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[Bloodporne]

I've been completely hooked on Super Mario Bros 3 again after getting one of these for my birthday from my lovely wife.

I'm currently really struggling with World 7...I did NOT remember this game getting so f'ing hard, jesus christ. I actually had to cheat and look up how to beat the first castle yesterday. Looking up solutions, save states...what's next!? My street cred is gone, thanks mini NES.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

are we ever going to see a time where you can buy this without any hassle online or in store?

 

[Plinko]

are we ever going to see a time where you can buy this without any hassle online or in store?

Of course. Give it a few months, though.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

Of course. Give it a few months, though.

I am not sure, how come SEVERAL weeks after release they still can't keep up with the demand? I can understand the first month or so, but how long does it take to increase the production of something that uses technology from decades ago?

 

[shanafan]

I am not sure, how come SEVERAL weeks after release they still can't keep up with the demand? I can understand the first month or so, but how long does it take to increase the production of something that uses technology from decades ago?

You do realize we just had the holiday shopping season, right?

 

[gblues]

What I find funny is the fact that the NES Classic has been on shelves (well...) since November and there hasn't been a single technical lag test other than "I don't notice it".

This is bugging me as well. Especially in comparison to, say, a Raspberry Pi 3 with RetroPIE installed.

 

[everthustodeadbeats]

You do realize we just had the holiday shopping season, right?

Hoo boy. Way off.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

You do realize we just had the holiday shopping season, right?

how that explains anything if they under-shipped the NES classic? only 200K in the US. they did not increase the production for holidays, and the demand was there regardless of the holidays.

 

[shanafan]

how that explains anything if they under-shipped the NES classic? only 200K in the US. they did not increase the production for holidays, and the demand was there regardless of the holidays.

The holidays definitely added to the demand. How many posts do you see saying "I picked up one, but I still need another as a present for a relative"? Quite a number. People waited outside stores to get them as presents.

 

[Barrylocke]

The holidays definitely added to the demand. How many posts do you see saying "I picked up one, but I still need another as a present for a relative"? Quite a number. People waited outside stores to get them as presents.

The point is that Nintendo could have produced more than what they did to account for the holidays, but they didn't. Nintendo underproducing is not new.

 

[Boke1879]

The holidays definitely added to the demand. How many posts do you see saying "I picked up one, but I still need another as a present for a relative"? Quite a number. People waited outside stores to get them as presents.

Even still. Nintendo didn't send out enough. If Nintendo really wants to correct this problem they've amped up production and will ship all they can make throughout January.

 

[dragonyeuw]

how that explains anything if they under-shipped the NES classic? only 200K in the US. they did not increase the production for holidays, and the demand was there regardless of the holidays.

200K is an absolutely pathetic number to supply the US market with. This thing, at $60 MSRP, had 'I'll buy one for me and X amount as a gift(s)' all over it. I was in for four of them prior to Xmas, three as gifts. Now I just can't even be bothered to get one if I walked past a stack of them piled high to the ceiling. The time for Nintendo to strike while the iron is hot passed by 4 days ago.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

200K is an absolutely pathetic number to supply the US market with. This thing, at $60 MSRP, had 'I'll buy one for me and X amount as a gift(s)' all over it. I was in for four of them prior to Xmas, three as gifts. Now I just can't even be bothered to get one if I walked past a stack of them piled high to the ceiling. The time for Nintendo to strike while the iron is hot passed by 4 days ago.

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

 

[SporeCrawler]

Grabbed a famicom mini. Man those things are small.

 

[Barrylocke]

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

I think it'll sell well too but it seems obvious that getting it out there during the holidays was the better way to go. Even 800k would have probably still sold out in America, and that's more exposure for people to see it in someone's home and decide to pick up their own.

 

[Booker.DeWitt]

I think it'll sell well too but it seems obvious that getting it out there during the holidays was the better way to go. Even 800k would have probably still sold out in America.

absolutely agree with you, but the demand for this thing is REAL, regardless of holidays. they sold 200K without being in stock for more than seconds online or minutes in stores, just imagine if they had enough stock, it would be 10x more than that.

