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Nintendo is Discontinuing the NES Classic in North America

PSFan

PSFan

Member
Aaron D. said:
Just speaking for myself, it'd say it's easily nostalgia combined with brilliant form factor.

Sure, I could just easily emulate all those games on PC. But it really isn't the same.

I could also go all retro and buy an original NES and collect the cartridges but that's not the same either as I don't have the time or space to collect and store all that stuff.

NES Classic was the perfect middle ground between feeling like you're playing the classics via that cool NES controller, combined with modern QoL enhancements like HDMI connectors, instant save states, etc.

As I said, the product is brilliant for anyone who owned the original some 30 years ago. And if you do the math, if you were playing a NES 30 years ago then you're likely an adult today with an adult income. Which is why those scalpers know they can get away with a 7X markup. It's despicable, but nostalgia is a strong drug.

I'm sure Nintendo has their reasons for cutting production. But man, this is one of the bigger bungles in recent memory.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't buy that either. I actually still have my original NES as well as my top loader NES. I also have most of the carts of the games on the Classic.

The Classic is in no way worth $400. I grew up in the 70s with the Atari 2600. That rombox is readily available and much cheaper than the Classic too. There's even a handheld version too that I saw. And as much as I still love a lot of those games, I have no desire to buy one at any price. I just don't get it really, I guess.
 
InfiniteCombo

InfiniteCombo

Banned
Luke_Wal said:
We were in the same line! I talked to one of your friends who told me that story. That's crazy! I can't believe that happened to Reston. Awesome to know I was in the company of a fellow Gaffer.
Click to expand...

I was in Sterling, and yea I heard what happened in Reston... a bunch of that Reston crew came to Sterling, but the tickets had already been given out. I felt bad for them.
 
A

Aaron D.

Member
PSFan said:
Sorry, I don't buy that either. I actually still have my original NES as well as my top loader NES. I also have most of the carts of the games on the Classic.

The Classic is in no way worth $400. I grew up in the 70s with the Atari 2600. That rombox is readily available and much cheaper than the Classic too. There's even a handheld version too that I saw. And as much as I still love a lot of those games, I have no desire to buy one at any price. I just don't get it really, I guess.
Click to expand...

Here's the thing though, I'm not asking you to buy anything. I'm telling you my story.

$400 is a lot for an NES Classic. Perhaps too much. Though I do think $60 MSRP is a great price for what you get.

I grew up in the 70's playing 2600 as well. And if you're that old, they you should be old enough to understand that $400 is not too much for an adult who is simply looking for a simple plug & play time capsule to teleport them back to their youth.

I'm not moneybags or anything, but at the same time it's easy for my wife and I to drop $200 for a single meal at a nice restaurant with friends. Or to spend hundreds of dollars on plane tickets multiple times a year to visit family around the country.

You just reach a point in your life where your time is more valuable than money. Or you at least have the discretionary funds to spoil yourself on nostalgia gets like this. I'm sure for every 1 'Gaffer who's willing to spend $400 on a PS4 Pro, there's 100 lapsed gamers, with no interest in modern gaming, who would drop top coin for an NES Classic.

This is where think Nintendo dropped the ball, and failed all those people who grew up on NES.
 
I

inner-G

Banned
PSFan said:
Sorry, I don't buy that either. I actually still have my original NES as well as my top loader NES. I also have most of the carts of the games on the Classic.

The Classic is in no way worth $400. I grew up in the 70s with the Atari 2600. That rombox is readily available and much cheaper than the Classic too. There's even a handheld version too that I saw. And as much as I still love a lot of those games, I have no desire to buy one at any price. I just don't get it really, I guess.
Click to expand...

Does your top-loader even work on a 4K tv? Many new sets don't display 240p at all.

These look miles better than a stock NES, image quality-wise. No switching carts, blowing on carts, flashing red light. Save states. You don't need a whole shelf to hold games for it. There are a ton of reasons why people want this over an old NES.
 
B

Beer Monkey

Member
inner-G said:
Does your top-loader even work on a 4K tv? Many new sets don't display 240p at all.
Click to expand...

That's what OSSC, Analogue NT, HDMI NES etc are for.

(no, not comparable to a $60 toy, but comparable to a $60 toy that somebody paid $400 for...)

