If Nintendo Life's Twitter account is any yardstick to judge this by, our North American readers are getting increasing frustrated that pre-orders for the Super NES Classic Edition are still yet to open. We've put together a handy guide rounding up all the SNES Mini pre-order options for you, so all you can do for the moment is keeping F5-ing those pages and waiting in hope so you don't miss your chance to grab one before they all sell out.
We've heard quite a bit of chatter that US pre-orders might not have gone live as the Super NES Classic Edition has not yet been given FCC approval. Basically, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ensures that every electronic device sold in the United States gets an approval to say that the electromagnetic interference it generates is within safe limits.
So why hasn't the SNES Mini got this approval yet? One possible reason is that getting FCC approval would lead to an early leak; let's be honest, it's not like a modest device like this would struggle to get the approval.
This might go some way to explaining why GameStop, Toys 'R Us and Target are not yet listing the Super NES Classic and why Amazon US, Walmart and Best Buy only have placeholder pages. It seems many US-based retailers have policies about not listing products without the all-important FCC approval. Microsoft has recently stated that the lack of FCC approval is the reason that the Xbox One X can't be pre-ordered yet, so this might not seem as farfetched it as sounds.
While lack of FCC approval might be one reason, some sources are saying the lack of pre-orders is more likely due to other causes. Namely the messy launch of the NES Mini in North America which led to many annoyed customers struggling to get a pre-order in, while scalpers gobbled up all the stock to put on eBay and Craigslist.
Will US retailers do anything different this time to try to combat scalpers? Based on what we've seen in the UK it is unlikely; we'll probably experience the same pre-order frenzy when the retailers eventually do start taking orders.
So whatever the reason for the ongoing delays are, keep your eyes peeled as it surely can't be much longer - can it?
Comments 89
Oh, scalper...
Whatever about electromagnetic interference, it's scalpermagnetic interference just like the NES Classic Mini will be through the roof.
I can't pre-order it my country, the Netherlands, because it was "sold out" in mere minutes.
Thanks Nintendo
So once the Americans are allowed to pre-order in their own country does that mean they'll cancel the orders they've made over here to allow us UK folk to buy from our UK shops?
It should be but y'know, scalpers...
Well I still have a wait and see approach. If I can get my hands on one great if not oh well. 😒
I know there isn't a realistic way to take care of it, but I wish scalpers would earn themselves a few weeks in jail or something. I'm sick of even hearing about them. Get a job and quit making things difficult for others.
If preorders don't open I and they are just as hard to find I'll get on on eBay later.
"You Still Can't Pre-Order The Super NES Classic In The US, And This Could Be Why"
Can we stop using these clickbait style headlines. It's really unprofessional.
@chardir You'll never believe reason #4 that you can't preorder it!
Btw, I think the scalpers have Tons of money to buy all of those Mini SNES, then they sell with insane prices. Where do they get that amount of money ??
Let the scalping begin...
@Anti-Matter NES Minis
@Anti-Matter credit cards. I've got upwards of 30,000 dollars in credit I'm not using. Saving it for silly things like not being 30,000 more dollars in debt.
@chardir Eh, I see nothing wrong with it as long as the article is good and the title not misleading. News publications have been doing this for ages. "Your children may be in DANGER... news at eleven!"
I don't think they will go up for preorder, the Mini NES never did.
The system releases in 2 1/2 months yet, according to some, scaplers are the reason why they haven't been able to purchase one. We should reserve our complaining until after the release date.
GameStop won't take preorderss as they didn't for the nes mini lol
Why do they even bother making these if these will be limited and inaccessible at MSRP? Nintendo should give an "inconvenience discount " for other products sold to gamers who show proof they had to buy limited products from scalpers.
@RetroTyGuy
Fighting the frizzies at eleven.
@Anti-Matter by working hard
Maybe NOA is giving it the NBA Playgrounds update treatment . . . .
And I still can't find a Switch Console for $299.
I've already come to terms that I will never find it. A shame, cause I didn't think I was asking for much to just get one.
Waiting with my finger on the trigger. Hoping for 2 units but planning on zero.
Also...the FCC probably is taking so long because it can't find a unit to review....amiright??? Lol
I've said it before. It's the online retailers who at fault. If they built their ordering system like those that sell concert and movie tickets, everything would be ok. They need to give you 5 min or so once you get the flipping thing in your shopping cart to buy it!
Ah, the joys of bureaucratic red tape.
If someone could just figure out a way to limit sales to one per customer it would at least make it more difficult for scalpers. Heck, I'd let them scan my photo ID and signature and take a photo of me and check against a central database if it would truly help the scalping problem. Lol. I mean... I think I would.