 

[Dreamwriter]

What I find funny is the fact that the NES Classic has been on shelves (well...) since November and there hasn't been a single technical lag test other than "I don't notice it".

Actually, there was a slightly more technical test done in November, a Punch Out! master tried to beat Mr. Dream on NES Classic compared to NES compared to Play Choice 10 (PC10 to test without TV lag)

https://youtu.be/fH1ZH71P_fE

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Lord, even the extension cables are back-ordered by at least a week.

 

[jmizzal]

200K is an absolutely pathetic number to supply the US market with. This thing, at $60 MSRP, had 'I'll buy one for me and X amount as a gift(s)' all over it. I was in for four of them prior to Xmas, three as gifts. Now I just can't even be bothered to get one if I walked past a stack of them piled high to the ceiling. The time for Nintendo to strike while the iron is hot passed by 4 days ago.

The 200k number was for Nov.

There were plenty of restocks in Dec, they just sold out fast

Target and walmart got them about every day, Bestbuy had a big restock, Amazon was selling them only to their locations and primenow cities tho, Toys r us had a restock, Gamestop got them a lot of days and did bundles online. Then there were other smaller places like UO and the Nintendo Store in NY selling them.

They may have been hard to get but they were def out there after the initial launch day.

 

[shanafan]

Lord, even the extension cables are back-ordered by at least a week.

I ordered one this past Sunday, and it arrived yesterday. There are a number of third party extension cables out there, so be sure to check all websites.

 

[dragonyeuw]

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

Perhaps, but I'm figuring there are 2 category of people who were primarily interested in this:

1) Core gamers who may have wanted this as a conversation piece, or an inexpensive nostalgia tickler just because of the design. Had this box not been made by Nintendo, and thus not be able to recreate the iconic NES design, no-one would care. I have most of the games on there either through VC, or emulated on my PC. It offers nothing in terms of gameplay that I don't already have access to, and so for me at least it really was about nostalgia as well as gifts for my 2 closest friends who grew up in the NES era alongside me. The gift thing is no longer a factor, as I bought them each something else, and where I'm concerned, I've lost the urge and that money that may have been allocated to that was spent elsewhere. I don't anticipate caring in the new year or 6 months from now, but that's just me of course.

2) Casuals who grew up on NES, but perhaps aren't that hardcore about it and got caught up in the immediate buzz and idea of opening it on xmas day. Will they still be as interested if they walk into their nearby Walmart and see it sitting there? We'll see. I'm inclined to think their best opportunity to sell these fast and furious ended on Christmas Eve. They'll sell in the new year, but I don't expect at remotely close the same rate.

 

[AllBusinessJr]

The 200k number was for Nov.

There were plenty of restocks in Dec, they just sold out fast

Target and walmart got them about every day, Bestbuy had a big restock, Amazon was selling them only to their locations and primenow cities tho, Toys r us had a restock, Gamestop got them a lot of days and did bundles online. Then there were other smaller places like UO and the Nintendo Store in NY selling them.

They may have been hard to get but they were def out there after the initial launch day.

Please. Let's not kid ourselves and pretend like inventory was available or "def out there." National stores had lines on restock days when they received three units. You need only review this thread to read about actual accounts of many, many customers being turned away even when waiting in line before stores opened.

The spin is out of control.

 

[dragonyeuw]

The 200k number was for Nov.

There were plenty of restocks in Dec, they just sold out fast

Target and walmart got them about every day, Bestbuy had a big restock, Amazon was selling them only to their locations and primenow cities tho, Toys r us had a restock, Gamestop got them a lot of days and did bundles online. Then there were other smaller places like UO and the Nintendo Store in NY selling them.

They may have been hard to get but they were def out there after the initial launch day.