Retro AVS isn't exactly for me but it's a hell of a lot less than $400.
 
P

Peltz

Member
Beer Monkey said:
That's what OSSC, Analogue NT, HDMI NES etc are for.

(no, not comparable to a $60 toy, but comparable to a $60 toy that somebody paid $400 for...)

Retro AVS isn't exactly for me but it's a hell of a lot less than $400.
Click to expand...

Word. At $400 this device makes no sense for anyone.
 
A

Aaron D.

Member
Peltz said:
Word. At $400 this device makes no sense for anyone.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure.

Seems like a waste if you know how to build a gaming PC, or to manipulate Raspberry Pie. Or heck, maybe even visit those shopping mall kiosks who sell those cheap knockoffs that only seem to half-work.

Looking at the bigger picture though, there's a entire market out there who just wants something authentic that comes in an simple box that you plug & play.

They're not interested in collecting original hardware and games. They're not interested in emulators that require online setup & instillation guides or shady illegal ROM websites.

They want a simple solution from the source. And Nintendo gave it to them in an elegant package and a fair asking price.

The only baffling part is they only made like 12 of them.
 
Hardvlade

Hardvlade

Member
I went to two Best Buys this morning. Showed up at 6:30am at Osceola, they had 16 units and 15 people already in line. Drove over to the Florida Mall (got there around 7am), 4 people waiting outside and 18 units available. My buddies and I were able to get some, accessories were super limited.

Felt bad, 65 year old lady gave Best Buy an earful about not having stock and telling them Nintendo sucks for it too (she got there 5 minutes after the last tickets were handed out)
 
F

francismoy

Neo Member
Unfortunately in Europe as well. This is a weird step by Nintendo. Demand hasn't fallen down (actually it's being rising), and if they want to release SNES classic for its 30th anniversary, which seems like the logical approach, they'll have to wait until 2020. Why not taking advantage of this gap with a product that would continue selling well for a much longer period?
 
P

PixlNinja

Banned
Either Nintendo needs to find a way to convince retailers to sell this on a per-person basis or they need to figure out a way to sell online and not have scalpers fudging things up.

Stuff like hearing about that 65 yr old grandma is the kind of shit that will tarnish your image.
 
S

Spycarnegy

Member
Really wanted one of these for my kid. No way I could stand in line this morning (work?) or even have a shot at getting on for him. Sucks man. Cant cough up 400$ for a console so old. Hopefully I can get it some other way or something :/
 
U

UserNotFound

Member
moltonasty said:
Quoting myself from the other NESC thread. You may not like it, but Nintendo's probably not as dumb as you think.
Click to expand...

Does that mean the Japanese consumer should lay down and take it too?

I think that long term strategy is completely ass-backwards. NOJ simply doesn't understand the American consumer anymore. You know, the American consumer that made them extremely wealthy and successful. The American consumer that gave them that war chest they hold over Sony and Microsoft.

I understand the concept of keeping mindshare in the public, but who was actually going to forget that Nintendo doesn't exist? Mario is reportedly the second most popular mascot in the world.
 
D

Dinokill

Member
Any world on more NES Classics coming to another stores? This thing feels like could become one of those one of a kind items that will be very valuable in a decade. Having a hard time trying to open mine that I bought today.
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Beer Monkey said:
It's not authentic, it's emulators.

Now, that controller, though.
Click to expand...

But you can get adapters to use just about any original controllers on USB. And Dual Shock 4 works wirelessly with Pi 3 without any extra stuff.
The case looks great. I'll give it that. But there are some amazing Pi cases.
My personal favorite is the Imperial Pi Fighter.
https://postimage.io/https://certificity.com
 
S

ShinoguTakeruKoeru

Member
inner-G said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU8SXC2/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Use these adapters and real NES controllers - they have longer cords already and are way cheaper than the NES Classic controller, without being jank like a 3rd party controller.
Click to expand...

Do these work with Joycard Sansui SSS turbo NES controllers?

I am Christina Aguilera said:
Did any of the retailers that got restocks today actually get restocks of the official Nintendo first party extra controllers as well?
Click to expand...

I don't think ANY restock has had the first-party controllers. Ever.
 
