VIDEO NES & SNES Classic Editions

HDMI cables being cheap isn't really a new phenomenon, you just got ripped off.

Although I'm glad you topped that price off at $20 or I'd worry Monster had gotten their hooks in you.

 

HDMI, what is this bizarre sorcery? Kidding, though we only recently hooked up our first device using HDMI, a Blu-Ray/DVD player with wireless support.

 

I'm definitely getting this. A chance for me to continue to fail and cry like a child in my attempts to beat any of these games.

You may hear me scream!!!

Very smart Nintendo. Not to mention it will be great to see the new generation suffer as we suffered.

Heard about Issues with the controllers with the Sega and Atari versions.

 

The Atari Flashback 6 controllers aren't problematic. They work pretty well as far as I can tell. Plus, if you can get your hands on the classic controllers that plug-in, you should have no problems playing the sports games included. But I've had no problems playing "Air, Sea Battle", "Combat", "Combat II", "Space Invaders", "Bowling", "Missile Command" and "Asteroids".

 

Nintendo, yet again, half-assing a brilliantly innovative idea. In this case, limiting the range of games to just 30 titles with no future expansion. All they needed to do was build in wi-fi support and have access to an exclusive NES-only online library. Or better still, as they already should have done, establish a universal Virtual Console store where those who don't wish to own a modern Nintendo console can just pick up this box and have access to only the NES titles on VC.

 

They want it to be a sampler to draw people into what, exactly? The soon-to-be-kaput Wii U? The 3DS, which incongruously doesn't support SNES titles? The NX, which does not yet exist and could very well be as big a pipe dream as the Wii U was?

As a novelty item, sure, this is fun, but a better opportunity would be to sell an actual, physical "Virtual Console" that serves as go-to for their vintage games, allowing you to store your games in a cloud or on-disk, with add-ons and extras in the same vein as the Rare Replay.

 

Later this year in November or Christmas time Ill be getting myself the NES Classic Mini. Why Im getting it? for some of the certain games on it such as Bobble Bobble and Zelda 1 and Zelda 2. The others I dont care too much for anyway.

I loved Bubble Bobble back in the day

 

It's great for those who:

- Do not own, nor intend to own: a Wii, WiiU, or 3DS but have always wanted access to retro games to play on their TV

- Do not have regular or reliable internet access

- Who are actually satisfied with the selection of games on the device (admittedly, it IS a good selection which is what makes this so frustrating because Nintendo can clearly see the potential)

- Are looking for a worthy budget alternative to be able to play some kind of video game on their TV

- Something that is safe for kids (though...Double Dragon II?)

For the above market, it's an excellent idea. I doubt it would serve as a sampler for many since buying a fully fledged modern gaming console for an ancillary feature seems overkill. Though, it could provide an incentive to pick up a 3DS.

 

I think the New 3DS might be able to play SNES games, no idea how well or not, I don't have one yet (waiting for a Pokemon custom New 3DS).

Its a good selection of games at least, and mostly just seems like a sampler than anything else. I think Nintendo has done that before, right? With some of the Game & Watch collections, or stuff like that.

It would be nice if Nintendo online was advanced enough to actually let you download VC games onto new consoles rather than forcing you to rebuy or transfer from old to new, or something like that. App stores like Apple, google, Playstation, etc. already have functionality like that, but not Nintendo, unfortunately.

I can understand why they're keeping VC exclusive to their consoles, its one of the few incentives left to still buy them (like Earthbound on Wii U or something like that).

I'd prefer an NES (or SNES) shaped VC that would let me say, use SD cards to download from Nintendo's VC, but they'd rather we buy a Wii U. For $60, I don't mind much for the novelty nostalgia item ($60 is just about what one new game costs these days). if Nintendo set up a official VC emulator app, that'd be fun too, though they're probably already late to the emulator party, but you never know, not after Pokemon Go.

