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NES Classic Edition Hack Allows for More Games to Be Added

NES Classic Edition, now with 30-plus games.

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The NES Classic Edition comes with 30 playable games, but it lacks the ability to download or otherwise add games to it. That is, there is no official means for doing so. A hacker has now seemingly made it possible to introduce new games to the standalone system.

The process for doing so requires connecting the system via USB to a PC and takes advantage of an exploit involving a save file for Super Mario Bros. This allows for additional ROMs to be loaded.

As seen in the video and images above and below (via Reddit), you can see how they're seamlessly integrated into the system's menu. Among the games that have reportedly been added successfully are Battletoads and Tetris.

As always, these kinds of processes run some risks: You could brick your Classic Edition, and there have been reports of malware warnings with the software involved. Open-source versions are coming online, but attempting this is still something you may not want to rush into doing.

Image source: zenmechanic on Reddit
Image source: zenmechanic on Reddit

Nintendo made it clear shortly after the system was announced that it was intended to be a standalone system that couldn't be expanded upon. It lacks Internet functionality or any official means for connecting to a computer. As such, it doesn't seem Nintendo will have any way of disabling this newfound functionality, as is the case when exploits are found with its Internet-connected handhelds and consoles. It's possible future shipments of the system could block this from happening--something that could drive up demand for early versions of it--but so far there's no indication of what Nintendo's response will be.

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