In this episode of Nintendo's new online web show the Nintendo Minute they show off the upcoming NES Classic and quite a few games that come with it. There are a few details confirmed here such as the 3 foot long controllers and the incredible NES Classic interface in action. Not thrilled with the cord length and i'm honestly curious what the thinking was here? Do they expect us to stretch out the HDMI cable to make room from the TV to the couch? I hope someone makes some extension cables or something because that would make using the system in the living room much easier. I imagine if you were plugging the NES classic in to your monitor then the small cords wouldn't matter as much but this system is made for the living room.

Regardless of "NES Cordgate" I'm picking one up because it's pretty incredible and I saw an unboxing today that made things even more compelling. Not only does the NES Classic come in a box that pays homage to the original but it also comes with a poster that looks like it stepped right out of the 80's. If you want to watch the unboxing hit the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tge1sHXHqps

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 04:00am

Interesting. I think I'd like to see some other games played on it (like SMB3). The controller cable length does stink. The Genesis that I got years ago, which looks similar in size, uses wireless controllers. I wonder why Nintendo didn't do that for this (granted we're talking about two different companies). My guess is that they decided to keep the cord for nostalgia, which is pretty much what this new mini-NES is all about. I have a small area set up. My TV is sitting on top of a dresser which is to the right of my PC. Then I have two "computer" chairs, one in front of my PC and one (belonging to my son) in front of the TV. So, I can imagine hooking it up and playing it easily enough. I'm glad that it has an HDMI cable. I'm also curious as to whether or not the power cable is actually some form of USB, which I think would be great.

I'm still not sure about getting this, I think I may wait and see. Who knows what Santa might bring me for being a good boy this year! LOL

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 11/03/2016 at 04:26am

> The Genesis that I got years ago, which looks similar in size, uses wireless controllers. I wonder why Nintendo didn't do that for this (granted we're talking about two different companies).

Keep costs low. This is a $60 system "cutting the cord length" shaves off a few pennies and allows the packaging to be small.

> My guess is that they decided to keep the cord for nostalgia, which is pretty much what this new mini-NES is all about.

You know that is true. Whereas the United States NES had way longer cords, the Japanese Famicom had SUPER short cords. This may well be a throw back to that. So, yeah they do save some money here but maybe it's an to the original Famicom controller length?

> I'm also curious as to whether or not the power cable is actually some form of USB, which I think would be great.

It is. The unboxing video shows it to be micro or mini USB powered.

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 04:59am

> Keep costs low. This is a $60 system "cutting the cord length" shaves off a few pennies and allows the packaging to be small.

That makes sense, although I'm sure this Genesis I bought years ago cost about that much, maybe even less, at my local grocery store (Kroger).

>You know that is true. Whereas the United States NES had way longer cords, the Japanese Famicom had SUPER short cords. >This may well be a throw back to that. So, yeah they do save some money here but maybe it's an to the original Famicom >controller length?

I remember the super long NES controller cables, those were sweet! I never knew much about the Famicom, but from what I can recall seeing, I think you're right and perhaps this small cable was a nostalgic nod to that.

>It is. The unboxing video shows it to be micro or mini USB powered.

That's what it looks like, which makes powering it so much easier. I can think of a few devices I have (Kindle, phone, etc.) that use that kind of power. Plus, if you can plug it into a USB port on your PC and then plug in the HDMI cable (if you have a free input port), you could totally play it on your PC, which would be sweet! I know my GTX 690 had extra HDMI slots, but I believe the 980Ti only has one.

Anyway, here's hoping that they release a new mini-SNES and maybe a mini-N64!!! Shall we go even further with a mini-Gamecube? Maybe all of that is just wishful thinking, but we shall see!

Speaking of the Gamecube, I think it's interesting that this new mini-NES is about the size of a Wavebird controller (I have one and love it).

Will_Ball   Game Mod   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 05:06am

Still not buying it.

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 11/03/2016 at 05:18am

> Still not buying it.

Hahahaha. Stay strong Will. Stay strong!

Travis   Admin wrote on 11/03/2016 at 01:09pm

And it comes with an HDMI cable. I swear nothing ever comes with HDMI cables. You get home with your new device and fuuuuuuuuuuuu no HDMI cable.

@greg the guy who did the unboxing also did a video of gameplay. Here's Mario 3: https://youtu.be/UOZ38n1QZ3Y?t=127

And those hdmi ports on your video card don't work as input I wouldn't imagine.

