How, where and when you can finally buy the NES Classic
The NES Classic Edition will finally be available for purchase on Friday, Nov. 11. And now we know how the whole process will work.
Nintendo made the bizarre decision to offer no pre-orders -- some retailers did briefly, but that's all -- for what promises to be one of the more popular holiday gifts of 2016. The NES Classic is a $60 micro-sized version of the original console, with 30 games pre-installed and HDMI-ready for modern TVs.
A Wednesday email from Amazon confirmed that the NES Classic will be available for purchase starting on Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Purchases will be limited to one per person. As is customary for Nintendo hardware releases, expect supplies to be limited.
You May Also Like
"Please act quickly at 2:00 p.m. PT on Friday for your best chance at buying an NES Classic," Amazon's email warns. "Demand is expected to be very high, and there's no guarantee that it will remain in stock for long."
The timing is less
We've been having a lot of fun with our NES Classic review unit. The games look gorgeous on the console's "Pixel Perfect" setting that rounds off pixel edges for a smoother image. And the addition of save states makes it easy to hang onto your progress in 30-year-old games.
The only real downside to this package is the controller. While the gamepad itself is a fine recreation of the original, the cord that connects it to the mini-console is only two feet long. That's a real problem in larger living rooms, especially if you like playing games from the couch.
There are third-party cable extenders, and the NES Classic also supports the Wii Classic and Wii U Pro controllers. But really, it would have been nice to see Nintendo simply make the cord a little longer.
Assuming you can get past that admittedly minor shortcoming, get ready to form a digital line on Friday afternoon.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
