SUPER NES CLASSIC announced (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

I got one. I wanted a second, but missed out. I prefer playing on my SNES, so I may sell it and buy a Star Fox 2 repro cartridge. We'll see.

 

[LeoA]

I got lucky and got a Best Buy order done in the opening 60 seconds or so.

Orders were still open nearly 20 minutes later, so I was on the ball and in the right place at the right time for once.

I got one. I wanted a second, but missed out. I prefer playing on my SNES, so I may sell it and buy a Star Fox 2 repro cartridge. We'll see.

You'll want to hold out for a while then, since it will take people time to dump the contents of this and for the repro makers to start using the final version of the game.

What's out there now is a beta that has had the debugging stuff hidden by homebrew programmers, with a fan created translation. How close it is to the finished game remains to be seen, but the lead programmer has led people to believe that what's in the hands of fans is far from the final state of the game.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I texted Sam that Walmart has them right now, but I'm afraid it's gone now.

 

[Sam Posten]

THANKS SO MUCH for trying Greg. Literally I snooze and lose!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are many more of these out this year than the NES Classic last year, and I also wouldn't be too shocked if Nintendo surprises everyone by releasing either more NES Classics some time in the next year or even produces a newer version with either a new set of games or more games installed.

But I'd really just prefer it if they would announce Virtual Console on the Switch.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

So wait... it's not just that people were clamoring to get them on release date so the first batch sold out, but that they only made a ridiculously small batch and are refusing to make more?

In the year 2017, with physical media and physical devices losing ground to computerized systems and apps that can be customized a million ways to play games from a variety of systems, where anyone can easily use a brand new Wii to play every Super Nintendo game ever made for almost nothing, where this is truly a product where no one needs to own it to actually get its functionality and any money made would really be a bonus on the bottom line... the company is turning down that money? That just seems like a dumb business move in this day and age with the company experiencing struggles in other departments especially. You have a product people want to give you money for. Why don't you want that money?

 

[LeoA]

I also wouldn't be too shocked if Nintendo surprises everyone by releasing either more NES Classics some time in the next year or even produces a newer version with either a new set of games or more games installed.

All they'd have to do is base it off the top loader's design.

Then for better or worse, they'll not only be able to meet the unfulfilled demand for the original, but also get to resell the same thing to a healthy portion of those that bought the original NES Classic Edition. The top loader isn't iconic like the original design was, but an awful lot of Nintendo and NES fans won't be able to resist double dipping.

Hopefully they add games to the line though if they do. Not much left that's high profile for Nintendo's 1st party catalog that made it out in the West, but lots of big 3rd party titles are left just from the publishers that already have a presence on these plug and plays.

 

[Clinton McClure]

So wait... it's not just that people were clamoring to get them on release date so the first batch sold out, but that they only made a ridiculously small batch and are refusing to make more?

In the year 2017, with physical media and physical devices losing ground to computerized systems and apps that can be customized a million ways to play games from a variety of systems, where anyone can easily use a brand new Wii to play every Super Nintendo game ever made for almost nothing, where this is truly a product where no one needs to own it to actually get its functionality and any money made would really be a bonus on the bottom line... the company is turning down that money? That just seems like a dumb business move in this day and age with the company experiencing struggles in other departments especially. You have a product people want to give you money for. Why don't you want that money?

If you haven't noticed, Nintendo has a long history of sticking with short-sighted, stupid decisions. I guess death before dishonor?

That being said, both Play-Asia and B&H Photo list the SNES classic as "preorders coming soon".

 

[Clinton McClure]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are many more of these out this year than the NES Classic last year, and I also wouldn't be too shocked if Nintendo surprises everyone by releasing either more NES Classics some time in the next year or even produces a newer version with either a new set of games or more games installed.

But I'd really just prefer it if they would announce Virtual Console on the Switch.

+1 for wishful thinking. I would also rather have a good virtual console. Nintendo could easily release the entirety of the NES classic on Switch VC for $40 and the SNES classic for $80 and I would buy them both, no questions asked.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

If you haven't noticed, Nintendo has a long history of sticking with short-sighted, stupid decisions. I guess death before dishonor?

That being said, both Play-Asia and B&H Photo list the SNES classic as "preorders coming soon".

