Music

Money, visibility and nostalgia.

The Switch is doing fine, this will not hurt it, it might even generate more sales.

RichC2

They need to release the NES Classic Bundle for Switch and price it at $29.99.

Just saying.

Kelkee

I get that, I guess. So why don't Sony or MS do the same?

XBOX classic or PS-Retro minis for the exact same reasons?

Music

They are focused on current and future stuff and putting all that stuff on their current consoles.

Especially Xbox as they want you to be able to play all games on all systems - hopefully that Xbox Original games are included in that.

RichC2

The PS Retro would be do-able (Considering you can play PSX Games on an Raspberry Pi), the Xbox Classic would likely be too expensive to justify.

The NES one though, was just 95% pure profit.

Kelkee

So why does Nintendo still not get this ideology? Every console they come out with misses the mark in some oddball way that ends up crippling it so they now have to resort to this business model? Stir up the masses with nostalgia and short selling product to boost sales?

When will we see Wii-minis? My goodness.

RichC2

There already were Wii-minis.

Also, there's the chance that the NES Classic was too profitable for them -- which sounds silly until you have to deal with stock holders.

stingermck

None. Those things are making bank on eBay right now.

milo bloom

I was mildly interested in the NES one, but I refused to go crazy hunting one down.

The SNES one will have the same problems. Just let me buy these games at a decent price on Virtual Console.

Kelkee

Oh yeah I forgot!

Nothing surprises me when it comes to Nintendo any longer. Frustrating yes, surprised no.

Mike86

I have more of a fondness for the NES personally but if this more available I'll probably get one.

spainlinx0

I always had a greater fondness for the SNES. I got the NES classic at launch on a whim, but then sold it to a friend at barely a markup. If only I had known...

I will most likely try to pick this up anyway. I don't take Nintendo's desire to reduce their own profits as a personal insult to me though. If I don't get one, there are a billion other ways to get these games.

Sonny Corinthos

I stood in the freezing cold for over two hours at GameStop in order to buy a NES Classic. I expect I will do the same for the SNES Classic.

bunkaroo

I had the NES Classic briefly and wound up selling it off too. I just wasn't in the mood for it by the time I got it. Would have been a different story if I got it when it came out and didn't have the bad taste in my mouth about the availability.

I would definitely get the SNES though and keep it. Which of course means it will be the same shit show.

Kelkee

If there was no other way to get and play these games I would understand the frenzy.

I just don't get it why one would spend the money or time trying to track down one of these. If you are a Nintendo collector then yeah I get that. But if you just want to play the games from your childhood then I don't.

Draven

A) It looks neat
B) It works
C) It's not as complicated as doing your own emulation

I have a homemade MAME/SNES/NES/Genesis/NEOGEO/Gameboy/Game Gear/Lynx/etc. machine in my basement packed with games and I would have bought an NES Classic if I could simply because my kids could use it without issue.

fumanstan

Yeah, what Draven said. The reasons are pretty obvious to me I've done the emulation thing ever since the first NES and SNES emulators came out decades ago but having official devices like this interest me more then making my own.

RichC2

I mostly wanted the NES Classic one for the case and first party controller

Mike86

I just thought it was kind of a cool relatively inexpensive novelty item. If I could find one I'd still get the NES Classic but I'm not going to overpay for one when I have quite a few of the cartridges. I mostly wanted it because it's easier and works better than emulators (mostly) and for the fact that it output the games in HD.

Kelkee

Wouldn't it make more sense to take the programming of the NES Classic, and virtualize it on the Switch?

A)They could virtualize every console and portable unit this way and drop it in the store for download.
B)Then update them continually with DLC.
C)Make bazillions.

fumanstan

Almost like a virtual... console of some sort? A novel idea!

But seriously, not sure if you've paid attention to the Switch news leading up to it's launch but basically everyone has been waiting for Nintendo to announce some sort of VC plan on Switch like they did with the Wii/Wii U/3DS. It's been a pretty big complaint, especially since their VC support for past devices have been fairly lacking.

fujishig

Isn't VC confirmed for the Switch already? Part of the "benefits" for the paid online are those dumb rentals, whenever they get around to it, right?

I don't see how anyone can say Nintendo is dumb. They release an NES mini on their own, with limited numbers, and produce one of the hot items last Christmas with demand through the roof, while the similar (though inferior) Genesis systems have been languishing on shelves for years. They create what is basically a Vita with a dock and it sells like hot cakes, largely because of a game they held back and ported from their last generation system. They get into toys to life, greatly limit initial numbers, don't even have to design a game around it and they're basically outlasting the competition.

PerryD

yeah, the sting of not getting a NES Classic is quelled by my fairly extensive Virtual Console collection on the Wii/WiiU. The WiiU games are nice since they allow you to play on the TV or on the tablet. Plus all of your VC games are on one device, NES/SNES/N64/Genesis/TG16 etc.

Kelkee

My only experience with the VC was on the Wii and all it did was launch the game. There was no nifty interface or themed menus within the VC.

Part of the appeal I thought for the NES Classic was its interface. So why not emulate the entire console's experience an not just the game?

mhg83

Well that kills the theory that nes mini was sold as a filler system. Nintendo can go fuck themselves with this bullshit.