Nintendo Ramps Up SNES Classic Production, Revives NES Classic

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Nintendo might have just saved Christmas. The company announced that it plans to ship more units of the SNES Classic retro console on its September 29 debut than it shipped of the NES Classic for its entire production run, which should make it easier to snag one of the devices in time for the holidays. Perhaps even more exciting, Nintendo also said the NES Classic will return to stores in summer 2018, although further details are scarce.

The NES Classic and SNES Classic are miniature versions of Nintendo's iconic 8- and 16-bit consoles. Each comes pre-loaded with famous games made for those consoles, ranging from the original Super Mario Bros. to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. They also sport HDMI connections, throwback controllers, and in the SNES Classic's case, a new Rewind feature that will let you take another stab at a hard spot.

Consumers have made it clear that they want these consoles. The NES Classic was constantly sold out, and Nintendo halted production in April despite pleas to continue making the device. The SNES Classic was on a similar track: Pre-orders opened on August 22 and closed the same day. If the console's production matched its predecessor's, chances are good that it would have been sold out as soon as it debuted on September 29.

But it seems Nintendo has finally realized that shipping more of these devices is like printing money. In addition to shipping more units on the SNES Classic's launch because "fans have shown their unbridled enthusiasm for these Classic Edition systems," the company also said it will continue to ship units into 2018, even though production of the SNES Classic was originally supposed to stop at the end of 2017.

You can find out more about the NES Classic and SNES Classic at their respective websites. Nintendo didn't reveal when exactly it plans to revive the NES Classic or at what price. The original run and the upcoming SNES Classic both cost $80, however, so that's the likeliest price. Now all we have to do is wait for Nintendo to keep running down the line of consoles so we can play Nintendo 64 and GameCube titles.

Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • AgentLozen
    I wonder how far they plan to take this idea. It doesn't seem unreasonable to produce a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition. But then will we see a GameCube Classic? In 2021, will we see a Wii classic? Nintendo's scientists were so busy asking if they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

    I would like to see a Gameboy (+color) remake personally. Keep everything the same except for a backlit screen. It doesn't take much processing power to emulate a gameboy. You could pack a dense lithium ion battery into it and it would run for days on a full charge.
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    Biggest thing is hopefully they don't turn these back into limited production runs. I think Nintendo learned from their NES Classic fiasco; considering it looks like it's getting re-released. I wonder if they changed something in the hardware to prevent hacking? That might have explained the such short production run. If they do/did, I can see a bunch of upset future buyers....

    Btw Agentlozen, that is a great idea to do similar for their GB/GBC/GBA lines of systems as well.
    Reply
  • ryano
    Money must be spilling out of Nintendo's pockets as they laugh on their way to the bank..
    Reply
  • kinggremlin
    20166062 said:
    I wonder how far they plan to take this idea. It doesn't seem unreasonable to produce a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition. But then will we see a GameCube Classic? In 2021, will we see a Wii classic? Nintendo's scientists were so busy asking if they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

    I would like to see a Gameboy (+color) remake personally. Keep everything the same except for a backlit screen. It doesn't take much processing power to emulate a gameboy. You could pack a dense lithium ion battery into it and it would run for days on a full charge.

    If Nintendo makes an N64 classic, that's where it will stop as that was the last cartridge based game system. All 20 games on the SNES Classic probably take up less than 80 MB of storage space (only 2 games were larger than 4, and neither is included w/ classic), compared to the average Gamecube game, about 1.5GB's. N64 games topped out at 64MB, with most 32MB or smaller. The cost difference between a few MB's of flash and 32-64GB's of flash is pretty significant, making it difficult to see how Nintendo would be able to keep the cost below $100.
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    Nintendo has the agility of a Orange buffoon riding a elephant. They are trying very hard, and oh so carefully not to cannibalize their backwards compatibility titles on Switch and Wi U. You know, the ones where Nintendo charges you $59.99 for Mario Kart 64, or how about $39.99 for Super Mario World on the Wii.
    Reply
  • MisterZ
    Do people really enjoy playing such low resolution games on their 70" screens? Each pixel in the game must be about an inch big.
    Reply
  • MisterZ
    NES was released at a time when the average TV was about 23" in size. By the time the SNES arrived, average sets were around 27". A "modest" 55" today is about 4 times that size.
    Reply
  • bloodroses
    20169044 said:
    Do people really enjoy playing such low resolution games on their 70" screens? Each pixel in the game must be about an inch big.

    Graphics aren't the only thing that makes a game. One of the nice things about the NES/SNES/Genesis game lineup was the game play; especially if you liked platformers.

    The NES classic also has graphic filters in it to improve the blocky graphics. I'm assuming the SNES classic is the same way. Being a regular Retroarch emulator user myself, filters can make a world of difference.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    Rewind, aka save states.
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    20166062 said:
    I wonder how far they plan to take this idea. It doesn't seem unreasonable to produce a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition. But then will we see a GameCube Classic? In 2021, will we see a Wii classic? Nintendo's scientists were so busy asking if they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

    I would like to see a Gameboy (+color) remake personally. Keep everything the same except for a backlit screen. It doesn't take much processing power to emulate a gameboy. You could pack a dense lithium ion battery into it and it would run for days on a full charge.

    The Gameboy SP is already a thing with a backlit screen. The thing is, Gameboy is already perfect. Phenomenal battery life, insane durability,
    Reply