This Hack Lets You Add More Games to Your NES Classic Edition

Nintendo's tiny, nostalgia-inducing NES Classic Edition comes preloaded with 30 classic games like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and PAC-MAN as well as a game-changing "Suspend Point" feature. But if that's not enough to transport you back to 1986, it looks like someone's finally managed to hack the retro gaming console to add dozens of additional games. 

Word of the inevitable modification emerged on Reddit over the weekend with some users claiming they were able to get a total of 90 games onto the machine, according to a report by Polygon. The hack takes advantage of how the NES Classic Edition is essentially a simple Linux computer running Nintendo's proprietary software and an emulator for the classic games.

The fairly straightforward hack requires connecting the system to a computer with a USB cable, booting it in FEL mode (recovery mode), then you'll have to follow the instructions detailed on the aforementioned Reddit thread, per the report. As a report by The Verge explains, this involves adding ROM files for the additional games, the legality of which is questionable. This appears to be demonstrated in the YouTube video below. 

click to play video

Of course, Nintendo didn't design the NES Classic Edition to be hacked, so modifying it in this way runs the risk of voiding your warranty, and of course, bricking the damn thing if you mess up. In other words, you probably shouldn't attempt to do it unless you know exactly what you're doing. After all, you probably waited in line for hours or paid way more than the $60 suggested retail price to finally get your hands on it in the first place.

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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and recently found out that he's really bad at the original Super Mario Bros. games. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.