course, the console won't ever be too far away: the gamepad has just three-measly-feet of wire, so you'll either need to sit close to the TV or get yourself a lengthy HDMI cable.
At just $60 for the NES Classic Edition console, you could splurge and drop an extra $20 on this wireless gamepad. Of course, the first issue is getting your hands on the system - it's selling out everywhere, to the point where people are paying insane mark-ups for it on eBay.
Don't despair: Nintendo promises more systems are on the way in time for the holidays.