Video: Your Washed-Up Parent Can't Handle Modern Games So Get Them A NES This Christmas, Says eBay

I honestly don't think that's a bad idea, a NES or a SNES (or maybe a Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, or Turbografx-16/PC-Engine), and I was having a similar thought myself the other day. Just the idea of going back to a time when everything about gaming was simple and at its most pure--no convoluted accounts and twenty stage setup process, no day one patches, no controllers with endless buttons and inputs that aren't even necessary half the time--yet still totally and utterly entertaining and satisfying. Oh, and with an old console you outright own everything/game you buy, forever.

Sure, old consoles weren't perfect--wireless controllers would be great for example, and the carts were big and took up a lot of storage space--but for most intents and purposes I genuinely preferred gaming on the likes of my SNES than any console that's came since and especially in the last few generations. And it's not that new consoles don't have stuff that's genuinely amazing about them, some aspects of them are clearly better than old consoles in many ways, but it's all the hassles and downsides the also come with the new consoles--some of it genuinely concerning--that's the biggest issue for me. So, sometimes just making things simpler and more pure really is a great thing.

I wish more of today's younger gamers could look past the "cutting-edge" tech, and see just how much fun to play some of the old classics genuinely still are, and often more so than the games they think are the pinnacle of the modern gaming scene, in a few essential ways.

Do you know how much a mint boxed NES would cost? Let's just say that kid couldn't afford it.

A boxed SNES ? No way my parents would get that !
That thing would be mine and mine alone >.<

I wish my parents played games with me. I remember my mom playing Super Mario on my Gameboy many years ago, and my dad played Wii Sports with me around the release of Wii which was super fun ^w^

I bought my nephew a 64 last Christmas he's six he thought it was awesome he loves golden eye and snowboard kids

"First place."
"Oooohhhh two moves! Couldn't block that one could you?"
What the heck are they playing?

The irony when you're the one with the old consoles at home and somewhere far away your father has fun playing all the next gen games...

@Sligeach Quick check on eBay shows them going for roughly $200. Cheaper than a PS4!

Wait! You're not meant to blow on the carts?! I always used to blow the dust off my SNES carts as a kid lol oops

I thought this was the rare adorable Christmas commercial. Didn't seem depressing at all to me. The dad just likes the NES? I didn't see anything "lol old dude can't game" about it. He just wasn't having any of that PS4...like a percentage of people on this site!

@Kirk Some of the people on this site have gotten me into the good old stuff. I love the idea of those consoles, and would LOVE to have more physical stuff but so many of the classics are jacked to collector premium prices and then I just feel like "well, I could buy a new game for half that."

@Jordie Lol that's me.

Also, I doubt that kid could handle 8-bit and 16-bit difficulty. Silly title

As a 44 year old gamer, I am offended by this.

The reason we have a Wii U, 3 3DS XL's, PS3, PS Vita, 2 Xbox Ones, a NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Cube, Sega Genesis, PS2, PS One, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, 3 Dsi XL's, PSP a couple of different Game Boys, and 3 gaming PC's is because of me and not my 13 and 11 year olds.

Hell yeah! That's what i want!
I honestly feel like that dad most the time.. new games give me a head ache.
I was playing some sega saturn earlier.
I miss the good ol days..

I have an Amiga and about 30 games in the loft,

Since the new Nintendo Christmas game list is looking a bit small maybe I will set up the Amiga.

@RetroTyGuy probably PlayStation AllStars Battle Royale

I'd be stoked with an NES or SNES as a gift if I didn't already own them. Two of the greatest consoles ever.

Love it! Can relate when my kids are hounding me about what to do next in Minecraft 360, lol.

I would love an NES for Christmas.

My lad wanted an N64 and I found a mint boxed bundle with an RGB console and a dozen great games for him last Christmas (he was 12 years old at the time).

Wrapping it all up on Christmas Eve was the best feeling ever.

@Ralizah

I own them and I'd still be stoked. I might be a bit of a hoarder though.

@Yorumi I guess I'm guilty of looking for boxed copies, because I can shelve them more easily..but I guess I could buy replacement cases.

But yeah, I've found some good ones for that range. Mostly GBA and GBC stuff (since I can actually play those).

@Yorumi Nice! I'll keep that in mind. My copies of Boulder Dash EX and the GB Boulder Dash are actually both Japanese because they were cheaper, but I didn't realize imports being cheaper was a standard thing!

@Sligeach
Mint action set $150 + shipping or $100-120 if not mint. A Deluxe set on the other hand....

I think it's even harder to get into NES games than modern games because they can be so cryptic and hard to figure out. Modern games may have more buttons, but you usually learn controls one step at a time instead of being thrown in immediately with everything. If anything, they prioritize tutorials a bit too much (especially when they're unskippable ugh).

