I am not going to into great depth regarding how Nintendo kept stating they'll get enough stock in to satisfy the demand, only for the product to sell out in minutes each time. When they discontinued the product, it was revealed that this was never their intention but they make fools of us by pulling the same stunt one more time by swearing it'll be better for the S.N.E.S. edition and allowing the preorders to sell out.
I suspect the motive for this is to pull a bait 'n switch. They make us reminisce over their old games to get us to the store during the christmas season, and when it turns out that the product is not actually there, the next best thing would be to buy a Nintendo Switch and buy into that game subscription service, or maybe a Wii U for the virtual console.
I do not quite trust their excuses either for two reasons. One is that they have lied about component shortages before. They claimed that getting good quality R.O.M. chips for their N64 cartridges was impossible, and worked out a deal with Namco to allow them to make their own cartridges if they could source cheaper components. This is why japanese editions of Namco cartridges for the Nintendo 64 look different from the standard issue ones Nintendo sold for everybody else.
More importantly, there seems to be no good reason that something like this could not be a viable as a long term product. Atgames has proven that there is a market for this sort of product for years. They have been selling that Sega licensed Firecore console since 2009, and Atari flashback systems since 2004. It seems like in anticipation of the S.N.E.S. classic edition, that they are beginning cleaning up their act and making a product to rival it: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/preorder-new-atari-2600-sega-genesis-consoles/, and having an H.D.M.I. output, it seems as if, they managed to ruin the audio anyway. I.G.N's. early review claims it pops and sounds garbled on some games. I hope it's just their review unit, but knowing Atgames' history, it's probably not for some foolish and inexcusable reason. Sigh, I was rather hopeful because reading some of the past comments,
it seemed as if they actually may have hired somebody who cared for once, but I suppose that is a little too optimistic of an expectation.
The main reason I bring this up is not only to point this out that there is a competing product, but also to bring up a good point. Not only is Nintendo making fools out of us by implementing such deceptive tactics, but they are teaching us that if we really want to actually products like the S.N.E.S. classic edition, it'd be better for us if their hardware division ended up failing like Sega's did because otherwise, they do not really want to sell it.
Aside from that, I probably will buy one if I can get one. The one thing I can't ignore is Starfox 2, which is mostly just because it has no other legal release. Unlike the N.E.S., the S.N.E.S. actually outputs good quality video signals. I also already have the console with 20 of the listed games and C.R.Ts. to avoid lag and other anachronisms. Moreover, parting with any of the good games in my S.N.E.S. collection is not something I would like to do, unless it meant getting another of equivalent value.
Regarding the game selection, again, I think some of the selections are questionable. Sure, Megaman 7 is a good game, and perhaps Castlevania and Contra are perhaps decent, but these are some of the less iconic games on the system. After the N.E.S. went on its way out, the classic series Megaman games were just completely overshadowed by the X series. Also, Street Fighter II is rereleased in various forms all the time. We just got Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers this may, and the definitive classic edition would be the arcade version.
I would've rather seen the missing Donkey Kong and Megaman X sequels in their place. Also, as much as I think Kirby Superstar is a great choice, I'm wondering if it is a bit too soon. Most people seem to prefer the Ultra version for the D.S. at this point, and Kirby's Dream Collection was also released for the Wii. Also, yes, I know, D.K.C. 3 is the black sheep of the family but it'd be a nice compliment to people who bought the Donkey Kong Country Returns games without ever seeing the original series, and using fewer publishers makes it easier to license.
Or, falling short of that, replacing it with Street Fighter Alpha II might also be an interesting addition, since it's a rarer release than Street Fighter II, and it'd still fulfill the fighting game niche. The Super Bomberman games would have also would have been much better representatives for Konami at this point in time. Granted, they aren't quite as fun without a multitap I suppose, but then again the same could probably be said of Secret of Mana, which supports up to three players, albeit perhaps to a lesser extent. Speaking of which, don't sell your Secret of Mana cartridges just yet folks, unless you're sure you'll never want to play the game without the multitap.
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Another consideration is that if we really must have iconic S.N.E.S. games, Killer Instinct may have also been worth licensing, due to its historic relationship with the S.N.E.S. as one of the games which helped to extend its lifespan due to its incredible pre-rendered graphics. Granted, the arcade edition is available for purchase now in Rare Replay, but I feel that it is a better choice of fighting game than Street Fighter II in this regard because Rare Replay is an Xbox One exclusive game, meaning that it is otherwise less available to loyal Nintendo customers, and I doubt Killer Instinct has been republished quite as much as the various iterations of Street Fighter II has.
Regarding the kirby games, I'm wondering if it's too soon for Superstar or not. Most people seem to prefer the D.S. version, and we also had the Dream Collection late in the Wii's life cycle. I can't really complain about Kirby's Dream Course though: It's really a surprisingly fun game, as most kirby spinoffs are, and I'm sure you folk will love it if you haven't tried it before.
Also, there are other games I would have liked to see on this thing; Star Ocean, Bahamut Lagoon, Pocky and Rocky II (I have the first one), Battle Ogre: March of the Black Queen or the original version of Tales of Phantasia which is oh so very different from the G.B.A. one. However, at the same time, I realize how incredibly unlikely those particular choices are, sigh. I should have paid more attention when these games were probably cheaper than they are now.
