Japanese gaming giant, Nintendo, is no stranger to hardware revisions with their gaming consoles, especially when it comes to their changing and evolving line of handheld machines. This vast array of upgrades, tweaks, and modifications to their hardware over the years and decades has, as you might expect, produced mixed results.
We've seen some awesome improvements made to some already solid machines, while we've also gotten our share of head-scratching revisions; models that proved awkward, impractical, or otherwise pointless.
With that said, let's take a glance back at Nintendo's colorful past as a gaming hardware manufacturer and examine the 5 best hardware revisions, as well as 5 that turned out pretty pointless.
10 Pointless: Game Boy Pocket
There really wasn't much point to this machine, other than acting as a sort of meager stop-gap between the original Game Boy and the sleeker, prettier Game Boy Color. While its display was a bit sharper and only required 2 AAA batteries vs 4 AA, the overall technological improvements were marginal at best.
Perhaps it was cool to sport one of these smaller, more compact devices after several years of being used to the clunky grey brick that was the original model. Yet, it was essentially rendered obsolete a mere two years later following the release of the GBC, which itself became somewhat dated pretty quick with the GBA release 3 years after that.
9 Best: DS Lite
When the original Nintendo DS launched back in late 2004, fans weren't quite sure what to think; particularly those who had spent many years weened on the Game Boy line. Thankfully, the innovative new DS squelched most of our doubts, especially once the quality software started rolling out on a more regular basis.
Still, following the initial honeymoon period of the cool stylus/touch screen and double screen novelty, the bulky design of the original DS model began to look a bit less appealing. Enter the sleeker, more compact DS Lite.
This device took the already awesome traits of the original model and refined them to perfection. Thanks to its more appealing glossy design, sturdier, more light-weight nature, and brighter backlight, this thing helped the console take off into the stratosphere in terms of success.
8 Pointless: 2DS
By the time 2013 rolled around, Nintendo has already churned out a large arsenal of handheld console variants. The DS line alone already had its original model, the Lite, DSi, XL, and its "official" successor, the 3D-displaying 3DS. Thus, it seemed like a pretty inopportune time to launch yet another remodel of this machine, coined the "2DS."
Even if you disregard this thing's bulky, unappealing design - what with its uneven screens and slate-like shape replacing the handier foldable clamshell - the hardware itself is pretty pointless. Gone are the 3D capabilities, replaced with lower sound quality, less battery life, and more meager tech as a whole.
Obviously this model is meant to cater to a younger demographic with its cheaper price tag and durability, but its lack of convenient portability negates some of this anyway.
7 Best: Game Boy Advance SP
This gadget tends to get lost in the shuffle amidst a sea of Nintendo handhelds, partly thanks to the hyped upcoming Nintendo DS which was set to render this more-or-less obsolete soon after its release in 2003. Still, as far as the Game Boy line of handhelds go, the Advance SP is about as good as it gets; especially the newer model which houses a superior backlight.
The machine's solid durability with its clamshell design, its long-lasting rechargeable battery, and its backward compatibility with most old GB/GBC games makes it the definitive device for diehard Game Boy fans.
6 Pointless: Wii Mini
This odd little machine is peculiar for a number of reasons; not the least of which is its exclusivity in most Western markets, while never seeing a release in Japan. Still, the Land of the Rising Sun didn't exactly miss out on much in the case of the short-lived Wii Mini. Outside of the convenience of its smaller design and its entry-level $99 pricetag, there really wasn't much point to this thing.
To review - this device was stripped of GameCube backwards compatibility, online functionality, an SD card slot, and lacked any pack-in game.
5 Best: NES Top Loader
Also known by the far-less appealing name, the "Model NES-101," this top-loading variant of the NES tends to get overlooked, as it was released well after the hyped successor console, the SNES. Still, fans of Nintendo's original 8-bit machine will find much to love about this handy, reliable revision of the VRC-like clunker of the old model.
While mark-1 NES was pretty solid in its own right (aside from having to blow on your carts every now and again to get your games running), this thing was just easier to deal with. Rather than flipping the door open before feeding the entire cart into the loader and pushing down to load your game, you just popped it in the convenient top-loader. The 101 didn't just have a sleeker look and come with a more comfortable curved controller, it was also cheaper out of the gate, retailing for just $49.99 in '93.
4 Pointless: Sharp Nintendo Television
This obscure, brutally dated TV/video game console now pretty much just exists as a cool little collectible for Nintendo gaming enthusiasts to show off. Any sort of tech or convenience-based edge is, of course, tossed completely out the window given the far sleeker TVs of the modern era - in addition to gadgets like the NES Classic which mitigates the convenience issue.
Having an NES built into a mid-80s Sharp television might have seemed cool 3 decades ago, but now it just feels archaic and unnecessary. Basically, you're stuck playing on this clunky old tube TV if you want to play this NES.
3 Best: SNES Classic
ROM-lovers rejoiced when this glorified SNES emulator was quietly released in late 2017. Gamers now had easy access to a myriad of Super Nintendo classics from Yoshi's Island to Star Fox 2. But on top of this, they could play this software with the still-solid SNES controller, which many still swear by as the definitive way to play retro games.
Additionally, the SNES Classic comes laced with a single convenient HDMI port, longer controller cords (looking at you, NES Classic), and the added perks of playing ROMs, including the ever-handy save states. Now we just need that coveted N64 Classic...
2 Pointless: Game Boy Micro
Nintendo cranked out a myriad of cool games and gadgets in the mid-2000s, as demonstrated by the DS, Wii, and their slew of innovative software. The Game Boy Micro? Well, you could call that a rare insignificant blip on the radar for Nintendo during this time.
Don't get us wrong, Micro proved functional enough - at least when it came to GBA games. Yet, aside from the fact that this thing proved ridiculously tiny to the point of being uncomfortable for most gamers over the age of 10 to play, its screen was squint-inducingly small. On top of this, it couldn't even play older GB/GBC games. The timing was also curious, considering it released well after the newer, sexier Nintendo DS.
1 Best: Switch Lite
Some criticize Nintendo's recently released Switch Lite for being stripped of some of the original model's versatility, including the ability to dock and output to your TV. Yet, this sleeker, more compact remodel is more-than-ideal for many, especially those looking for a cheaper price and favor the portability of the Switch. It still houses the majority of the console's key features, and contains the same horsepower the original Switch has.
At a mere $200 asking price, the Switch Lite makes for one of the most impressive, robust handheld-oriented consoles to ever hit the market, particularly for Pokémon fans looking for a cool Sword/Shield-centric skin.