Smaller isn’t always better when it comes to tech. At some point operability suffers when devices get too small, and in line with that trend smartphone screens grew larger even as their guts became more complex.
Nintendo, though, has other ideas. It’s releasing an adorable “mini” version of its 1983 Family Computer (or “Famicom”) gaming system in November for the Japanese market alone, which would be great and all if the controllers didn’t look as though they were meant for grade-school Lilliputians or Marco Rubio’s idea of Donald Trump.
As seen in the announcement video, they’re tiny. The model looks as though he or she’s holding a business card meant to look like a classic gamepad, and revealingly, we never actually see it used to play games. It’s clearly meant to make the so-called Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer jive with the original’s design, which came with docks for two controllers on either side of the main box, but it’s also a case where taking a few liberties might have been justified.
Videos by VICE
If you’re a die-hard collector, the Famicom version might be worth picking up if only because its built-in 30 games differ slightly from the 30 coming to the NES Classic. There’s River City Ransom, for instance (one of my personal childhood favorites), and Final Fantasy III. Of course, you’ll have to be able read Japanese to play them, which is certainly no small feat in itself.
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 14: Timothée Chalamet seen at a Special Screening of A24's "Marty Supreme" at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on November 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/A24 via Getty Images) -
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