On its surface, the Super NES mini gives a sense of Nintendo offering less for more simply because they can. It seems unlikely that the console itself will be significantly more expensive to produce, and to add to the pricing disconnect, the new machine will include only 21 games versus the 30 on its 8-bit predecessor. Given that second NES mini controllers sold for $10, it looks like Nintendo added a $10 surcharge in there just because they could. Where the NES mini shipped at a tidy $60, the same price as a brand new console game, the Super NES iteration bumps the sticker price up $80. The bonus controller comes with a cost, though. And no indication of whether or not the controller cords will account for the fact that people no longer sit two feet away from their screens in this age of 60" flatpanel screens.) (There is, as of yet, no word on how we're meant to include the third player in Secret of Mana. Authentically ugly, just like the American Super NES
Including a second controller right in the box should help mitigate that pain somewhat, which will prove essential for full enjoyment of games like Street Fighter II, Super Mario Kart, and even the weird two-player option in Final Fantasy III (née VI). Second controllers for the NES Mini (or at least high-quality first-party devices rather than unreliable third-party controllers) were tough to come by, much like the system itself, rendering two-player NES games difficult to enjoy in their intended format. Most critically, the console now comes with two controllers rather than one. Now, I'm not optimistic that they've learned the most important lesson of all - namely, make insanely popular products available in sufficient quantities that your most enthusiastic fans are no longer forced to pay premiums from eBay scalpers - but even so, the newly announced Super NES Classic Edition rectifies a few crucial issues with last year's device. I have to hand it to Nintendo: They seem to have learned at least one lesson from the rocky, controversial, and outlandishly brief life of the Classic NES Edition mini-console. Surprising absolutely no one, Nintendo announced a new mini-console for this fall: The logical successor to last year's model, the Super NES Classic Edition. Mission control for retronauts former EIC of 1UP.com and taking dapper (and frogs) back from the Nazis.