Breaking: Nintendo introduces ‘Wii U+’ with added cartridge slot for NES games

Note: this was an April Fool’s Day article and is not based on factual events.

Emulation is serious business, especially the emulation of long-forgotten titles from Nintendo’s vast catalogue of classics. Does it make sense to let Super Mario, Metroid and classic Castlevania rot in ROM-land? Today, Nintendo plans to rectify this with the introduction of the Wii U+ — a Wii U with a cartridge slot for 1980’s era NES cartridges.

“When happiness is held in the hand, the feeling of fun is magnified tenfold.” says boisterous Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata from a press conference in Kyoto, Japan.

“We introduced the Wii U in 2012 to an audience of fans begging for a high-definition Nintendo experience. The Wii U, along with the 3DS and existing titles has cemented our place as a company defined by delivering dreams to our community. Now, for the Nintendo owner who’s hung onto their NES cartridges for twenty years, we’ve got a surprise for you. The Wii U+ not only supports NES cartridges, but Famicon titles as well.

There’s thousands of NES games to choose from, with most costing well under $1 on eBay. Nintendo also plans to reintroduce sales of NES cartridges to stores and online. From today, we’ll be selling those ROMS you can get online for free, back to you, once more. It’s the Nintendo way!”

The Wii U+ is the same Wii U, simply with a large slot on top for PAL or NTSC NES cartridges. Famicon cartridges are far smaller than their US/UK counterparts, but Nintendo says that all existing cartridges will be compatible. Nintendo hasn’t mentioned how the games will run — as in, will the graphics get an HD makeover, online multiplayer or DLCs — but we’ll apparently learn more later in the day when Iwata will apparently demo the Wii U+.

For more details, read Nintendo’s full press release here.