I honestly don't even know why I'm tempted to buy a SNES Classic. I still have my original Super Nintendo which is in perfect working order. I have a backup that was given to me years ago by a friend who no longer used it, also in perfect working order. I've got at least two controllers, and all of the games I'd ever want to play on it (primarily Super Mario World). It's in my dad's attic, and all I'd have to do is take a 45 minute train ride out to Long Island to pick it up. Heck, I'm gonna be there in a couple weeks. My TV has no problem accepting composite RCA inputs, so there's no issue with connecting it. There's really no reason for me to want or have this new version. I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm bummed not to have gotten one.

 

[LeoA]

Getting the games on the Switch at a fair price is only half the battle in my opinion.

You also would need the retro controllers to complete the experience. So in addition to competitive pricing on the Switch Virtual Console, hopefully they'd also release NES Classic and SNES Classic controllers individually and a USB adapter that connects them to the Switch.

And before I'm corrected, I doubt the SNES Classic controller will be sold standalone when two are included out of the box and yes, I know that the NES Classic controller was available separately. But it's rarer than the system itself and equally unavailable today (And most of those out there seem to be counterfeits).

So just releasing a Classic Controller converter for the Switch wouldn't get the job done for the many that weren't able to buy these plug and plays yet still would want to bring a NES Classic/SNES Classic style experience to Nintendo's latest system.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I honestly don't even know why I'm tempted to buy a SNES Classic. I still have my original Super Nintendo which is in perfect working order. I have a backup that was given to me years ago by a friend who no longer used it, also in perfect working order. I've got at least two controllers, and all of the games I'd ever want to play on it (primarily Super Mario World). It's in my dad's attic, and all I'd have to do is take a 45 minute train ride out to Long Island to pick it up. Heck, I'm gonna be there in a couple weeks. My TV has no problem accepting composite RCA inputs, so there's no issue with connecting it. There's really no reason for me to want or have this new version. I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm bummed not to have gotten one.

I know you're probably too casual a fan to ever want to do this, but if you ever do retrieve your SNES, I wish you'd get an RGB cable for it. The SNES supports RGB natively and it is like going from VHS to Blu-Ray. My favorite game in the early '90s was Sunset Riders, and I hated it on the SNES because of its blurry graphics. Now, through RGB, I see it's not as nice as the arcade, but still beautiful.

Of course, you'd need an RGB to HDMI converter box. For your needs, one of the $30 ones on eBay would probably suffice. The more Cadillac options and you'd be better off just getting the Classic.

All they'd have to do is base it off the top loader's design.

Then for better or worse, they'll not only be able to meet the unfulfilled demand for the original, but also get to resell the same thing to a healthy portion of those that bought the original NES Classic Edition. The top loader isn't iconic like the original design was, but an awful lot of Nintendo and NES fans won't be able to resist double dipping.

Hopefully they add games to the line though if they do. Not much left that's high profile for Nintendo's 1st party catalog that made it out in the West, but lots of big 3rd party titles are left just from the publishers that already have a presence on these plug and plays.

One might assume that they would also then release the AV Famicom for the Japanese market. Since that's what I play NES games on these days, I'd probably have to have one to go along with its big brother.

You'll want to hold out for a while then, since it will take people time to dump the contents of this and for the repro makers to start using the final version of the game.

What's out there now is a beta that has had the debugging stuff hidden by homebrew programmers, with a fan created translation. How close it is to the finished game remains to be seen, but the lead programmer has led people to believe that what's in the hands of fans is far from the final state of the game.

I'm probably just going to keep it. If it had been just normal games, I would have skipped it. But, I've been interested in the Classic since Star Fox 2 was revealed.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I know you're probably too casual a fan to ever want to do this, but if you ever do retrieve your SNES, I wish you'd get an RGB cable for it. The SNES supports RGB natively and it is like going from VHS to Blu-Ray. My favorite game in the early '90s was Sunset Riders, and I hated it on the SNES because of its blurry graphics. Now, through RGB, I see it's not as nice as the arcade, but still beautiful.

I didn't even know you could plug an RGB cable into a SNES console!

 

[Greg_S_H]

Yeah, it plugs into the same connector that the composite does, using that same classic Nintendo connector that they used through the Gamecube era. They were lazy and just kept it for North America since Japan and Europe could actually use it! The Genesis, Saturn, Playstation, Playstation 2 also support RGB out of the box, but the NES does not. You have to get it modified.