Well I stand corrected. It was a very low amount for November then, and even if they 2.5 that amount and shipped 500k, it would sell. I think this thing could have sold a million if they shipped that much. And from various stories, stores were still getting in trickled quantities. Nothing I've heard or read about this situation paints a picture that you could simply walk into a store and pick one up. In my opinion, they should have stocked this thing a month earlier than it did. They left themselves no wiggle room by launching in November with little time to course correct and flood the market for Chrismas.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

What I find funny is the fact that the NES Classic has been on shelves (well...) since November and there hasn't been a single technical lag test other than "I don't notice it".

I don't know if you'll see a more technical one since it can't run roms so it's not like you could fire up the 240p test sweet one it.

Like has been brought up the one dude did the Punch-Out! test and that's what we did at my place. Firing up that final fight really makes it obvious.

 

[Arrogant Bastard]

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

Nope. I wanted to buy a few of these for gifts and to have one for family members to play when we had 20+ people at our house. Just going to put together a Raspberry Pi now.

1) Core gamers who may have wanted this as a conversation piece, or an inexpensive nostalgia tickler just because of the design. Had this box not been made by Nintendo, and thus not be able to recreate the iconic NES design, no-one would care. I have most of the games on there either through VC, or emulated on my PC. It offers nothing in terms of gameplay that I don't already have access to, and so for me at least it really was about nostalgia as well as gifts for my 2 closest friends who grew up in the NES era alongside me. The gift thing is no longer a factor, as I bought them each something else, and where I'm concerned, I've lost the urge and that money that may have been allocated to that was spent elsewhere. I don't anticipate caring in the new year or 6 months from now, but that's just me of course.

100% this.

Nintendo screwed up so hard on this.

 

[oatmeal]

100% this.

Nintendo screwed up so hard on this.

Yeah, unfortunately this is where I stand. I have a five year old that would have loved it, and I would have loved to re-live my childhood through him opening an NES on Christmas morning but now that it has passed...I'm not terribly concerned.

 

[Instro]

Please. Let's not kid ourselves and pretend like inventory was available or "def out there." National stores had lines on restock days when they received three units. You need only review this thread to read about actual accounts of many, many customers being turned away even when waiting in line before stores opened.

The spin is out of control.

Nintendo can do no wrong.

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

Perhaps at some point in the future, but not anytime soon now that holiday sepdning season has passed. That's not even accounting for the multitude of NES Classics that were going to be bought as gifts. Those sales are gone now.

 

[helium121]

I can guarantee that the majority of people that planned to buy the mini NES will still buy even after holidays. the kids that grew up playing NES will buy this thing regardless of the time of the year

I have 5 nieces/nephews that I was going to buy one each for Christmas but gave them money instead. I can guarantee that they will not buy one themselves. I also have two friends that wanted one but have given up and now don't plan on buying the unit.

Nintendo needs to learn how to anticipate demand and stock for their items. They are constantly leaving money on the table. You think they would've learned by now.

Even as someone who loves Nintendo, grew up on them in the 80's during their heyday, I am constantly frustrated to the point where I question if I want to continue buying their merchandise. I gave up on Amiibo because of the early shortages. I would've bought all of them. Now I buy none.

 

[sphinx]

the one thing I never understood was the pricing.

Here in Europe retail price is 59.99 Euros.

that's at odd with Nintendo's Philosophy, which tries to educate people about the value of their games, no matter the era they were created,

on their online shops, most of their flagship games cost, what, 5 euros?

well, nintendo put 30 of those in there, 30 , which amounts to 150 euros worth, and that's not counting anything else, like production of the mini NES itself, the packing, etc.

this should have had a price of a 99.99 euro, why nintendo went for that dirt cheap price, that's puzzling.

 

[outunderthestars]

Walmarts near me seem to have gotten a large shipments in today. One store had 27 units.

