This Retro Aluminum Nintendo Entertainment System Will Cost You $500: And It's Worth It

Ready to feel a little nostalgic? Analogue Interactive, a Seattle, Washington-based hardware company, recently launched a $500 aluminum version of 1983’s 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. You know what that means. Now you can play the original “Legend of Zelda” and “Super Mario Bros. 3” for the same price of Microsoft’s Xbox One console.

The updated three-pound console is surrounded by a solid block of aircraft-grade 606 aluminum alloy, the same material Apple uses for its iMacs and laptops.

Analogue Interactive expects to ship the device this summer, and it will be available in five different colors – silver, which is available for $500, and white, pink, black, blue and red for an additional $50. If you pre-order the aluminum NES, you can pick up an HDMI adapter for a lower price of $49.99.

Analogue announced the development of the console in March – and the device is just as functional as its 31 year-old counterpart. The new edition actually relies on Japan-based Nintendo’s original CPU and PPU.

The original Nintendo launched on July 15, 1983 and has been hailed as the greatest video game console in history by IGN in 2009. The console launched alongside three ports of the brand’s most successful arcade titles, “Donkey Kong,” “Donkey Kong, Jr.” and “Popeye.” In 1988, Nintendo sold 7 million NES devices, nearly as many as the number of Commodore 64s, the console’s competitor, sold during the first five years of its launch in 1982.