Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition SNES

SNES Classic Edition News Roundup

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Published: June 28, 2017 11:30 AM

A flurry of news has been released about the SNES Classic Edition, Nintendo's latest miniaturized console throwback. Here are some of the more interesting bits of information you may have missed.

UK customers shopping at GAME who are out to get their hands on this latest iteration of the SNES will have to fork over £50 as opposed to the original £10 deposit that was originally reported according to Eurogamer. The increase in the deposit price is explicitly being done to deter scalpers; Eurogamer has confirmed the deposit hike with multiple stores.

Scalping concerns are wholly legitimate as shown by VG 24/7's coverage - eBay scalpers already have the UK version of the console listed for as high as £300. The NES Classic Edition sold over 2.3 million units worldwide, but it was ultimately a limited production run and Nintendo has since ceased producing new units despite overwhelming demand.

Nintendo plans to ship more SNES Classics as compared to NES Classics, but only is confirming shipments for this year according to Kotaku. The console will ship from September 29, 2017 until the end of the calender year. Nintendo hasn't ruled out the possibility of shipping more units but they don't have anything to announce on the matter for the moment.

Kotaku News Editor Jason Schreier has been told by Nintendo that the controller cable will be 5 feet (1.524 meters) long as opposed to the 3 foot (0.9144 meters) long cables of the NES Classic Edition.

In terms of the included games, perhaps the most interesting note is that the heretofore unreleased Star Fox 2 will be part of the miniature console's catalog. The game's developers were wholly unaware of it being included as there was likely no way for Nintendo to inform them and keep a lid on the surprise. An impromptu release party was held by some of the developers according to a photo posted on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Swery65/status/879675726290534400

According to surrounding coverage, anyone who might have played the ROM of Star Fox 2 should note that the game has had some improvements and changes for the SNES Classic Edition version making for an overall improved experience.

Nintendo Life has an excellent piece detailing the history of Star Fox 2 and the reasons for its cancellation; largely, Nintendo didn't want the previous generation's 3D technology going head-to-head with Sony's PlayStation console. Despite the cancellation, the developers managed to complete the game as well as a full QA pass. Argonaut founder Jez San also quashed any rumors that the release was due to the Super FX technology patent expiring. Argonaut developed the technology that was prominently featured in the first Star Fox game. However, Nintendo owns the patent and more than likely could have published the game anytime with zero issues relating to that patent according to Mr. San.

Finally, GamesIndustry.biz has an excellent interview with Dylan Cuthbert, one of the core members of the team that originally worked on the game. Mr. Cuthbert now works with Q-Games, a Japanese-based company that was founded over 15 years ago that works closely with both Nintendo and Sony in developing third-party titles for their systems.

The SNES Classic Edition was announced just a couple of days ago. It will include two controllers and 21 games for the retail price of $79.99 in the USA. You can get a peek at what all of is in the box over at Nintendo's official website for the product. If you'd like to get your hands on one, we can only wish you the best of luck - pre-orders are sold out pretty much everywhere and the SNES Classic Edition will more than likely be a popular product for the 2017 Holiday Season. There is expected to be another preorder production batch, but when that will be is unknown.

Have you pre-ordered a SNES Classic Edition? Are you going to be trying to get your hands on one otherwise? What do you think of the line-up of games? Do you think Nintendo should be producing more of their Classic Edition consoles rather than only doing limited runs? Let us know in the comments below!

A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N