 

[FinKL]

Actually, there was a slightly more technical test done in November, a Punch Out! master tried to beat Mr. Dream on NES Classic compared to NES compared to Play Choice 10 (PC10 to test without TV lag)

https://youtu.be/fH1ZH71P_fE

That's the closest test we have as obviously frame like timings are needed. Not really a technical test but I'm surprised this isn't raising flags at Nintendo. It's obviously a collectors toy and "hey check out this game from the 80's" type deal. Sucks for some of us that actually wanted to try and actually beat some of these games.

 

[OmegaFax]

I was genuinely surprised by this thing when I finally got a hold of one. I'd originally written it off as a cheap cash-in and aisle endcap novelty item like the Genesis and Atari built-in game systems that have sprung up over the years when it was announced.

I've never had this much fun playing NES classics before and I come from a very emulator centric gaming background. To be honest, it's just the hype getting to me. It's like milk tasting better through a Star Wars swirly straw kind of logic. I do like the plug-in-play simplicity, generous number of save states (4 is fine), clean UI, and decent emulation (and way better than Nintendo's previous efforts (in Animal Crossing, NES Classic GBA, e-Reader, any VC iterations, and even NES Remix).

I have an original NES system with a SMB3 cartridge inside it and I think there's a Tecmo Bowl cartridge somewhere, too but my AV and power cords are boxed up somewhere.

To be honest, I've ignored the actual NES Classic controller that came with the system in favor of the Wii Classic Controller. The home button -> get back to main menu easily beats out needing to press the reset button on the console. The Wii Classic Controller is more comfortable and I can use A/X or A/B (former being my preference) when playing NES games.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

That's the closest test we have as obviously frame like timings are needed. Not really a technical test but I'm surprised this isn't raising flags at Nintendo. It's obviously a collectors toy and "hey check out this game from the 80's" type deal. Sucks for some of us that actually wanted to try and actually beat some of these games.

I don't know if there's anything they can even do to fix this. Someone who knows more than I do about this tech can offer a better explanation, but my understanding is that there's invariably going to be some lag in modern displays that wasn't necessarily an issue in CRTs receiving input via analog technology.

 

[shanafan]

NES Classic available on Amazon Prime Now in Dallas, San Antonio and San Francisco Bay area. Also, parts of the Los Angeles area.

Follow @Wario64 on Twitter for latest updates.

 

[ViciousDS]

Yeah, unfortunately this is where I stand. I have a five year old that would have loved it, and I would have loved to re-live my childhood through him opening an NES on Christmas morning but now that it has passed...I'm not terribly concerned.

pretty sad when the nes classic wasn't obtainable that I had older folks asking me at work about a raspberry pi setup this week (these are folks who know nothing about tech.......think about that lol). Once they start asking those questions......you seriously fucked up your hardware and lost a ton of sales due to frustration.

 

[sixteen-bit]

the one thing I never understood was the pricing.

Here in Europe retail price is 59.99 Euros.

that's at odd with Nintendo's Philosophy, which tries to educate people about the value of their games, no matter the era they were created,

on their online shops, most of their flagship games cost, what, 5 euros?

well, nintendo put 30 of those in there, 30 , which amounts to 150 euros worth, and that's not counting anything else, like production of the mini NES itself, the packing, etc.

this should have had a price of a 99.99 euro, why nintendo went for that dirt cheap price, that's puzzling.

worth noting the emulation here is nicer than shitty WiiU VC as well

 

[shanafan]

pretty sad when the nes classic wasn't obtainable that I had older folks asking me at work about a raspberry pi setup this week (these are folks who know nothing about tech.......think about that lol). Once they start asking those questions......you seriously fucked up your hardware and lost a ton of sales due to frustration.

Just curious, how were these non-tech savvy people swayed?

I do not have a Raspberry Pi, but I use LaunchBox/RetroArch and Retron5 for emulation needs.

 

[MyEpitomeCliché]

That's the closest test we have as obviously frame like timings are needed. Not really a technical test but I'm surprised this isn't raising flags at Nintendo. It's obviously a collectors toy and "hey check out this game from the 80's" type deal. Sucks for some of us that actually wanted to try and actually beat some of these games.