@bagajr Yeah, that's actually a good point. One reason why there are guys like that dad in the commerical isn't because they're too old. It's because they didn't invest the time it takes to get through all the tutorials.

Older games have a steeper learning curve, but ultimately you CAN pick up and play them (just maybe not expect to be good at them, heh).

@World What I think would be a really cool thing would be if a company like Nintendo actually re-released it's old consoles as new again, games and all. Basically like new retro-collector versions (but not at collectors prices).

@bagajr Well, there's usually only a couple of controls on most NES games, which can be learned in literally a matter of seconds just by pressing the buttons and seeing what happens. Very few NES games really needed instructions to be honest. Most modern games almost certainly do. I mean, just compare trying to learn how to simply start the game and play through a level in Super Mario Bros vs. Super Mario Maker... Hopefully I don't actually have to explain the huge gulf in complexity between one and the other (in multiple ways, from navigating the various menus and options to figuring out the various inputs on the controller, and that's not to even touching on the difference in just loading and starting the game in the first place). It was pretty much all so much simpler and more intuitive back in the day of NES/SNES. Maybe not more convenient getting games, now that you can just download them from the comfort of your home, but certainly more simple and intuitive to actually use and play classic consoles/games vs. modern consoles/games.

@Yorumi I'm pretty sure you can get whatever you want manufactured, if you want. I mean, if Nintendo wanted to start making and selling NES systems again, I'm pretty sure it would just do what it does whenever it has to manufacture and sell any of its current consoles. Now, I'm not saying it's really plausible or likely to happen, but it's certainly not impossible to do if Nintendo decided to actually do it. It would probably be extremely cheap and easy to actually make the equivalent of NES chips these days, likely about as complex as putting a chip in one of those little Pokemon Tamagotchi or pedometer type things.

@bagajr

I think it varies. Certainly there are some games that do a poor job of telling you what to do. But with few buttons one can often figure out the controls. I think also there are a bunch of poor games from that era. But the really good ones are very playable today and provide loads of nastolgicness.

Wow. That's broadbrushing just a bit, I grew up with the good old NES,and I own a GBA, a Wii and play on DS and 2DS.

On the one hand, I would love to receive an NES and my favorite games, on the other, I know they'll probably be ready to give up the ghost in a few years.

@Sligeach

Damn straight!

@Yorumi I imagine it would all be totally fine for a company like Nintendo, who would probably sell more of those retro NES consoles than current-gen Wii Us.

Honestly, I actually imagine a re-release of the NES or SNES would likely sell a few million units at least.

Not that it's ever likely to happen.

If I ran Nintendo I think I'd actually do it just for the hell of it, maybe with a really shrunk down version of the console and a wireless version of the controller, available at around $49.99. And I'd make the physical games sell for something like $10 each (as new production runs of the carts).

Nintendo wants to sell you digital and new games (since apparently they are stopping vc releases because they think you'll buy newer more expensive games.)

I actually think it would be awesome if Nintendo would rerelease systems. I think they could charge $100 for an Nes or Snes with 2 controllers. They could rerelease some games for $40 each. I think it would make some money and be a cool way to reconnect with their fans after all their recent issues. But alas there is no chance. So back to buying ebay carts.

@cleveland124 Those prices are way too high for me personally. I would go with something like $49.99 for the consoles and $10 for the games. I think any more would just be a bit of a ripoff/p*ss-take in this day and age, and basically insulting to anyone who was even thinking about indulging in such a thing, imo.

But, for $49.99 and $10 respectively, I think it would very cool.

Old school gamer here!! And I play modern games primarily. Sure, I like to revisit a good classic every now and then, that's why my old systems are still out and hooked up to my TVs.

@Kirk

For physical items thats too low and there would be no profit for them to move forward. Not everybody is going to get on board but i think enough people would. Snes go for $45 for a yellowed snes with 1 controller at my local trade in store and they always move immediately. Heck I'd gladly pay $50 for 2 brand new Snes controllers. I realize I'm not everyone but you are way off compared to the used market. Maybe they could do $30 for the games, but they will be boxed collectors items rather than mass items. And I'd only release 10-15 games and rely on used carts for the remaining draw. Just not enough money to try and compete with modern consoles.

Super Mario 3 is a $20 used game without a box. And old tech is going to cost money to reproduce. These aren't $.50 discs and these parts aren't available on the market anymore. You can't compare to current tech. Nintendo wouldn't even consider something like this unless they had high margins. I get it you are comparing to digital and want no part of Snes cartridges. That's fine. But these would sell some.

