NES Remix global contest cancelled after players capitalise on exploit

NES Remix players have discovered an exploit affecting the game's clock, leading to the cancellation of a global contest to promote the Virtual Console showcase title.

NES Remix director Koichi Hayashida announced the cancellation in a comment on the Time Attack Challenge's Miiverse announcement post (sign-in required).

"In the interest of being as fair as possible, we decided to terminate the event without recognizing the fastest time. We sincerely apologize for this matter, particularly because the vast majority of people played fairly," he said.

Although Nintendo quite naturally did not detail the exploit, Internet chatter suggests it was related to rapid pausing, which affects the game's clock. There's been no word yet of Nintendo patching the exploit.

The Time Attack Challenge contest required players to complete Collect All the Coins, which is based on stage four from the original Mario Bros. game, but in NES Remix requires players to control two characters at once. Players could then send a screenshot of their best time for official notation by Nintendo.

NES Remix is a Wii U title which released in December, featuring gameplay from 16 classic titles, each given a fresh twist. It's something of a gateway drug for Nintendo's Virtual Console service.

Thanks, Joystiq.