Nintendo Classic Mini

[O.Supreme]

http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/0 ... able-form/

basically the same idea as I have seen previously, last fall I saw at Wal-Mart retro consoles for Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision, and Sega. I almost bough the Sega one as it advertised *60 games* (until you read the back and only 20 or so were Genesis games, another dozen were Master System, and the rest were almost Atari 2600-esque quality ).

But this looks fun. Not sure how it works with Nintendo Virtual Console, and *if* the cartridge port actually functions I would totally get this, but somehow I don't think it does based on the size/scale.

[Geno]

It's basically a NES emulator that comes with 30 pre-loaded games. It has HDMI output and runs off a USB as a power source. It comes with a replica of the original NES controller. Costs $59 and launches on November 11 of this year. Unfortunately it can't run the original cartridges.


Here are the 30 games included.

Balloon Fightâ„¢
BUBBLE BOBBLE
Castlevaniaâ„¢
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest™
Donkey Kongâ„¢
Donkey Kong Jr. â„¢
DOUBLE DRAGON II: THE REVENGE
Dr. Marioâ„¢
Excitebikeâ„¢
FINAL FANTASY®
Galagaâ„¢
GHOSTS’N GOBLINS®
GRADIUSâ„¢
Ice Climberâ„¢
Kid Icarusâ„¢
Kirby’s Adventure™
Mario Bros. â„¢
MEGA MAN® 2
Metroidâ„¢
NINJA GAIDEN
PAC-MANâ„¢
Punch-Out!! â„¢ Featuring Mr. Dream
StarTropicsâ„¢
SUPER Câ„¢
Super Mario Bros.â„¢
Super Mario Bros. â„¢ 2
Super Mario Bros. â„¢ 3
TECMO BOWL
The Legend of Zeldaâ„¢
Zelda II: The Adventure of Linkâ„¢

I'm gonna wait to see how the image quality shows up, The emulators Nintendo uses on their current consoles have image quality issues. If you don't mind the image quality, everything else is mostly fine save for a frame of input lag.

[O.Supreme]

I think that may be a typo, the article I referenced showed it had the original Mega Man not MM2. Not sure why they would have MM2 and *not* the original...either way...its a bummer it doesn't play cartridges. $60 for 30 old games, most of which I already have in cartridge form or virtual console...probably not worth it now that I think about it

[lhb412]

I'm no gamer, but I grew up with a hand-me-down NES. I've been thinking about buying an new old NES and some games - but this is much more convenient!

The ability to save your game on the original Mario? This really is the future!

[The Shadow]

That's a excellent group of games, I'm curious why the first Mega Man and Double Dragon games weren't included. It is a shame that the NES mini won't run the original game carts though, It should be pretty easy to implement as the little Sega unit will play the Genesis carts.

[O.Supreme]

So of course, as we all know by now, this was way under produced so Nintendo is now scrambling to produce more to get them to mass market before Dec 25th. Of course you can try to obtain one on eBay or Amazon for about 3X retail cost. But anyway...

I initially hesitated for several reasons. But of course this is effecting me in a completely different way. I had been debating on getting the Retron 5 clone console for a while. Guess I should have got one last year when they were still around $100, but the Nes Classic fueled game nostalgia has now driven up the price of the Retron 5 as well. Heck I cant believe Game Stop is actually selling these thigns now. of course recent events have brought to light how underhanded Game Stop really is, but that's a discussion for another time. I kept holding out for a version 6 thinking it would add the N64 and perhaps a couple of other consoles, but alas no such luck.

Add to that, I just fired up my NES that I've had for 30 years. I can get Mike Tyson's Punch out to work, but no other games. I downloaded several games onto Wii virtual console, but sadly some like Godzilla and Godzilla 2 for the NES are not available in any format that I know of (aside from computer emulators which I'm not fond of). If only there were some other alternatives. Heck if they really wanted to get people hyped for the NES Classic they should have offered the entire Nintendo Library. They could have sold it for probably $200 or maybe even $300 if it offered EVERY game. Or perhaps Steam or some other game service should offer games for streaming.

heck, I'd pay $10 a month for unlimited access to Nintendo's entire library of classic games (NES, SNES N64, GB, GBC, GBA, -all releases from around the world).

[Dr Kain]

So of course, as we all know by now, this was way under produced so Nintendo is now scrambling to produce more to get them to mass market before Dec 25th. Of course you can try to obtain one on eBay or Amazon for about 3X retail cost. But anyway...

Nah, Nintendo produced exactly how many they wanted to produce. This is just a way to create hype out of a gimmick. If they didn't make it very limited no one would be talking about it right now. In fact, I'm betting Nintendo has an entire warehouse full of them just so they can make a "miracle" shipment the week before Xmas.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I'm pretty confident Kain is correct and Nintendo has artificial shortages to drive up hype for the device. They did the same thing with the Wii and tried to do it with the Wii U but nobody wanted the Wii U.

[Dr Kain]

I'm pretty confident Kain is correct and Nintendo has artificial shortages to drive up hype for the device. They did the same thing with the Wii and tried to do it with the Wii U but nobody wanted the Wii U.

They also did it with their Amiibos.

Hell, look at how many copies of Pokemon they shipped out. They know exactly what they are doing.

[O.Supreme]

Makes sense. But as I have no interest in the NES classic mini, basically what you are saying is wait until after the first of the year for everyone's nostalgia to die down, and prices on the Retron 5 will return to normal?

[Dr Kain]

Makes sense. But as I have no interest in the NES classic mini, basically what you are saying is wait until after the first of the year for everyone's nostalgia to die down, and prices on the Retron 5 will return to normal?