PSFan

PSFan

Member
Aaron D. said:
Here's the thing though, I'm not asking you to buy anything. I'm telling you my story.

$400 is a lot for an NES Classic. Perhaps too much. Though I do think $60 MSRP is a great price for what you get.

I grew up in the 70's playing 2600 as well. And if you're that old, they you should be old enough to understand that $400 is not too much for an adult who is simply looking for a simple plug & play time capsule to teleport them back to their youth.

I'm not moneybags or anything, but at the same time it's easy for my wife and I to drop $200 for a single meal at a nice restaurant with friends. Or to spend hundreds of dollars on plane tickets multiple times a year to visit family around the country.

You just reach a point in your life where your time is more valuable than money. Or you at least have the discretionary funds to spoil yourself on nostalgia gets like this. I'm sure for every 1 'Gaffer who's willing to spend $400 on a PS4 Pro, there's 100 lapsed gamers, with no interest in modern gaming, who would drop top coin for an NES Classic.

This is where think Nintendo dropped the ball, and failed all those people who grew up on NES.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry but $400 is too much for that. I have a lot of disposable income as well but would never spend that much for an NES rombox. There's so many better things you can do with $400. That would buy 2 weeks worth of groceries for a family.

I also wouldn't ever pay $200 for a meal at a restaurant. I've had food at those higher end restaurants and it really isn't much better than a regular decent priced restaurant.

inner-G said:
Does your top-loader even work on a 4K tv? Many new sets don't display 240p at all.

These look miles better than a stock NES, image quality-wise. No switching carts, blowing on carts, flashing red light. Save states. You don't need a whole shelf to hold games for it. There are a ton of reasons why people want this over an old NES.
Click to expand...

Well, all that stuff is packed away and I haven't tried it on a modern TV, but it all should still work afaik. If I want to play an NES game, I have my WiiU all set for that and it looks fine. I can play any of the games on the Classic.

It's just ridiculous all the hoops and crap that has to be done to get this product. And people just reward Nintendo every time by doing this crazy stuff to get their products.

I'd even wager that scalpers got at least half of the units that were shipped to NA, based on the pictures of piles of them I've seen. Disgusting.
 
PSFan

PSFan

Member
inner-G said:
NES games are so dark on Wii U though.

I think you're way better off using a Wii if you go the VC route.
Click to expand...

Well, while I got most of my VC games for free from promotions and Club Nintendo coins, I wasn't really talking about using the VC. But I never noticed the games were dark or anything.
 
Opinionatedfish

Opinionatedfish

Member
Well, there were about 30 people in my line but only 12 units. I was number 7.

This is the fourth time I had stood in line for an NES Classic and the third time I actually got one. I got two on launch day and one today.

Kept one of the day one launch NES Classics. Sold the second day one launch NES Classic for nearly $300. (Which helped buy new tires.)

The most recent one was sold to a friend for $70. (Which covered the device, tax, and bought me some Taco Bell.)

Honestly, I think this will be like the Game Boy Micro and the Pokemon Mini. Both have lower shipped stock than the NES Classic and both have leveled out to a reasonable price.

Will the NES Classic level out? Yup. I think it will ultimately level out to about an average price of $150. Which is only really worth it if you want the device. Especially if the emulation for Virtual Console on the Nintendo Switch is on par with the NES Classic.
 
I

inner-G

Banned
So apparently on CAG someone noticed that the new restocks have different packaging. The Nintendo seal is in a different spot, and they moved the ESRB rating from the back to the front.

Crazy that they would pay to alter the design and print more boxes with a new layout only to cancel it so soon.
 
R

RockmanBN

Member
inner-G said:
So apparently on CAG someone noticed that the new restocks have different packaging. The Nintendo seal is in a different spot, and they moved the ESRB rating from the back to the front.

Crazy that they would pay to alter the design and print more boxes with a new layout only to cancel it so soon.
Click to expand...

Got mine at the Best Buy restock yesterday. Nintendo Seal is on bottom right corner on the front and the ESRB rating is on the bottom left back side,
 
B

bjork

Member
Was at a Best Buy yesterday with my friend who was trying to get one, so I just got in line behind him and we both got tickets. He bought one that was for his gf, I bought one and gave it to him for his birthday. It's a neat item, but I don't know that I'd ever actually use one if I had it myself, since I own a bunch of those games elsewhere already.