What could retailers even do to combat scalping? Let's really ask ourselves this. Should they conduct interviews with buyers to see what use they're actually going to have with the system? A person with money is a person with money regardless of what they do once they leave the store. The only way to combat them, is to beat them to the punch
At this point, I'm not sure Nintendo can do anything to make the Snes preorder process smooth.
I have read and heard horror stories in the UK. The silence about when we( America) can order, the silence about where we can order, the skin each on amount of consoles that are available.... if you made a checklist of ways to frustrate and confound, I'm positive Big N is batting 1.000
I am already certain that I can't preorder, because between work, school, and life, I can't sit on a site refreshing. I'm certain I won't see one in the wild. I'm certain I'm not paying a scalper a dime over retail. I'm 27 going on 50 I guess, because I don't understand why we can't just line up outside a store and get one. One physical body to get one physical console.
I'm not smart enough to understand how making potential consumers annoyed equals profit, but I am dumb enough to hope that MAYBE the wait is Nintendo actually getting stock together and rolling out a comprehensive, aka informing us of the date in advance and providing availability numbers.
I would love a SNES mini but I doubt I will find one this holiday season. If I don't I will pick up the Atari Flashback Gold
NOA was pretty stupid for not starting the process earlier, if this is the case. Screw their incompetence.
Based on what we've seen in the UK ???? Most online retailers have implemented a 1 per customer limit, not like last time!
I almost want them to just not have it available for pre-orders at all. You go to the store on release day and whoever gets there first gets it. Might help to deter scalpers some too, because people waiting in the store that see someone buying 10 of them would start a riot if they sold out.
@aaronsullivan There's nothing to figure out. That's been possible for years, they just chose not to limit sales per customer for some reason.
As for all the hate directed towards scalpers... I'm upset that I wasn't able to get an NES classic too, and I'm upset Nintendo didn't produce more - but I'm more upset at the idiots willing to pay $300. People have been buying and reselling at a profit since the beginning of time. Scalpers are not the ones dictating the price. It's the morons who for some reason decided to pay $300 for one.
Well, I wish all you fellow yanks good luck. Living over here in Europe already allowed me to pre-order. Sure glad that I didn't miss out like with the NES Mini, because that was a huge bummer.
@Eddyson Go to your local Game Mania, or try a couple of them. They don't take online pre-orders, but you can sign up in the shops. You do have to pay, though, but delivery is guaranteed. Got my pre-order done last Saturday, so maybe there's still hope for you.
Good luck.
What the heck? The MAJOR problem with making the assertion that Nintendo might not allow pre-orders for the SNES Mini because "scalpers gobbled up all the NES Mini pre-orders" is that NINTENDO DIDN'T ALLOW NES MINI PRE-ORDERS IN THE FIRST PLACE, which is what caused such a messy launch.
Love this site, but Clickbait-styled headlines like this one and poorly-researched articles like this one are disappointing.
I hate Nintendo for not allowing pre-orders of this console. I would have gotten a NES Classic Mini if they didn't ban pre-orders.
Stores could easily combat scalpers by restricting the number of quantity sold to a specific customer. The item limit should be 1 qty per person per household per month. If store only had 20 of said items and one person could buy all 20 of them in one transaction then this is the problem. I remember buying an Acer laptop from Micro Center a few years back, they only had 50 of those kind and they had limits on those laptops. Once you buy one, you can't buy another one of the same item so to assure every customer had a chance to get one. If two customers from the same address are attempting to buy that same item, they wouldn't allowed it either. They do say that after a month, that same customer could return and buy that same item again but still can only be just one if stocks are still available. Now if only Nintendo had this rule apply to their retailers.
@TheFatPlumber maybe if people from EU did not brag about how their SNES is better looking nobody from NA would have wanted it
@retro_player_22 the NES mini was 1 per household, I tried to buy a second one and I got an error that the store did not ship to my postal code
@ValhallaOutcast The problem is not every store does that. The Target near my place usually gave out tickets to whoever arrive early to get one but there are some Targets and Walmart out there that will just open the door then had everyone rush in to the electronic section to buy one and usually the first person in line tends to attempt to buy more or all of them. There's also the problem of store employees buying the item for themselves too then reselling them online for scalper's price.
Why the hell does this affect Canada? We can't pre-order the units either. We have the CRTC, which is separate from 'Murica.
@EVIL-C I bet we wont get a preorder even if Murica does
@HeroponRiki
That's the way they should do it. But limit one per customer.
