I'm pretty sure it's not April 1st.

http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/0 … able-form/

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/sta … 44/photo/1

Furthermore, it comes with 30 great classic games pre-installed:

    Balloon Fight
    Bubble Bobble
    Castlevania
    Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
    Donkey Kong
    Donkey Kong Jr.
    Double Dragon II
    Dr. Mario
    Excitebike
    Final Fantasy
    Galaga
    Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins
    Gradius
    Ice Climber
    Kid Icarus
    Kirby’s Adventure
    Mario Bros.
    Mega-man
    Metroid
    Ninja Gaiden
    Pac-man
    Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
    StarTropics
    SUPER C
    Super Mario Bros.
    Super Mario Bros. 2
    Super Mario Bros. 3
    Tecmo Bowl
    The Legend of Zelda
    Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Wow. Between Pokemon Go and this nostalgic goldmine, I think Nintendo knows what it's doing! Although... I don't think this "NES" actually uses cartridges?

No carts. I think the addition of save states is going to take away from the actual challenge of these games, but I'm really glad they decided to include StarTropics because it's goddamn amazing.

I'm a bit bummed it doesn't use real cartridges. Not really surprised, but being a physical person I'm not particularly excited about downloading games into my non-existent Wii U and then into a digital NES.
StarTropics is a great game. Many of those are great games, but honestly, not so sure I would play any of them again. I typically let nostalgia be just that, nostalgia. Turns out Kid Icarus may not be as fun as you remember (still pretty cool music though

Of course, if there was a deluxe NES with say 100-200 pre-installed games... well for about $60 who wouldn't buy that? Now, I suppose the logical question is are we going to see a mini-SNES? What about a mini-N64? Pre-install Ogre Battle 64 on that and I'm game!

I have most of the NES games I want already for Virtual Console, so it's kinda cool that I can buy just one of the NES controllers and use it with my Wii U.  THAT SAID, do I really WANT that?  Any controller I currently have is probably more comfortable than that stupid thing ever was...

Also finally just found and picked up one of the Club Nintendo Super Famicom controllers at a Book Off, so I'm happy with that for my retro needs for now. 

Interesting collector's item, but it's basically a cheap NES emulation PC.  Somebody could do this with a Raspberry Pi, but it wouldn't look like a little NES without lots of work.

The Mini-NES comes preloaded with these 30 games. No Wii U is required.
You literally don't have to do a single thing, except hook it up to your TV.

It's a much better selection of games than I expected (I read elsewhere it was MM2 rather than MM1 as well), and with 30 games, it's a steal at $60, so I'd be all over it IF they released it over here in Japan, which they probably won't.

There's been official Genesis as well as some pre-NES consoles like this for quite a few years now. This isn't particular anything new, outside the fact Nintendo is doing it.

Hmm,  so for all games,  modify an original nes, with hdmi mod, and get an Everdrive..so like $300

Got it. Thanks Nintendo ,  great way to market awareness for seeking out proper retro. (In case anyone wants anything beyond the 30)

Seriously someone's doing something right over at Nintendo , I wonder if this idea along with p-go were Iwata's ideas.

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/devices/n … ailed-full

"Nintendo Classic Mini: Can I add more games?
This is unknown at the moment, but it looks doubtful. As far as anyone knows the Nintendo Classic Mini doesn’t have any kind of internet connectivity, so that would make downloading new games impossible. Also, the Nintendo Classic Mini doesn’t have any kind of ports that would allow for installing new games."

So there are over 800 total games, and we're getting 30. Less than 4% of available games. Sure, maybe most games suck, and maybe most games are not worth playing, but perhaps the player should decide that? I guess I'm a bit stupefied that Nintendo would actually release a "system" without being able to add to the collection! This, coming from a company that released Pokemon where the motto is "catch them all" or something like that. I really hope Nintendo is not this shortsighted. If you can purchase game packs and install them on your Nintendo Classic... heck, that would be fantastic! As it is, $60 for nothing more than 30 games? Even if most of the games are considered "classics" I'm a bit miffed.

I don't know. I thought the list was pretty decent.

That said, from a retro collector that's bowed out of the hobby because he was collecting for the wrong reason, I'd personally pass on this, When I had most of these as carts they just sat on the shelf. I think it's a good buy if your actually going to play the damn thing however.

I think this is good for people who don't have the time (or energy or money or passion) to go full retro and collect carts. The more people that play the classics, and discover (or rediscover) them, the better. As one of those people who do have the time and drive for the original hardware, I hope this release drives the prices of those carts down so I can keep building my collection!