I've beaten Mario 1 and Castlevania on the Classic, feats that I couldn't even hope to accomplish on the original hardware when I was young. I find the lag to be quite minimal.

 

[sphinx]

I just tried 5 or so games and can it be that the lag people are commenting on appears on a case by case basis?

I tried Punch out and I experienced a minimal lag on button presses, I remember from my chilhood being able to do A + B punches a lot faster. I am not sure to be honest if it's me or the game. D-pad definitely fine, the quick presses were responsive.

Ghosts and Goblins and Castlevania were fine

Kid Icarus, though, woah, shooting and jumping was sluggish as fuck, I don't think it played like that back then.

 

[The Albatross]

Got fucked by Gamestop.

 

[Lasthope106]

I've been completely hooked on Super Mario Bros 3 again after getting one of these for my birthday from my lovely wife.

I'm currently really struggling with World 7...I did NOT remember this game getting so f'ing hard, jesus christ. I actually had to cheat and look up how to beat the first castle yesterday. Looking up solutions, save states...what's next!? My street cred is gone, thanks mini NES.

This is how I feel. Fucking games are brutal. If it wasn't for the turtle 1 up trick on Super Mario Bros I wouldn't have been able to beat it. SMB3 is also hard. If it wasn't for the save states I would be screwed. How in the hell did people finish this game in one sitting?!

 

[shanafan]

This is how I feel. Fucking games are brutal. If it wasn't for the turtle 1 up trick on Super Mario Bros I wouldn't have been able to beat it. SMB3 is also hard. If it wasn't for the save states I would be screwed. How in the hell did people finish this game in one sitting?!

Had a sleepover at a friends back in the day, and didn't want to lose our DuckTales progress, so we kept the NES on overnight, lol.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I got a Famicom Mini for xmas, kind of bummed to see Bubble Bobble is only on the NES but it's still a great little item.

 

[ViciousDS]

Just curious, how were these non-tech savvy people swayed?

I do not have a Raspberry Pi, but I use LaunchBox/RetroArch and Retron5 for emulation needs.

They knew of my raspberry pi 2 setup last year, I used it a lot for PS1 games(mostly replaying legend of dragoon XD). But mentioned at the time that yes, it can do pretty much anything from the atari up.

Come this year now same time......they gave up finding a classic nes and wanted to know about my setup again. So here I am.....setting up 3-4 retropi's......not giving them any ROM's or anything.....they can do that themselves as I don't want to be liable. But....it was interesting switch. Even got the USB NES controller working with it.....pretty cool.

 

[JDdelphin]

Yeah, unfortunately this is where I stand. I have a five year old that would have loved it, and I would have loved to re-live my childhood through him opening an NES on Christmas morning but now that it has passed...I'm not terribly concerned.

Exact same boat for me.

:/


It's kinda sad. But meh.


If I see one in a store as I'm walking around,maybe I'll get it.

 

[jmizzal]

Got fucked by Gamestop.

What happened?

 

[Dreamwriter]

Like has been brought up the one dude did the Punch-Out! test and that's what we did at my place. Firing up that final fight really makes it obvious.

Yeah, but the test I linked showed that the NES Classic had no more lag than an original NES, it was all in the TV.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Yeah, but the test I linked showed that the NES Classic had no more lag than an original NES, it was all in the TV.

High Def TV's have been out for over a decade and they still haven't improved on input lag. Tube TV's never had this problem. I remember back in 2006 I couldn't even play guitar hero on anything but SD tube TV's because the LCD TVs all had lag. In 2016 this still is an issue.

 

[Syriel]

Had a sleepover at a friends back in the day, and didn't want to lose our DuckTales progress, so we kept the NES on overnight, lol.

This. Pause. Shut off TV, go to sleep. Wake up, go to school, come home, turn on TV, unpause.

 

[Toparaman]

Of course. Give it a few months, though.

In a few months the Switch will be out.