Those carts you speak of go for $200. Nes would be easier to do that since there were fewer carts with batteries and no carts with on cartridge processors. Also Nintendo would have to do a great deal of engineering to copy that as to play on physical hardware the hardware is looking at physical locations on the cartridge and looking for certain timings. You'd be better off doing clone hardware like the retron 5 which seems to do well enough at $140. But that would kill interest for me as I want original. These aren't reproductions, these would Nintendo products whether they are badged collectors edition or something else.

I guess I never see this as something that will sell 10 million or even sniff any modern console sales. I think you'd do it as a limited time promotion for the fans. Something like for 2016 only get a brand new Snes from Nintendo. As part of the promotion you rerelease 10 games. I think that would be super cool and I think they could make money on it. Lots of people pirate old Nes games and think $5 is too much for classics. So no I never see this being a big seller.

@cleveland124 I actually think you are way off compared to what would be reasonable prices for a remodel of a 25 year old console and games, as well as what it would realistically cost to make and sell these things in 2015. It's FAR less powerful than say a Raspberry Pi, which you can get for $25. And the games certainly shouldn't be more than a tenner or so. You could make those carts, final release versions (chips, labels, boxes and all), for a couple of quid these days and the games require zero time or money spent on them, so there is no cost at all to be made back on the development side of things.

Also, I should clarify that it was me who brought up the idea of re-releasing the old consoles and games again in the first place, so it's my business idea/model we're talking about, not yours, and mine isn't some overly priced niche product exclusively for hardcore collectors. It's a cheap and cheerful re-release of 25 year old+ tech for a budget, mass-market price, to appeal to old Nintendo fans, casuals, and families who just want to get a cheap but fun games console for their kids--almost like buying some Fisher Price toy, but it just happens to be a NES or SNES console--and if collectors want to buy it too then so be it. That's the kind of model I'm talking about. An absolute impulse buy console and not $30 overpriced collectors carts.

If anyone was going to do this and go with the prices you suggest, I'd say don't even bother--as no one has up to this point. I'd certainly no longer be interested, in the slightest. And, Nintendo doesn't need to go to the hassle of remaking and reselling old consoles again if it's just about making money off hardcore fanboys and collectors buying overpriced Nintendo branded products, because they will buy whatever Nintendo chucks out anyway. So, in that case, I'd say to just keep selling more amiibos, limited editions of current-gen consoles and games, make even more DLC, and that kind of stuff.

So, basically, your interpretation of my idea was not the idea I was actually suggesting at all.

This is totally derogatory and ageist!! I kid, I kid. I remember getting my NES back in the day and my grandfather (who was nearly blind) playing Duck Hunt with me This is a cute commercial, but a tad on the obnoxious side. Modern day gaming systems aren't rocket science, just tedious and too much overemphasis on social media in games (not a fan hahah but im old).

@Kirk

This has been talked about lots of times. It's neither your idea nor can you command where the discussion in a forum goes. You don't want to spend money fine but you are talking about an emulation console and not a rerelease. And Nintendo doesn't do anything cheap because they are a business. They've stopped releasing VC games because they don't make enough money. That's the cheapest way they can release things. Obviously, nothing will happen. But in a theoretical scenario a reproduction of old hardware will not be cheap or easy. And Retron 5 with the worst controller known to man at $140 proves there is a market for well made products at a reasonable price.

The only reasonable way for Nintendo to keep access cheap would be tp put vc on mobile or to come with a cheaper version of the nx that can only play limited games including vc. Clone consoles are are more expensive than what you are suggesting.

The retron 5 controller is NOT that bad. Sorry, I have to throw it out there. It's bizarre and weirdly boxy/square, but I enjoyed using it on many games. I do prefer the original controllers though, but I used the stock controller for so long just to justify the price of the system. It was an impulse buy for me, and I do like it. It was worth it to play some older games in HD (i know there are other ways to do this).

@Yorumi

I know they exist but it's not as simple as you suggest. How many of those carts play Mega Man X3 or Super Mario Kart or have other compatibilty issues. If it was a simple rom dump there shouldn't be any issues but it is not.

Also look at the prices. The cheapest one I could find was $80(without needed sd card) and that had many games it couldn't play. No way Nintendo copies that and boxes it for retail at $10.

@RobNYC1977

The Snes games lagged badly for me. I was interrested in it for save states but the lag killed it.

I know any modern tv adds lag, but my snes through xrgb (which adds 20 ms lag) was not noticeable on lag for me so it must add more than the xrgb. It was playable on a low lag (10ms ) computer monitor but that limited the appeal too much for me. If you don't notice the lag it's fine.

@cleveland124

I probably would notice the lag on certain games i'm somewhat decent at (i suck at games though I <3 them). I'll try using it on some games where I think I'm good just to see what this lag talk is about (i'm not denying the lag, just something that doesn't cross my mind much) Plus I smoke up when I game so lag is usually irrelevant since there's alwaaaaays lag

Haha, funny!