Just months after the release of the NES Classic Edition, a Russian gamer has already found a way to hack the small console to include more games.
The Nintendo Classic Edition, which originally comes with 30 pre-installed games, can be altered quite easily by using just a USB cable and a computer.
Madmonkey is the name of a modder who posted a guide to hacking the console on a Russian forum on Wednesday.
According to him, users only need to have a save file in the starting slot for Super Mario Bros.
After that, they need to connect the console to a computer by using a USB cable on EFL mode to program devices.
Then, by using a tool called Hakchi developed by Madmonkey, users can proceed to hack the system. Alterations to the hardware are not required.
The tool works by opening the NES ROM files and overwriting the original content on the NES with a new installation that includes the extra games. However, Madmonkey advised users to change only the necessary to add the games.
How many games can you add to the NES Classic Edition?
As in a non-stop competition, a user under the name of Cluster didn’t take long to enhance the original tool developed by Madmonkey to make the hacking process easier.
Cluster created Hakchi2, which does not require the Super Mario Bros save. Now ROMs can be dropped onto a roster and simply be uploaded. Then the games are installed, and the NES will be ready to use.
Nintendo never specified how many games the console could run, and modders are testing its capacities. Some of them have already installed as many as 25 extra games without affecting the functionality of the console.
The NES Classic Edition is not a console with online functions, so Nintendo wouldn’t be able to block the addition of more games through an update. Up to this moment, The Asian company hasn’t made any comments about it.
Is hacking the NES Classic Edition a good idea?
Up to the moment, no reports of failures when adding new games have been reported. Naturally, the console was designed to carry the 30 original games it contains, so the limits of the NES are still unclear.
Hacking and forcing a console to expand its capabilities is never recommended, but up to this moment, many users have already hacked the NES without any particular problem.
Some other gamers have preferred to keep a more conservative attitude towards the situation by saying they don’t want to change the console after all the difficulties they went through to obtain it.
Sources: CNET