Hmmm, or, it may get people interested in the hobby and drive prices up
Personally, I just hope there are ways to add "carts" to the lineup. It would be such a winning machine...

could be too cost prohibitive for rights and all that legal stuff for more carts?

You don't need a "cart". Just something like a USB and you can include 10, 20, 100 games on it easily. Of course, people will want to maximize profit, and so maybe it won't have 10 games on it, but I'm sure if you could purchase say all 4 Dragon Warrior games for $15, people would definitely pay for it. You attach the USB (or whatever the interface may be) into the NES and viola, you've just added new games to play! That's what i would do if I were Nintendo, but of course I'm not...

Just for clarification purposes, it's not Mega Man that's included, it's Mega Man 2.

Nt Mini

Well, if you missed out on the 24K system for "only" $4999, I've got good and bad news. Bad news, sorry no new gold-plated overpriced systems. Good news, you can get a cute smaller Nt system that plays ALL original NES carts in 1080p!

"30 games? The Nt mini will play over 2000.
The Nt mini is not a plug n' play toy. It is the definitive way to explore an entire era of Nintendo's history. It is compatible with every NES, Famicom, Famicom Disk System game and the accessories, too."

http://www.analogue.co/pages/nt-mini

I like the idea the Analogue is going for but unfortunately the aesthetics kill it for me. They also make a really awkward fully wood Neo Geo that in theory is really beautiful but ends up being super garish in the end.

For my money this might be the most worthwhile route.

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.ph … ucts_id=78

I think you're the first person I know to complain about the aesthetics. All things aside, I think the Analogue NT looks gorgeous! Still, to each their own of course. I really fail to see why Nintendo has not released a "new" NES system with carts or cards. A small card could easily hold hundreds of games, but heck, people would pay $20 to have a card that has Zelda and Zelda II on it. Nintendo is sitting on a goldmine, but who knows, maybe their NES-mini is a test case? Anyway, I still think the Analogue is awesomeness

The NT mini is made from what looks like an anodized aluminum shell in 1 color. There was something about the old NES that really had personality to me. 2 Tone light grey on dark grey with black and red accents or for famicom lovers the white, red, and gold.

There is something about the body shape that gets me too, though one must say you cannot argue with the function.

The only reasons I can think that Ninty won't go full cartridge re-release is simply because of licensing issues. Not every game is so easy and many of the copyrighted material has more than likely lapsed. They kind of went this route with the GBA forever ago with the NES Classics series which had around 12 NA releases but that kind of leaves something to be desired. I guess they kind of fill the gap with Virtual Console on the Wii/U/3DS

In your case NES Everdrive would be right up your alley.
http://soundtrackcentral.com/nes-everdrive/tp7848

Playing OG cartridges on good RGB/HDMI hardware is the bees knees for me so this new unit ultimately loses. I always find it curious in the choice of games manufacturers decide to put in. Super C but no Contra, CastleVania 1 & 2 but no 3.

If they are going to go emulation style better to play on computer I think. For all else there are these guys

My Life in Gaming - RGB 202 NES Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QNALuSkLA

If they got Castlevania (Konami) and Megaman (Capcom) on there, they should've gotten Contra (Konami) on there, too (looks like they have Contra II/Super C on there, too).

It's cool to see third party titles on there besides Nintendo's first party titles.

Also glad to hear that quite a few people here actually liked StarTropics, for a long time, I thought I was the only one.

There has also been a Genesis with pre-installed games on it; saw it in-store once, it was running for $40; it supposedly also played cartridges, but reviews say that some cartridges didn't work.

https://www.amazon.com/AtGames-Genesis- … Genesis%22

Never actually bought it, but it looks like it only has Sega first party titles on there (from what I remember looking at the packaging in-person) - which, Sega also had some pretty good first party titles; tempted to buy one just for the Phantasy Star games.

Also vacillating about buying a reproduction N64 console; some of those games, I actually miss, and some of them haven't been emulated successfully.

So, the AVS is out!

http://www.retrousb.com/product_info.ph … ucts_id=78

It's not in the same league as the Analogue NT, but it's also about 1/2 the price. Plays your NES games in HD 720p. I got it just to play the awesome repros and homebrews

Do you not have the original machine? It would be cheaper to just buy a HD upscaler like a framemeister and just use your existing hardware instead of buying a specialized machine. At least then it would carry over to other platforms.

What do you mean "carry over" to other platforms? The AVS is compatible with every single NES and Famicom game made. It also depends on the cost of the HD upscaler. Some are very expensive. Some are not, but then again, not sure I would trust a "cheap" upscaler. Also, I personally would not want to mess with trying to install and HD upscaler. I could, but I would not want to. Although, perhaps I will for a SNES if possible, since I don't believe any company is working on an HD SNES... but they should!!