But when I heard about the ebay prices, people are nuts. I figured they were like $80, not $300+. That's just wild.
 
D

digitaldevmike

Member
ls9JyfF.jpg
Click to expand...
From polygon.

Zc5bxwV.jpg
Click to expand...
What I got from bestbuy.

Luke_Wal said:
We were in the same line! I talked to one of your friends who told me that story. That's crazy! I can't believe that happened to Reston. Awesome to know I was in the company of a fellow Gaffer.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Yeah the Reston store has always had problems. I'm not sure why I even bothered with them in the first place. Glad you got one!
 
D

dgco86

Member
Huh interesting... The one I got back in December matches Polygon's. I guess the earlier version was a misprint since the ESRB logo was missing?
 
V

Version 3.0

Member
moltonasty said:
Quoting myself from the other NESC thread. You may not like it, but Nintendo's probably not as dumb as you think.
Click to expand...

So regarding all the comments and general sentiment that Nintendo is anti-consumer, or they don't want money, etc etc. I present an alternate theory.

My wife is Japanese, so I guess you could say that makes her an expert in honor and shame and according to her, Japanese companies make limited run products literally all the time, and across various different industries. Limited run potato chip flavors, toys, etc. The reason they do this is literally just to make news headlines, and build brand awareness and discussion.

Consider then that Nintendo started as a card company, and pretty much have the business philosophy of a toy company, rather than an electronics company. We may not like it, especially if you didn't manage to get one, but it definitely makes sense from that perspective. The Classic was never intended to make huge profits- they certainly could have allowed you to buy extra games if that was the case, or charged even more than $60. It was always about consumer awareness, and in that they succeeded.
Click to expand...

American companies make limited run products all the time, too. It's not some secret that only Japanese companies know.

There's a difference between that and this. That being, limited time products are announced and promoted as such. They aren't just treated as normal, but barely produced.

By the way, I predicted this when we learned how few NES Classics made it to market by Christmas: that the "artificial demand" crowd would find some new stupid theory to cling to, in order to rationalize their belief that Nintendo is an infallible genius company.
 
Shrennin

Shrennin

Didn't get the memo regarding the 14th Amendment
Leondexter said:
American companies make limited run products all the time, too. It's not some secret that only Japanese companies know.

There's a difference between that and this. That being, limited time products are announced and promoted as such. They aren't just treated as normal, but barely produced.
Click to expand...

Yep, this is the issue. Nintendo fails at communication the most here. I know the argument is "but scalpers will be worse!" but I would rather know it's limited from the start, than find out it's being discontinued DURING the month it is announced, with no time to prepare. That's incompetence in communication, at the very least. Nintendo should not be praised for this at all. They should be criticized heavily.

Furthermore, and maybe they did, but I am unaware if Nintendo recommended to retailers to limit systems to one per person. That would have limited scalpers too, and there were always scalpers from the start of this thing anyway.
 
L

Living the Dream

Member
Shrinnan said:
Yep, this is the issue. Nintendo fails at communication the most here. I know the argument is "but scalpers will be worse!" but I would rather know it's limited from the start, than find out it's being discontinued DURING the month it is announced, with no time to prepare. That's incompetence in communication, at the very least. Nintendo should not be praised for this at all. They should be criticized heavily.
Click to expand...

Too many people on here defend Nintendo blindly. I used to be one of them. I had utter disdain for Sony and Microsoft. Nothing but praise for Nintendo.

One day I woke up. I saw how good everything is and can be on the other side.

People defending this, are people once like me.
 
F

Fathead

Member
NOLA_Gaffer said:
I can't believe how upset this whole thing is making people.
Click to expand...

I mean, how could anyone be upset. It has been ridiculous trying to get one of these, it is exactly what People have been waiting for nintendo to make for years, and now they are stopping production. What's to be pissed about, right?


Fuck you Nintendo
 
I

ICO_SotC

Member
Randomly stopped by a Best Buy on Long island yesterday, and the guy said they received *two* and they went immediately. Thank goodness I didn't bother to try to get there at opening only to watch them sell out after two people.
 
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