Last week, Nintendo dealt a crushing blow to retro gaming fans when it announced that it was discontinuing the uber-popular NES Classic Edition. We’re still not sure what Nintendo was thinking — most companies do not choose to discontinue products that get such great reviews and sell out immediately and consistently across the globe — but the good news is, we might see a mini Super Nintendo at the end of the year.
According to Eurogamer — a publication with an excellent track record for this sort of thing — “sources close to Nintendo” confirmed that a mini SNES is planned for a Christmas launch. Eurogamer says that its sources indicate development is well on its way.
In fact, Eurogamer’s sources say that the development of the mini SNES may have led to the discontinuation of the NES Classic Edition:
Nintendo’s plans for SNES mini are also a major reason why last year’s NES mini did not see a reprieve from discontinuation, Eurogamer understands, despite the latter’s continued popularity and sell-out status.
Nintendo said that it never expected the NES Classic Edition to be “an ongoing, long-term product”, and was caught off guard by its success.
Hopefully, when it comes time for a mini SNES, the company will have learned its lesson. Last spring, Andrew Liszewski and I compiled our list of the 30 games Nintendo should include on a mini SNES. And if you’re not content waiting for Nintendo to release an official mini SNES console — that may or may not stay in production long enough for anyone who isn’t hoarding them for eBay to buy — you can always build your own Rasberry Pi-based console.
Everyone loved the NES Classic Edition. Nintendo, I implore you, don’t screw with our hearts and actually do a mini SNES the right way.