If you were not lucky enough to get your hands on an NES Classic Edition or didn’t have the pockets deep enough to justify paying 10 times what the system is actually worth to some EBay scalper, Nintendo is hoping to make you the proud owner of the highly successful and sought-after NES Classic Edition in the near future. Nintendo is putting the NES Classic back into production and is saying the system will be available in 2018, alongside the mass quantities of the SNES Classic Edition.
Nintendo is set to have a Nintendo Direct event today, but the news of the NES Classic Editions being sent back to production is already capturing the headlines in all regions, first in Japan, then in Europe, and now in North America. But the system containing versions of Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid and many other NES classics will not be out for the holiday season. Instead, it appears the target re-release of the system could be coming next summer. Here’s hoping Nintendo uses that extra time to expand the length of the controllers (or makes a wireless controller instead).
“We’re happy to confirm that we’ll continue to ship stock of the Nintendo Classic Mini: Super Nintendo Entertainment System to Europe in 2018,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer. “In addition, next summer we’ll also bring the Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System back to Europe. More information will be shared in the future.”
Nintendo Life also reported Japan’s Famicom Classic Edition will be returning next summer, so North American Nintendo fans should probably prepare for a summer release as well.
As of now there is no official release date for the console to return to shelves, but we can only hope Nintendo is taking the time to sort through its availability concerns ahead of time. And it would not be shocking if Nintendo throws in a few other nice extras from the original console. In addition to longer wires for controllers or wireless controllers, throwing in a few extra NES classic titles that didn’t make the cut would be a nice incentive. Nintendo must be concerned about the EBay scalping issue, because the company is advising customers not to resort to EBay, as there will (hopefully) be plenty fo available units this time.
Nintendo is set to release the Super NES Classic Edition later this month. Aware of the perils that led to the mass hysteria and negative reaction to the NES Classic Edition, Nintendo continues to promise the total units of the SNES Classic Edition will be increased significantly. What’s more, Nintendo has already committed to extending the lifecycle of the SNES Classic Edition. Production of the units was originally scheduled to end at the end of 2017, but Nintendo will continue production in 2018 to help anyone who wants one to have a fair chance to get one.
Good luck!