Maybe I'm out of the loop but I thought framemiesters where like $200-$300. If I'm not wrong I wouldn't call that cheap. Additionally, not to act like a purist, but aren't you introducing lag by using an upscaller instead of using a machine that can do it natively? That said, I'm sure the lag from something as high grade as a the framemeister is negligible compared to a cheaper option.

Me? I'm too cheap do to any of this so I just use a SDTV still.

Anyway, sorry if I bungled any of the specifics. I have a few friends into this and all my knowledge is gleamed from what they've told me.

Unfortunately unlike the SNES, RGB in a NES needs to be restored to make full use of the Framemeister in the first place. I think paying $185 for HDMI NES is well worth the money in comparison for like $350 for a Framemeister, then extra to RGB mod your OG NES then get the proper SCART cables.

I'm telling you guys, if you wanna see a whole bunch of the different methods to get clean looking NES video check out the My Life in Gaming dudes on Youtube. That kind of information is invaluable.

So, is there a way to get HD from your SNES? I'm really hoping someone makes an upgraded SNES clone that connects via HDMI much like the AVS. Not holding my breath, although I think it will happen eventually. In the meantime, how can I get my SNES to display HD?

I was referring to RGB. SNES supports RGB out of the box that does not have to be restored as opposed to NES and N64.

In terms of NES it's more economical to invest in an AVS instead of Framemeister and RGB modding the NES.

I completely agree with you though. I would kill for a HDMI SNES. If they make the AVS equivalent of SNES I would die happy.

My Life in Gaming RGB 204 SNES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k2HVB9S8CA

A friend of mine uses it for his snes, playstation 1 & 2. I figured it makes more sense to buy a piece of hardware that could be used across more platforms than buying specific machines. I wasn't aware of the issue with the original Nintendo.

Scalpers paradise...

"NES Classic Edition scalpers benefit from eBay policy that ensures profit"

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/eba … ng-profit/

"... the company’s recently instituted price guarantee policy will effectively allow scalpers to hold the NES Classic Edition for ransom throughout the rest of the year"

Just say NO to scalpers! Wait until after the holidays.

This. Seriously, just wait or download emulators until you can get one.

I think the NES Classic is a cool item, but I had to be honest with myself on this one. If I got one, I probably wouldn't have opened it and it would have sat around since I've been so disinterested in games for the past year. Additionally, I'm assuming this hooks up via HDMI so I couldn't hook it up even if I wanted to.

But yeah, please wait on these. It's not worth paying above retail.

I would totally advise saving up for either an Analogue NT or the cheaper (but still awesome) AVS. Those two systems play ALL NES & Famicom games, while the NES Classic plays what 30 games for $60
Also, as I've said quite a few times, the homebrew and repro games are amazing! Zelda Outlands is more fun than most AAA games

Well, to be honest I don't think the NES Classic Edition is aimed at the devout people/players who would eye an Analogue NT or AVS. I may be wrong but I think most of the NES classic editions may end up in the hands of children whose parents grew up with these games and want to introduce a younger generation to them. This isn't to say those children won't grow up and invest in those other options, but if I was still collecting, no, the NES Classic edition wouldn't replace getting the actual carts and consoles (original or otherwise); it would just be an additional extra/option in my collection.

Well, that idea didn't exactly end up working it seems...

Anyway, if you've been following the news you probably already know, but the NES Classic has been hacked!
Users can now install pretty much any ROM they want on the thing, and the process is super easy.

Apparently there's a 60 game limit due to UI restrictions, but there's actually a fair amount of storage space and the device could potentially hold MANY more games.

http://kotaku.com/people-have-started-h … 1790936458

Seriously, you're better off getting the AVS retro USB

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1259517

Play all games, better/accurate quality (not software emulation like Nintendo's own device, but hardware emulation).  There's a pretty good breakdown of the NES Classic and comparisons here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxek9ZD3Njw

I have an original Analogue NT that I'm getting repaired which has similar quality performance (power switch/button is faulty) but it's pretty over priced...but does have the HDMI NES configuration which is pretty great

Absolutely! There's also the Analogue NT Mini which is fully 1080p and smaller than the original. I believe the AVS is 720p. However, it's still far better than the NES Classic in my opinion since it plays all games! Although, I can understand people wanting the NES Classic because it's an official Nintendo product. Apparently Nintendo doesn't care as long as they get publicity