It's been known for a good while that the innards of the SNES Classic Mini are pretty much the same as the NES Classic Mini. It makes perfect logistical sense for Nintendo and no doubt means solid profits on each unit, but it also raises questions around supply issues and what Nintendo may need to do for future 'Classic' consoles, should it opt to make more.
The teardown below, by The Ben Heck Show, is a pretty interesting take on the construction of the little SNES. He doesn't pull his punches, either, questioning the logic behind some shortages, cable lengths and so on.
What do you think of this teardown and some of the questions it poses? Would you like to see Nintendo produce a Nintendo 64 Classic, and do you feel criticism around some of the choices with the NES and SNES model is fair? Sound off in the comments.
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From what I hear the NES Classics were actually made with leftover Wii parts which was largely the reason why Nintendo struggled to keep up with demand so much
NES was a disaster.......SNES has been better. I randomly see them in stores at least.
With NES coming back next year hopefully they have enough supply to thwart the scalpers.......and hopefully the population is smart enough to ignore the scalpers. If no one bought them for $250 then the scalpers would disappear
This is a good example of where NL could post a summary. I don't really enjoy watching Ben's videos, but an overview would have been nice.
The extra RAM probably is mostly due to the rewind feature. Depending on the game, it can rollback pretty far and that data has to be stored somewhere. Plus the ROMs are larger also. 6 Mbit I believe was the largest NES game vs. 48 Mbit for the largest SNES game.
@Gerbwmu The best way to defeat scalpers is with a steady supply. If anyone can just walk into a major retail store and purchase one for the retail price, scalpers don't stand a chance.
@Gerbwmu
Well said. If we all united , the scalpers would burn!!!!!!!!
@Lizuka Randomly came across one this morning and snactched it up. Im doing my best to hold out to give it to my kids for christmas but I dont think its gonna happen lo!l
The SNES Classic is awesome and a huge value for the asking price. I've been playing FFIII for the first time and it's probably my favorite Final Fantasy game...
I still need to find an NES Classic, so I'll be on the lookout next year. If they do end up making an N64 Classic I would love to see Bomberman 64 and Goemon's Great Adventure make the cut. Those games are multiplayer gold...
The supply seems much better than the NES classic.I've actually seen one in store on it's own.
Have the SNES Classic, hacked it to dual boot into the NES classic firmware. So now I have both. Click a "game" and it reboots into NES, click another "game" and it reboots back to SNES. Best of both worlds.
I guarantee next year we’ll get a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition or a Gameboy Classic Edition next year.
@AirElephant I totally agree. He's just far too snarky and impressed with himself, although does provide some good info.
A N64 Classic would have three major problems:
1. The system wasn't nearly as popular as its two predecessors. It sold 16 million fewer units than the SNES, and lost badly to the PS1 in terms of overall sales. The conventional wisdom is also that its library is weaker and most games haven't aged very well (when compared to the SNES).
2. The controller would be a lot more expensive to manufacture, which would be reflected in both the price of the bundle and the quality (you get two controllers with the SNES Classic, whereas the N64 would most certainly come with only one despite its many great multiplayer games). They would also have to somehow make the control stick less flimsy and rage-inducing.
3. Many of the N64's most popular games were developed or published by Rare. Acquiring the rights to use them could be difficult and expensive.
This isn't to say it can't be done or that there wouldn't be a market for it, but they'd need to find a way to overcome each of these hurdles. Personally I wouldn't be interested, as I already have an N64 and have or would be able to acquire (Virtual Console, ports) any games I'd actually want to play.
Zero interest in a N64 Mini. N64 games have not aged well and look like ass on a hdtv whereas NES and SNES games have a timeless look to them. Most N64 games look only marginally better, but certainly more colorful, than their contemporaries in the 5th generation consoles and those competitors’ graphics looked terrible back then and they look even worse now to the point of borderline unplayable unless it’s a 2D game.
It's a nice piece of kit overall. It does what it's supposed to as good or a little better than it should have too. An N64 would be cool but, I'd rather see a GameBoy Classic first. Put 40 games on it, sell it for $59.99 and I'll probably buy 2.
I'm all in for as many mini systems as they can throw at us.
@redd214 I went to Target this morning to buy my son an xbox for Christmas and they literally had 10 Snes Minis. I was surprised but the clerk told me they've been getting a steady supply of about 8 or 10 a week.
Not sure if I want an N64 Classic so much as the Wii/Wii U VC-compatible N64 controllers. Maybe if it comes with PilotWings 64, Mario Party 3, Lego Racer, and Glover.
As I suspected. Inside the SNES Mini is a green board with some black rectangles on it
I’d buy a mini N64 in a heartbeat. Actually, I’d love a mini PS1and Saturn too! It was definitely one of the most inventive and original eras for games.
The N64 is hardly even a rumor anymore, thanks to...some things Nintendo themselves published themselves, that you can read online right now. Not that NL will write about it...but look it up if you want to be spoiled.
@Wolfgabe For the 10000th time, NO. The Nes and SNES classic use an ARM processor WHICH THE WII DOESN'T HAVE.
Jesus!
One maybe will call me a fool, but I do not regret that I bought two NES mini and two SNES mini. Apart from one SNES mini, the rest three are boxed. If Nintendo decides to make a N64 mini I will buy it twice as well.
In my collection I own NES mini, SNES mini, ATARI mini and SEGA mega drive mini (from atgames company).
A N64 mini would complete my collection of minies. I wish they will make it.
@StarVox
I thought about buying an extra SNES Mini as well but thought that might be a bit of a waste, especially having 3 versions of the SNES/SFC CE, US and EU SNES CE and Japanese SFC Mini. How is the Sega Mini from Atgames?
Difficult to see the future is..
But considering how protective Big N is over their legacy content and how popular it's become to hack a mini. I foresee the mini gone with the wind like the Xperia Play.. With the Switch now in full swing. The legacy library will bring lots of attention to their paid subscription plans. Love classics and the snes mini is an absolute marvel.
I would go for an official Gameboy/GBA mini with gorgeous back lit screen, Belmonts Revenge, and Ninja Five 0.
@Don Unfortunately I got the AV cable version and not the HDMI ones. So the picture has not the best quality, but at least they give some nostalgia feeling.
As cnsoles both Atari and SEGA, are nice for the collection. The Atari joystick is very nice and it feels very original. Sega is just Sega, and it feels like cheap plastic. I could send you a picture of these if you like. But they both lack in games. For eg. on Atari the only good game is Pitfall and on Sega only Sony.
All in all they are good only for collection and decoration reasons. And as for gameplay I prefer the emulators.
@Minotaurgamer I am serious someone from work actually told me the NES Classic used leftover Wii parts
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