If you were one of the lucky few who got their hands on a Nintendo NES Classic when it was (re)released in November, then this isn’t for you (you bastard). This is for the rest of us, who barely knew it was coming out before it was already gone. Nintendo will be releasing another limited quantity of the NES Classic preloaded console this Friday, June 29th, at Best Buy and GameStop, ThinkGeek, Target, Walmart, and *maybe* online (be prepared for constantly hitting refresh).
“That’s great news!,” you say. But are you right? Yes and no.
Yes, because it means in some small way Nintendo has listened to the demand of its customers and decided to sell the console again. And yes, because you have *chance* to not pay over retail for it.
No, because it’s just as limited (AS FAR AS I CAN TELL — don’t @ me about how Nintendo is promising them to be available all year, this is a pattern with them!) as before, which means standing in Black Friday-like lines, early morning, just to see if your store got more than a handful. And trying not to fight that entitled soccer mom whose spoiled kiddo won’t stop screaming. I imagine.
For $59.99, the NES Classic is preloaded with thirty games, including “Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, PAC-MAN, Dr. Mario, Mega Man, Final Fantasy, and dozens more.” Which begs the question, how many of these games would I actually play? Is it worth it?
I’m torn; I like the nostalgia and “rarity” of the console — retro gaming certainly has not been forgotten. Pixel and 8-bit games are still highly popular, and Nintendo’s “classics” are just that. But these games are also available to play other ways, so it’s not really exclusive.
When I called my local GameStop to see if they would indeed be getting any, I was told yes, but they wouldn’t tell me how many. The “quantity will be posted tomorrow night after closing.” So I can drive by tomorrow, see how gloomy the outlook is, and determine if waiting in the hot summer sun is worth it this time. My local Walmart and Target had no idea that it was coming out, or if they’d be getting any.
Now if you’re looking for the Nintendo SNES Classic Edition, you can grab one right now from Walmart… for a breezy $89.95.
Will you be standing in line on Friday?
