Mini NES News w/ @RyHamner and @ryannoble66, The VR DualShocker and more #VideoGame News

Some huge news broke today out of Nintendo-Land making all other news seem inconsequential. However, we won't play that game here, so here are the biggest stories for Thursday, July 14, 2016.

We'll Call it Mini-Me

Nintendo rocked the video game world for the second time in a little over a week this morning by announcing their next console. Not their next console, per se. Rather, a replica of their old console, the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Game-Block.com's Ryan Hamner and ConstruxNunchux.com's very own Canadian Ryan Noble covered the breaking news on a very special episode of Block Party for The 1-Up Club Podcast Network. Listen here:



The console will be a palm-sized replica of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The Mini NES will feature a single controller and two controller ports, an HDMI cable, a USB power cable and 30 pre-loaded games. All for a measley price of $59.99 ($10 for each additional controller).

Games that come pre-loaded include:

1. Balloon Fight 
2. Bubble Bobble 
3. Castlevania 
4. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest 
5. Donkey Kong
6. Donkey Kong Jr.
7. Double Dragon II: The Revenge
8. Dr. Mario
9. Excitebike
10. Final Fantasy
11. Galaga
12. Ghosts' N Ghoblins
13. Gradius
14. Ice Climber
15. Kid Icarus
16. Kirby's Adventure
17. Mario Bros.
18. Mega Man 2
19. Metroid
20. Ninja Gaiden
21. Pac-Man
22. Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
23. StarTropics
24. SUPER C
25. Super Mario Bros.
26. Super Mario Bros. 2
27. Super Mario Bros. 3
28. Tecmo Bowl
29. The Legend of Zelda
30. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

That's one helluva deal for gamers who appreciate retro gaming but don't necessarily want to drop the cash - or have the space - to support a collection of this size.

Playstation VR's Dual-Shocker

Sony's entry into virtual reality is coming but, according to The Verge, reports from Sony earlier this week to Eurogamer were not entirely accurate.

To Eurogamer's credit, they reported exactly what Sony told them: that Playstation VR's entire library would be DualShock 4-compatible. The console giant has since recanted, telling The Verge in a statement that

Nearly all PlayStation VR titles will support DualShock 4 controllers, and several games will deliver an enhanced experience that further immerses gamers with the use of peripherals such as Move or the recently announced Aim controller. There will be a limited number of titles that require Move controllers.

In theory, this opens up the possibilities for developers to utilize Sony's Move controller for games on the system.

Is This The Update You're Looking For?

For those who appreciate the original iterations of Star Wars Battlefront, Destructoid says that EA DICE will be updating the current-gen's version with a familiar mode of play.

Beginning July 20, Battlefront players will be able to fight offline in the Sullust and Hoth maps in the new Skirmish mode. In that mode, players will be able to fight in a single player match or a co-op match against AI-controlled bots in Walker Assault and Fighter Squadron game types.

In addition to this new mode, DICE announced that Death Star, the next DLC for the game, will be dropping in the month of September. Along with ground and space battles, new weapons, new Star Cards and two new heroes.

Star Wars Celebration (the European edition) is taking place this week and a teaser for the expansion will be shown Saturday, July 16 at 2:00 US Eastern.

Sony Follows Suit

Yesterday, it was reported that Microsoft was forgoing Gamescon 2016, instead having a FanFest featuring their hardware and some of the big titles coming to their system in the near future. Now it appears that Sony, too, is dropping out of the media press conferences.

This is still a developing story, but according to the French site, Jeux Video ("Video Games" for those who don't speak French....also, the story was translated by VideoGamer), Sony is pulling out.

Numerous sites are trying to get more information from Sony and we, too, will keep an eye out for more information as it develops.