@Whopper744
Also, there's no way to quantify the number of legit fans buying it vs. scalpers.
What irritates me through the roof is the implication that "OMG 90% are being scapled!!!", "Scalper this, scalper that. Ugh... I doubt it's even a full 1% being resold immediately.
@ValhallaOutcast Why not? Seems unusual to me.
This is bad PR for Nintendo. They should make more to meet demand for both Mini NES and SNES even if it costs them. It's not like they are being given away for free! People are willing to pay money to own them. Instead its leaving me with a bad impression of a company I have had a lot of respect for over the decades.
Also why cant Nintendo release a NES and SNES compilation? I would rather have that TBH then I can take the games with me.
@PAppleyard Compilation = less revenue, simple.
@ValhallaOutcast
Can't help it is it's true!
@aaronsullivan Can't find a link but I think the NY store was asking for ID, limiting it to 1 per month or something like that. For the SNES Mini they'll probably brand you w/ a tattoo. My kid still plays his NES Mini almost every day but I think we already own all of the 20 SNES games that they want, so SF2 isn't worth $80 plus time served. (All Nintendo products need to come w/ a "plus time served" addendum.)
Well, the NES Classic was something you could never preorder in NA. The SNES Classic is going down the same path. Blame it on FCC all u want.
@TruenoGT
Good point. Source also says the Japanese pre-orders are all gone in Japan, which is 100% wrong. They haven't began, as you said. Hell, I'm in Tokyo at this very moment.
@ThanosReXXX
I'll go first thing tomorrow!
Thanks for the heads up, it is much appreciated.
@letsplay
Just keep looking. Walmart here in Dalton GA had them fully stocked last night. The entire shelf was full, even to the back of the shelf.
@Eddyson You're welcome. Hope you can find a Game Mania that still has a pre-order available for you.
@MailOrderNinja It did
The only reason I have one is because I got a Target preorder
Don't care anymore! I bought me a Raspberry Pi 3 and a couple of usb controllers and I am building a RetroPie box.
If Nintendo refuses to sell me their products, I will take matters into my own hands.
@aaronsullivan Scalepers use bots to buy up everthing online. Most scalpers are not buying the things inperson instore.
The bots could be defeated if the stores would use Captcha.
Pre-Ordered one now Pre-orders now open in spain
got it from Shopping Mall El corte ingles lucky me
http://i.imgur.com/m262e9n.jpg
On other hand Nintendo switch is still sold out in spain
for several months now impossible almost to get one
so i get that one later
Must be a slow news day at NintendoLife.
@Eddyson
Sorry I ordered mine from netherlands because the UK sold out (and it took from you), whilst I expect americans have ordered from the UK taking up UK stock.
Amazon UK limited sales to one per account and I imagine the other retailers did as well
@Rumncoke25
this is the core of the problem, there has been no planned order date/time so everyone knows when to order, instead people are relying on social media spreading the news and able to sit refreshing all day, this current system benefits scalpers as they have developed automated tools.
@roadrunner343 I dont blame the scalpers, it is nintendo who chose to under supply the product, whilst the scalpers are selling for a big profit, they at least give a chance to those who missed the official stock.
There is many on here who have admitted themselves they ordered extra just in case friends or family wanted one.
@Eddyson I dont know if argos ship to the netherlands, but you can try them, bookmark this page, they going to do more pre orders, but no idea when sadly.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7156627
If they only ship to the uk, then maybe someone in the uk can send it to you, such as myself. I plan to try and get one and if I succeed keep my dutch order as backup, but if I get both I can send you the one from netherlands.
@chrcoluk I definitely would have done the same, especially at the $60 price point. Unfortunately, I couldn't get one, never mind 2 or 3 =) And if no one I knew wanted one (unlikely) of course I would have sold it off. Hard to blame the person selling for stupid people bidding up to $300 for one of these things.
Yes, Nintendo is also partially to blame. I understand the grossly underestimated demand (it happens), but what I don't understand, is why they would choose to discontinue a product that is selling like crazy.
I think its been used to push a future enhanced VC service on the switch, that would make business sense providing it pays off.
After this i'm done. I don't care if they announce an N64 mini, i'm not going to bother, Too much hassle. Hopefully any of the 2 preorders i made fall through (I'd be a miracle if both came through)
in Australia EB games told me: sorry cant take any more pre orders and that they were the fasting selling preorders in history of the company.
And yet plug n plays, consoles, handhelds and various other electric devices have plenty of room to spread out on the shelves. I call bs
@chrcoluk
Thanks!
I'll try if needed.
