So you missed out on pre-ordering a Nintendo Classic Mini NES. Most people did; EB Games’ website crashed two days in a row under the sheer volume of gamers trying to buy the console online. The games retailer has sold out of the console yet again. If you still desperately want to get one, here are a few options you can resort to.
Online Auction Sites
This is the most obvious answer to those who have missed out on the Mini NES. The good news is, there are plenty of people flogging it on Ebay and Gumtree. The bad news is the console is being sold at inflated prices.
That’s to be expected. On Ebay, we’ve seen the Nintendo Classic Mini NES being sold for around $250 although some sellers are listing the item for over $300.
We’ve seen similar prices over on Gumtree. Some brazen sellers have even listed their Mini NES consoles for $400. Considering the Mini NES retails for $99, these prices may be hard to swallow.
So if you don’t mind paying through the nose for one, there are quite a few Mini NES units being sold on Ebay and Gumtree.
Please do exercise caution when you are buying off these websites. Somebody recently snapped up a Nintendo Classic Mini NES box for $100 on Ebay. Yes, just the cardboard box. We suspect that it could have been an accident so make sure you read the item description carefully on these online buying websites. It might be worth paying for the item through PayPal so you can get Buyer Protection.
Can I Buy It Overseas?
We’ve looked at overseas retailers as well and it appears the Mini NES drought is a global phenomenon. You can buy it off Amazon but prices are just as ridiculous as they are locally (even more so when you factor in shipping costs) and some stores on there don’t even ship to Australia.
Build Your Own
If you’re really desperate but don’t want to spend $250-$400 to get the Nintendo Classic Mini NES, you can build your own. What you’ll need is a Raspberry Pi and a 3D printed case. If you don’t have a 3D printer, maybe ask a friend nicely to borrow their unit. There are also 3D printing services you can call on for this project.
You can find the instructions for this DIY Nintendo Classic Mini NES here.
Did you manage to get your hands on Nintendo Classic Mini NES or put in a pre-order for one? Will you be trying your luck on online buying sites? Let us know in the comments.
Comments
6 responses to “Where To Buy The Nintendo Classic Mini NES”
Building my own! I love the idea of the mini NES but the idea of being limited to those games, one system and the system being completely sold out drove me to getting a Pi. For about $150 I got a kit and a bunch of USB controllers. Looking forward to this little project. Been looking at a bunch of other stuff I can do with it too (Kodi).
Maybe look at setting up a Plex server and use the Pi as a client.
My mate does so for his movie collection and has the server transcode on the fly if the content is incompatible.
I especially know the last part. Almost landed a US version of the NES Classic only to have Amazon fake a out of stock error so they could change the item details to not ship to Australia.
This happened the other day where they sent out emails to customers who had registered there interest in preordering.
That aside though, I was only seeking the English unit for a friend of my brother. As for myself, I saw early on I had as much chance as getting one as getting a date with Kimberly Davis (with or without TimTams).
So, despite the higher price, I bought the Japanese version. It arrived yesterday and despite the language barrier (I can only just read one or two words besides Game Over) I’m actually having fun with this unit.
It is sad that while it looks the same as the original (albeit scaled down), there is no microphone on the second controller. The shape of the plastic is for show which is kind of a let down as it would have been nice to try that feature out.
That aside, what I really like is some of the games are actually the Disk System version of the games.
Off the top of my head, there are both Zelda games, Metroid and Castlevania 1. Oddly enough, Super Mario Bros. 2 isn’t here.
They have the US version but that was a port and sprite swap of the Disk System game Doki Doki Panic. SMB 2 was also a Disk System game so overall, I’m still scratching my head why those two aren’t here.
Stranger still though, some of these games are actually in English. I’m not kidding; the introductory story to Zelda 1 is in full English.
Maybe they were in the process of translating this game for the western NES Classic and then aborted and mixed up the masters? Dunno.
Never the less, despite getting my but kicked (still don’t know what possessed me to try Ninja Gaiden) I’m enjoying the ride.
If one doesn’t mind the language barrier, maybe try getting the Japanese model.
Oh I read this on Lifehacker and it’s so Lifehacker it hurts hahah.
Disclaimer: I love Lifehacker….
Target are going to be selling them in December. On their website it says look out for more info closer to the time. So….line up pretty early and get one?
Although I can imagine with the close vicinity to Xmas those lines are going to swell pretty quickly!
Won’t help much, they’re only selling them online like EB this time around – because it obviously went so well for EB…