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 02:11pm

Thanks for the link, Travis. SMB3 looks pretty much how I remember it, with the graphically oddity on the left and right side of the screen. I wonder if that would change if it was played with the Pixel Perfect filter. I skipped through the video and SMB seems to look better, so I think he's still using the Pixel Perfect filter while playing it. If that's right, then that's cool that you can switch between that classic look and something cleaner.

Will_Ball   Game Mod   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 07:37pm

I just watched the gameplay video. Awesome watching those old games in action. I hope this does well. I would have bought one of these if they made it so you can add more games. I will just keeping powering on my original NES and playing games on that. :)

Travis   Admin wrote on 11/03/2016 at 08:14pm

Yeah Will, I'm kinda at that point. I'm drooling over this but I have probably 3/4 of the games on my shelf right now so it's not $60 worth. If I get it as a gift I'll love it!

Travis   Admin wrote on 11/03/2016 at 08:23pm

More news: yeah the controller situation is bad. If you have the console on the floor at your feet, it is stretched to the max when you're sitting in a chair. The only workable situation I can think of is sitting on the floor as far back as your HDMI cable will allow. Luckily you can get extensions for it.

Also, you can use the Wii Classic Controller with it and the Home button will let you change games so you don't have to hit the reset button.

Travis   Admin wrote on 11/03/2016 at 08:27pm
Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/03/2016 at 08:52pm

I thought that controller port looked familiar. I do have the Wii Classic Controller.

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 11/04/2016 at 03:10am

> Luckily you can get extensions for it.

Do you know who sells them? I haven't seen any yet.

> but I have probably 3/4 of the games on my shelf right now so it's not $60 worth. If I get it as a gift I'll love it!

I don't have many of these games. The popular ones I do but Balloon Fight and others I don't have. It's a savings for me just to round out my NES collection.

Travis   Admin wrote on 11/05/2016 at 03:23am

I thought I saw one on Amazon yesterday but now I can't find it. I may have seen it somewhere else.

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/05/2016 at 06:04am

I found an article about this. The more I read and see about it, the more I feel like getting it. I just wish we could get more games for it. Ultimately, I wish we could get the entire NES library, but that's pretty much a pipe dream (Mario puns anyone?). Still, I'm hoping Nintendo gives this same treatment to the other classic consoles that we know and love so much. Anyway, check out a small review:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-classic-edition-review/1100-6445134/

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/05/2016 at 06:06am
Travis   Admin wrote on 11/05/2016 at 02:18pm

I was talking about the extension cord.

Looks like there are a few up now. I wonder what was going on last night: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nes+classic+extension

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 11/05/2016 at 03:05pm

Thanks Travis. I'll be getting those!

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 11/10/2016 at 06:14am

If you want the new NES, but don't want to deal with that short controller cable, there's a solution (wireless):
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-classic-edition-gets-wireless-controller/1100-6445216/

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 11/10/2016 at 06:33am

That's a nice option. Thanks Greg!

Azurephile   Super Member wrote on 12/10/2016 at 07:10am

So, I told one of "Santa's" messengers that one thing I kind of want for Christmas is a NES Classic Edition that costs $60. However, Amazon is showing it for no less than $200. That's probably because the supply sucks. I watched a video about it that said stores only got a few of them. One guy tried to get it from GameStop, but they said they were sold out before the store even opened, the store's employees bought them. He said Wal-Mart only had about that many as well. You can check out the short video below.

https://youtu.be/8K0is0CkHFQ

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 12/10/2016 at 03:04pm

I call Target every morning but yesterday they said they got one in stock and someone was there at 5am for it. I don't think I'll have one under my tree this year.

Travis   Admin wrote on 12/10/2016 at 03:11pm

Yeah they really needed more supply. I keep hearing the "well, you should have pre-ordered it" argument but that's just not true. It's new (kinda) hardware that could absolutely suck, pre-ordering is dangerous.

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 12/10/2016 at 03:54pm

I'm not sure where you could pre-order it from? GameStop or something? Amazon certainly didn't allow that.

Travis   Admin wrote on 12/10/2016 at 04:00pm

Honestly I didn't look into the option of pre-ordering so I don't know. If you couldn't pre-order it, that makes the argument even worse! :D

jdodson   Admin   Post Author wrote on 12/10/2016 at 05:06pm

Yeah, I don't think you could have or I would.

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