If you have any interest in learning more about this, these guys do a fantastic job with all of their videos:

 

[LeoA]

Don't forget about the HD Retrovision component cables for the Super Nintendo.

http://www.hdretrovision.com/snes/

They're basically RGB cables with a built-in component converter. Been very well received. Economical component to HDMI converters that work well are available if your set lacks component inputs (By going with component over HDMI, CRT fans like myself with a component equipped Trinitron also get to enjoy them).

Worth noting that the redesigned Super Nintendo revision killed the RGB support. It's easily rectified by modders that know their way around a soldering iron, but the system as-built doesn't support S-Video or RGB (And by extension, the HD Retrovision component cable).

People will have to coin a new term for this system redesign from the late 90's, since it often used to be referred to as the SNES Mini.

I have one of these brand new in the box, bought at Wal-Mart for $50 back around 1999 on Black Friday. Started a trend of me buying a spare system to keep in reserve that continues to this day. I wonder what it's worth these days.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Personally, I thought the NES Classic was a cool idea but I didn't see myself putting 40 hours into Final Fantasy, so I didn't even bother to try and find one. I already have most of the games on the NES Classic for my original NES or Virtual Console (between Wii/Wii U and 3DS) so I didn't need to buy it to get those experiences, if I even really wanted to play them.

The Super NES Classic is certainly more appealing because the games are overall much better, plus the new features sound cool. But other than StarFox 2, there's little real draw for me.

Regarding Nintendo being short-sighted by not producing enough units, I think that's not exactly correct. They're making money on these items but their real intent is to sell them as collector's items to promote the Nintendo brand and push the sales of the Switch. Everything they've done going back to Pokemon Go was a giant, long-term ad campaign to get people to think of how much they love and miss Nintendo (since nobody bought the Wii U, a lot of people "miss" them) and then suddenly divert everyone's attention to the Switch. The Super NES Classic is coming out 2-3 weeks before Super Mario Odyssey hits shelves, meaning people will see it on the news and be talking about it (or standing in line at stores) while Nintendo starts their marketing blitz for the newest Mario game.

So, if anything, they're the opposite of short-sighted. They're just a little too far-sighted to see the short-term money they could be making. I just wonder if this strategy (undersell the Classics to try and sell more Switches) will matter because of the demographics. How many people are looking to buy an NES/SNES Classic that would also even consider a Switch, and vice versa? Switch appeals more to gamers who are active in gaming, whereas the Classics appeal more to people who grew up with those systems. Can they effectively transition people from one crowd to the other? Is there enough overlap between the two for it to be worth selling a bunch of everything?

Personally, I've considered making a RetroPie to scratch any potential retro gaming itch, rather than buy an NES/SNES Classic. And I still haven't bought one because I keep remembering how much I really don't want to play old games.

 

[DaveF]

I always find that the romantic idea of retro-gaming is much stronger than my actual experience of playing old games. So you won't have me competing for the SNES mini.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've never heard of this Switch you're talking about. New games have no interest to me since my video gaming ability begins and ends with Mario games. Nintendo could have gotten $75 out of me for a Super NES that I don't really need but would be cool to have. I'm not spending hundreds or whatever they want for their version of a PS4 or whatever it is.

 

[Sam Posten]

A Mario game launches on Switch tomorrow and another one next month does too.

 

[LeoA]

I actually intend to play through most of the games on this.

I fully expect when 12 months have gone by that I'll have at least finished Contra III, Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero, Link to the Past, Mega Man X, Star Fox, Star Fox 2, Super Castlevania IV, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Yoshi's Island. Several of these I've never managed to finish on original hardware and will be a first for me on this, thanks to save states.

And of the remaining titles, only Final Fantasy VI and Street Fighter II hold no interest to me and likely will never be fired up. I'd like to finally sit down and give Super Mario RPG a serious try and experience several of the others for the first time as well (I've never played Kirby's Dream Course, Super Punch Out, Earthbound, or Secret of Mana).

And I doubt I'll replay Kirby Super Star anytime soon. Just finally went through this recently for the first time thanks to finally giving the DS port a real try after over a decade in my backlog. Decent game, but I'm just not a big Kirby fan.