Nintendo Co., Ltd. has just applied for a Nintendo 64 trademark in Japan, a move that many speculate heralds the eventual announcement of the long-rumored N64 Classic. Nintendo has been able to turn NES and SNES Classic Editions into global phenomenons, with the latter mini console’s larger production run and consistent sales proving that there are a lot of gamers out there willing to pay a decent chunk of change for nostalgia - as long as its in an accessible, convenient form.
The Nintendo 64 Classic has been a rumor for as long as the SNES Classic has been a confirmed product. Speculation began to run rampant that Nintendo planned to release mini versions of all of its classic devices, but the company has been suspiciously quiet about its next move within that market. Instead, most of 2018 so far has seen Nintendo focus even more heavily on the Switch, the device that has resurrected the industry giant into a major console player once more.
The trademark filing, first reported by Japanese Nintendo, for the Nintendo 64 covers a variety of elements, including but not limited to “video game program, controller for game machine, joystick for game machine, TV game machine” and more. This isn’t the first time Nintendo has filed for trademarks that suggest a Nintendo 64 Classic is on the way, either, as the company also submitted a similar claim in Europe back in 2017. The graphics from that claim, which included NES and SNES controller designs, were eventually used in the Classic systems that Nintendo has already produced. Combined with a new Japanese trademark filing, it seems like we are on the verge of another major Nintendo Classic device in the near future.
With that being said, however, there’s something that suggests the Nintendo 64 Classic isn’t a sure thing. Nintendo also applied for a trademark related to the Game Boy in 2017, and that filing has failed to produce the reveal of a Game Boy Classic since. Just because Nintendo files for a trademark related to a classic system doesn’t necessarily mean the company has any immediate plans for it.
Still, with trademark filings in two separate regions within the span of a year and the mind-boggling success of the NES and SNES Classic systems, it seems like only a matter of time before Nintendo decides to print money once more with another trip down memory lane. Whether it is a Game Boy Classic or the long-awaited reveal of a Nintendo 64 Classic instead, we imagine it won’t be long before Nintendo has the gaming world talking once more.
More: Every SNES Classic Game, Ranked Worst To Best
Source: Japanese Nintendo