Frankly, I lost all interest in this device when I learned they couldn't add any more games to it.

[lhb412]

All I want is to play Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda!

Guess I'll put off those dreams for after Christmas.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Got five in tonight and as soon as they hit the floor they where gone in 15 minutes

[Dr Kain]

All I want is to play Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda!

Guess I'll put off those dreams for after Christmas.

See, I've got Mario 3 on my Mario All-Stars Wii game and I have the virtual console version of Zelda.

[XvGojira]

All I want is to play Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda!

Guess I'll put off those dreams for after Christmas.

See, I've got Mario 3 on my Mario All-Stars Wii game and I have the virtual console version of Zelda.

Yeah, I kind of want the Mini, it's emulation is superior to the VC but at the same time, the differences aren't worth the price and lack of portability of the VC games on my 3DS.

[lhb412]

I don't own a single Nintendo console (or a game console of any type), so this thing was pretty much perfect for me: a non-gamer with me serious Nintendo nostalgia from childhood.

[mr.negativity]

Nintendo of America Discontinues NES Classic Console

A Nintendo representative told video game news website IGN on Thursday that Nintendo will end North American shipments of its NES Classic Edition console. Nintendo of America territories will receive the last shipments this month.

The statement included an apology for the lack of availability of the console at retailers and noted the high demand for the product. The representative explained, "NES Classic Edition wasn't intended to be an ongoing, long-term product. However, due to high demand, we did add extra shipments to our original plans."

The NES Classic controller for the console will also be discontinued. The announcement did not include a statement on the status of the console worldwide.

Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition Console originally in the 1980s. It relaunched the system on November 11 last year in North America and Europe for a retail price of US$59.99. Nintendo had shipped over 1.5 million units of the console worldwide as of the end of January, and the high demand for the product created shortages. The system comes with 30 classic games.

Source: IGN (Jose Otero)

[The Shadow]

Quoting myself from the main Nintendo console thread...

I could see Nintendo releasing a newer reworked version that was expandable in someway. The big thing is obviously more game options which Nintendo could do either by giving the NES Classic a network connection so it can access the Eshop, or perhaps keeping the whole thing off line and selling a series of Switch or 3DS carts with multiple games on them that (here's the kicker) come in cases shaped like NES carts.

I had first considered the carts themselves being shaped like NES cartridges, but there's no need to reinvent the wheel when Nintendo already has two styles of cart in use today. And Nintendo could easily give a revamped NES Classic multiple cart slots so users won't need to swap them out.

Reportedly, the NES Classic Controllers are being discontinued too. If a new version of the NES Classic could be on the way perhaps revamped controllers too. New controllers could either have lengthened cords (their most common complaint) or even be entirely redone with internals based on the Joy-Cons (chiefly making the controllers wireless and compatible with the Switch for playing Virtual Console games on it.

[canofhumdingers]

I don't own a single Nintendo console (or a game console of any type), so this thing was pretty much perfect for me: a non-gamer with me serious Nintendo nostalgia from childhood.

Have you tried buying an original used NES? Are they easier to find/cheaper? I still have mine from a kid and last time I plugged it in it still worked. Of course, if I found out it was worth a few hundred bucks on eBay or something... hmm.... I'll be back in a few...

EDIT:
Nope,looks like I'd be able to get $100 AT BEST. In storage it stays. But hey, lhb, looks like you'd be able to grab an original working system and the couple games you want for less than the retail price of the classic.

[O.Supreme]

I still have my original NES from 1987 but it barely functions. The funniest thing was I saw a couple at a thrift store recently and they were wanting $50, just the console itself, no power cords or RCA cables etc... so there was no way to even power it on to test if they worked. Unfortunately with most NES being so old I would not even bother purchasing a used one, and a newly manufactured one mainstream isn't going to happen likely. There are the ReTron clone consoles, but still use emulation despite having to use cartridges.

If the Nes Classic, like the Genesis retro console, actually had a functioning slot for classic NES games, that would have made it way more appealing.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I'd look into getting a Raspberry Pi 3 and turning it into a RetroPie it'll play NES, SNES, Gensis Dreamcast and dozens of other systems including the Wii.

[daikaijusaurus]

I'd look into getting a Raspberry Pi 3 and turning it into a RetroPie it'll play NES, SNES, Gensis Dreamcast and dozens of other systems including the Wii.

That's exactly what I did. A lot cheaper, more fun and you get to play a lot more system games. My wife and I play for hours almost every weekend

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I did manage to score a NES Classic last week, now that I owe my parents money for my new TV I'll probably end up selling it to help pay for it. I'll just do the Raspberry Pi3 Retro Pie for classic gaming.

[lhb412]

EDIT:
Nope,looks like I'd be able to get $100 AT BEST. In storage it stays. But hey, lhb, looks like you'd be able to grab an original working system and the couple games you want for less than the retail price of the classic.

Yeah, so many vintage game stores (and arcades with vintage cabinets refurbished!) have popped up in my rather nerd-rich city. It wouldn't be difficult for me to find something to fit my needs, but I'm still a bit steamed that the Nintendo Classic Mini didn't become a readily available product as it's such a convenient little thing. It was perfect for casuals but its scarcity meant only dedicated fans could track it down. These things should've been available near the checkout lanes of major retailers for impulse buys.

[O.Supreme]

II'll just do the Raspberry Pi3 Retro Pie for classic gaming.

I keep hearing good things about this. Unfortunately my tech knowledge base is about a decade behind. Is the overall process easy?