Super Limited Edition Classics

Today was the launch for pre-orders of the SNES Mini, and if you even bothered trying to snag one, like most, you’re probably empty handed.

This isn’t a new thing for Nintendo. Gamers have long been fed-up with them for never having enough hardware to meet, let alone exceed, their typically insane demand. I can’t think of a single Nintendo console that was easy to purchase near launch, without preordering or camping out.

The N64 came out with half a dozen games and wasn’t on shelves for months after the holiday release window. The Wii took me a full year of trips to the store at random hours to finally track down my own. I managed to lazily stroll-in and pickup a WiiU without problems, but did purchase the last console that store had for weeks. I finally wised-up and preordered the Switch, and am very happy that I did since I’ve only seen them on shelves twice since March; both times it was the gray Joy-Con bundle, and by the time I circled the store questioning whether I knew someone who needed it, they were gone.

We’ve been okay with this trend thanks to the simple fact we have years to track down the system and burn through its backlog of games… but that’s not the case with limited run, impossible to find Classic Editions. They launch with a set number of games are hyped up longer than they stay in production, and if you see one on shelves during their short “availability” but don’t purchase it for yourself or someone dear, you’ll never get the chance again (quick shoutout to GameStop for hoarding several hundred of the NES Classic just to give-away during a lame promotion this August).

Normally, I would be a irate about this anti-consumer trend. After all, the hype of these limited run consoles will never be actualized for a majority of players. But these aren’t new games. You can find working retro systems for pretty cheap, especially if you’re willing to put in the time to repair or do deep-cleaning. And although the price of retro games has spiked recently, it’s not impossible to find or play them.

And if that route absolutely isn’t an option, consider spending some money on a Raspberry Pi 3 and setting it up with RetroPi and some ROMs. For the price of this new Mini SNES, you can setup a retro system that houses every NES and SNES game ever released; and based on your storage options, you can go even further beyond that, playing Sega, Sony, Atari, and any other system you can remember. You can even order or 3D print a case that looks like your favorite system, so it’s a fine replacement for these classic editions you’ll likely never find.

I’d feel bad about that recommendation if Nintendo allowed us to purchase and play these games in an easier and more legally friendly way. But until they make these units more widely available and launch a robust Virtual Channel on the Switch, we aren’t left with a whole lot of options.

Old systems and cartridges won’t last forever, and the work being done to restore ROMs and improve upon emulators gives us a viable way to keep gaming history alive. Plus, I’m certain that the weird and hilarious niche titles, like the Bible Adventure games, would never make it to Nintendo’s curated marketplace no matter how long it was active or how deep they dug.

For that, if nothing else, a RetroPi setup is perfect.