@rjejr That's right. NintendoNY's method asks for ID and a credit card (no cash because it can't be tracked) and the limit is 1 per person every 30 days. It works for them because they don't have any kind of store loyalty program or account system like Best Buy, Gamestop, and Amazon and they're the only store (so far).
My idea though is for the retailers that have an account system, why can't they limit the sale at the system level? Purchase history can be looked up at most retailers by now. Their systems also allow the creation of preorders. Why not limit preorders to only account holders? And then the preorder system will check the account if a customer has already preordered the item, if not add it to the account. Maybe limit an account a total of one online and one in-store preorder (I know Best Buy treats those separate because you don't have to put down the whole amount in-store, because you can only pick it up at the store you put the preorder in, whereas an online preorder must have the full amount paid). This would stop scalpers from obtaining more quantity. Even on the release date (gonna use the Switch as an example) Best Buy limited the customers to either preorder pickup or general sale. The preorder customers could not buy a second Switch even if they waited on the line. If the SNES gets preorders, I'll assume that the same game plan will be used.
Or, ditch preorders again for NA and lump everyone together on the line. Scalpers are going to have to get the family out and wait at different stores, but whatever.
If Nintendo doesn't do pre-orders again, I swear, I'm camping outside of my local GameStop overnight. I am NOT missing out on one of these.
Clearly no pre order is a better system than this, because we know midnight 29 sept they released, so everyone is on a equal footing they know when to try and buy one, with this pre order system, no advance notice given, its pot luck if you happen to be trying to get one at the right time or some how you found out very quickly after orders opened.
I think the retailers could have done better by pre announcing when they open for orders, they also could accept further orders, so if more slots open up they get allocated.
Nintendo clearly could do better by making to order, they have a massive 3 month advance, and should be able to adapt to match demand, but they dont seem to want to. For a limited run they should have just said, order between now and 29 sept , we will honour all orders but after 29 sept it is done.
I was ready to pre-order one the day it was announced (SNES is still my favorite Nintendo system, home console or handheld, of all-time). Whatever the reason for not being able to do so, it's disappointing and what's more galling is that if you don't get a pre-order in you can't get one for a reasonable price. It's stuff like this that makes it tough for me to love Nintendo.
Mashing F5 constantly is archaic. Neanderthalian, even. Here you go:
http://www.nowinstock.net/videogaming/consoles/nintendosnesclassicedition/
Don't stress yourself out for a piece of tech's sake. The tech should be working for YOU, not the other way around.
And yeah, it takes time for a product to be tested to meet the FCC Declaration of Conformity. Parts 15 and 18 are most relevant here. For example:
http://www.metlabs.com/services/wireless-and-rf-testing/fcc-a2la-accredited-testing-services/
Comrade Dog here is dutifully testing out a new wearable device. I can only hope Ajit Pai and the other corporate lackeys are also required to test them, dogs that they are.
Ah, pre-order culture. Who doesn't love giving scalpers an easy way to buy?
Doesn't explain why we can't pre-order in Canada yet though. We're not subject to the FCC (although I'm sure they'd like to think we are). We're a sovereign country with our own rules and regulations. So why is the SNES Classic not available to pre-order in Canada yet?
@DarthFoxMcCloud For the best, you don't want the Canadian stock to be depleted by both countries.
I can't wait to read Reggie's embarrassingly buffoonish explanation about how not producing enough units was wise company policy, and in fact was "what the fans wanted."
@ThanosReXXX
Got em!
In a rather roundabout way though.
I have to pick it up in another city, but I'm not complaining.
Thanks for tip or else I wouldn't have had one.
@Eddyson Nice! Good to hear. And now, the long wait until the 29th of September begins...
@PlywoodStick That now in stock site is a great site.
That is, if you want to be constantly reminded that eBay has more than enough stock...
@masterLEON "NintendoNY's method asks for ID and a credit card"
Thanks for the confirmation. There might have been a lot of them going to straight onto eBay if people could buy 1 a day every day. I'm sure some people were upset about the limitation - what if you have 2 kids who each want 1 for example? - but it's what needs to be done w/ Ntinedo's ridiculously low stock issues. Hopefully they at least make 10x more of the SNES.
@rjejr I forgot to mention that NintendoNY limited the sale to 1 per person every 30 days.
Hopefully we're going to get at least double at launch. If that French inventory leak article is anything to go by.
I got one from game uk now, so finally managed to get one from a uk retailer.
@Rumncoke25 Nice post dude! I think you hit the nail on the head of what pretty much everyone thinks and, maybe even... hopes!
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