What is that old saying? The NES classic edition is dead. Long live the NES classic edition.

Several weeks ago Nintendo announced that it would be discontinuing its wildly popular NES classic edition console. They have offered some nonsensical explanations on why…such as “unlimited resources” or what I like to call packaging nostalgia, putting a reasonable price on it knowing that supply will never meet demand but we all will be talking about it. I mean, It was a limited first party product with all of the same sentimental feel and emotion to get people giddy from the jump. Hell they even went out of their way to add things like scan lines, etc. and even hid little etchings on the PCB board for super fans. It was never a product but a commercial.

It is possible to criticize a company and still be a fan of them. In fact, I would say that it’s entirely likely that most of the people complaining about Nintendo’s approach to this product are big fans of Nintendo and that’s why they are so upset about it. They want Nintendo to do well and to be able to give them their money, but Nintendo doesn’t seem to want it. It wants to be the company that you spend the most time thinking about.

Are there consequences for a strategy that seems more manipulative than what most game companies do? It doesn’t seem like it. The NES classic edition has sold every single unit. The Switch is consistently sold out. I can keep writing these articles, but the fact is people are still throwing down their dollars. Nintendo just needs to keep doing what it’s been doing.

The NES classic edition is fun and quirky and hits all the right back in the day buttons-but it only comes with 30 games and you can’t add more. It comes with controllers that have three foot long cables, just one third of the length of a real NES controller’s cable, and honestly not all the games it comes with are even that great. Some are, sure, but this is nothing to fret over. So if you desperately NEED one, head to the online scalper of your choice or build your own Raspberry Pi gaming device.

Since its release, the Raspberry Pi mini-computer has been saluted as the perfect all-in-one retro game console. The best part, you can make your own in minutes (less than an hour!) and hey, props to you, you actually built something. Also, the final build sets up emulation for a vast number of computers and consoles, it can be argued that you end up with a machine that’s a lot better than Nintendo’s much sought-after box. You have to source the games online yourself, as you can only legally download and play them if you own the originals or if their license has expired, but technically you can build a console that is capable of playing games for more than 50 systems. That includes NES, but also SNES, Megadrive/Genesis, N64, ZX Spectrum, C64, Playstation, Amiga, Atari and much more.

Go ahead and google ‘How to build a Raspberry Pi emulator’ and tutorials on tutorials will be at your fingertips. It really isn’t that hard to do. On top of this, all the parts you will need could be found locally and of course, through online retailers. I made mine for under $90 dollars and I even scored a SWEET custom Atari 2600 3-D printed case from Ebay. If you end up going the DIY route let me know what games you chose to put on yours as I am always looking to expand my library. One cannot live on Chrono Trigger alone.

-Dagobot



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The NES Classic is the new mini retro-system from Nintendo and it includes 30 classic games in full HDMI glory. 

It’s shaped exactly like an original Nintendo Entertainment system but is a miniaturized version of it. The selection of games is great, featuring a lot of games you’ll want to play over and over and others you’ll want to revisit only occasionally. The standouts for me as I’ve been playing have been Final Fantasy, Punch Out, all of the Super Mario games, and even Donkey Kong. 

The system is a fun way to get back into playing the old games you might not have cartridges for anymore, but I’m not sure why Nintendo wouldn’t just release a revamp of the system that could play the old cartridges as well. Another complaint about the system is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to upgrade it in any way, there’s no way to get new games, there’s no way to add content to it. These 30 games are what you’ll be stuck with.

When those games include The Legend of Zelda and Megaman 2, you’re probably not going to need too much expansion, but the option would have been nice.

That’s not my biggest complaint about the system, though. My biggest complaint is the length of the controller cord. I have this system hooked up to my giant HDTV via HDMI, but Nintendo doesn’t want me to sit any further away than four feet. It’s too much on the eyes. I want to be able to sit on my couch and play instead of having to pull a chair from the kitchen into the living room. There are extension cables, though, and I’ll probably end up investing in one so that I can lazily fight the forces of evil from the comfort of my couch.

Aside from that, the NES Classic is a winner. It has a great mix of games, the video quality is incredible and clean, and it’s everything you want in a system. If you love the games and want them to look great, this is what you need to get. Just make sure you get an extension cable for the controller, otherwise your eyes are going to go bad. Fast.

NES Classic’s are currently out of stock, but Nintendo has promised that they will be back in stock soon. When that happens, you’ll be able to get them where every video game consoles are sold.