Nintendo reminds you that a Mini NES controller can’t be used with an Original NES

With some lucky folks getting their hands on a Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (hence forever known as the Mini NES) a little early over the weekend we’ve seen countless unboxing videos and quick reviews of the system. However one thing has caught our eye on the system and just goes to show how (over) informative Nintendo can be with it’s packaging.

On the back of the Mini NES box is a chart showing the compatibility of the Mini NES controller. As you would expect it works with  the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (CLV-001) with a nice big green tick. The real kicker is the last item, denoted by a red X – the Mini NES controllers don’t work with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES-001).

You know, the one released in 1985.

That’s not all the fun on the chart, the controller as we know is also compatible with the Wii, Wii mini and Wii U – but only attached to a Wii Remote (and has a yellow X, why). Nintendo also reminds us that unless you’re playing Virtual Console titles the controller may not work as expected either. Almost a good third of the back of the box is taken up with these warnings thanks to the multitude of languages on it.

Finally, just so we’re all aware as well, the Mini NES can’t play NES cartridges either – its smaller than a cartridge after all.