Nintendo and Nvidia have signed a partnership for the SHIELD HD adaptation of several cult Wii and GameCube console games such as New Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. These 1080p versions are currently reserved for the Chinese market. They could appear in Europe either on Nvidia's Shield or directly on Nintendo's Switch.
Nintendo and Nvidia have teamed up to offer on the Shield several cult games of the GameCube and Wii in 1080p. New Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Punch-Out!! are already available on the Nvidia console in China. Other games like Super Mario Galaxy will follow soon.
Nintendo games on Nvidia's Shield
The games in question are offered to Chinese players at a price of 68 yuan, or less than nine euros. A decent rate to enjoy cult games on a recent console and with updated graphics. In China, the console itself costs 1499 yuan, or 192 euros. This is a different version than the one that can be found in Europe, with a store and more local content. We hope to see these Nintendo games offered on the Shield in Europe, but we can think that it is only a way for Nintendo, Japan's richest company, to better penetrate the Chinese market, which it does not need in Europe.
What is interesting, however, is that the Nvidia Shield runs with the Tegra X1 home processor, which also equips the Nintendo Switch. It is therefore not forbidden to think that Nintendo is working on a way to offer its old Wii and GameCube games on its Switch for the rest of the world. If this is the case, European consumers could then claim to play Mario, Zelda and others on their Switch, the best-selling product during Black Friday.