Nintendo announced yesterday the release of Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System on 29th September for £79.99. Hurrah.
The dainty version of 90s classic console has been rumoured ever since Nintendo ceased producing the Mini NES earlier this year. So this Super Nintendo announcement is no huge surprise. But demand levels are no less bulging, with preorders at GAME and Amazon UK already out of stock.
Dads of a certain age will be rubbing their retro-loving fingertips together. 21 games are available, including Super Mario World and Zelda: A Link to the Past and Street Fighter II: Turbo, at the press of a button. Unlike the Mini NES, it comes with two controllers so you and a mate can revive past rivalries on Super Mario Kart. (Yes, the greatest racing game of all time is also included.)
Master of the Retroverse?
One major gripe has also been mitigated. The Mini SNES controller cables are around two-feet longer than the irritatingly short Mini NES cable. Meaning you’ve less chance of catching square eyes now you don’t have to be virtually kissing the TV when playing the console.
Nintendo has proven to be Master of the Retroverse. The Mini NES sold out quicker than filling in a Tetris line. The company then said they were stopping making the Mini NES and that it was only ever a short-term product. A lot of Mario fans were miffed.
Or Master of Marketing?
Now, Nintendo has given birth to the Mini SNES and killed it on the same day. They also revealed they will stop producing it at the end of this year. Though, they have promised to churn out a lot more of them than they did the Mini NES.
The jonesing for nostalgia is big business in gaming (there’s already scalping on eBay for the Mini SNES). Nintendo know this better than any computer company out there. Even if it feels like they’re Hadouken-ing us a little bit, the chance to hold part of your childhood in the palm of your hand, literally, is titillating.