 

In what world is playing vintage titles a selling feature on a next-gen system? Incentive purchase of the new system by providing quality titles and third-party developer support to ensure that consumers have something to play. Yes, people want to play classic Nintendo games, but anyone with a decent laptop can do that at a fraction of that $60 cost and not be limited to the 30 games prepackaged with this thing. Why wouldn't you just emulate when the barrier to access is negligible?

 

Yep. I was twelve when I first played that back in 1990. My friends were also about the same age. It got a lot of play when it was rented. Sure, it is a fighting game, but one without blood and fatalities. Very suitable for kids.

Very much that. If I ever do get a Playstation 4, it would be for the games that are new, but also the stuff that I can get from PSN, like "Castlevania Chronicles", without having to buy them used. Same with a Wii U/NX and getting "Super Metroid" instead of paying $60 for a used copy. And while I could do emulation, I'm just not interested in doing that.

 

As I have said in the past - just because your idiosyncratic definition of backwards compatibility requires dedicated chipsets does not make the Xbox One's version "faux"! I will die on that hill, you'll die on yours, moving on.

Arguing that the ability to play old titles is the "selling point" is potentially missing why that feature was considered an essential part of the marketing campaign - it was considered a push to get holdouts with larger 360 libraries to consider upgrading along the MS path, rather than jumping ship to Sony, the way most of them were (and still do, so it's debatable whether it was a success).

Most evidence would suggest Nintendo does not so much "push major VC releases" as "attempt to stucco a shoddy release schedule with a drip feed of major VC releases," and they've arguably failed, based on Wii U sales. The 3DS also has a VC and is much more healthy, but has a far more robust library of original games and - notably, in my opinion consequently - VC titles are far less of a priority there.

PS+ bonuses are usually PS4 original digital titles. PSNow is arguably in the laughable state it has continued to be in for so long because Sony has decided older games do not move systems. Or, to put it a somewhat different way - almost no one is buying a PS4 to play Rogue Galaxy, but some folks who own PS4s are willing to buy Rogue Galaxy.

I think you're missing the main point here - most folks who are interested in older games are either content to emulate or are sticklers for accuracy. For retro titles to be a selling point they have to either convince one of those two camps that the retro offerings are worth the jump to the first party market (And since they'll almost never get the latter, they're basically competing with pirates), or create an outside audience from more or less whole cloth (Nintendo's apparently gambling on this for this plug and play system, so I'm watching with interest, don't get me wrong). As this week's Jimquisition accurately points out, legality aside, piracy has dramatically depreciated the perceived value of older titles, and in most cases - and in the case of Nintendo in particular - the legal market is not offering a good balance of value and convenience (Like Mr. Sterling I'm a firm believer that value and convenience will trump an inconvenient "free" option - see, for example, sinister's post). I don't think this new plug and play system solves their problem in that regard, either - $2/game for old NES games simply seems like too much in an era where folks can get amazing games with much more content for $1-2 on my phone unless they go in for the nostalgia value, and that would mean a good chunk of their market is essentially the sort of enthusiast who is aware of emulation. And, well.

I believe you are correct that this is what Nintendo wants, but I'm pretty sure Peng's argument is that it shouldn't be what Nintendo wants, and given how the stock market was willing to reward runaway mobile success (until it turned out it wasn't exactly their game...) I think it's a reasonable argument. Nor am I inclined to think these sorts of offerings will drive people to the Wii U or NX. Time, however, will tell.

 

Don't care. Still gettin' it.

 

I was reading up on people having trouble buying these and at least one Gamestop had an employee or two buy up all six allotments and then sell them on the internet for cash.

 

I think what's important is to focus anger at some GameStop employees and not the multinational corporation deliberately shortselling retailers on an overpriced emulator.

 

Isn't that usually the way it is with Nintendo? They seem to have a history of creating a limited supply of hyped up devices, at least so far as I recall.

 

It's been their go-to operating strategy since the 1980s and it's at least partially responsible for why they don't get along terribly well with retailers. Of course, here it's a little difficult for me to be sympathetic with consumers since I think they're letting themselves be ripped off, but eh, that's the non-enthusiast market.