SNES Classic Mini: release date, price and games

Update: Pre-orders have been opening and closing like a shutter in a storm recently and though many people now have a SNES secured, there are just as many still looking to get one.

Considering the dearth of stock and the fact that this is the ideal Christmas gift, we wouldn't be surprised if people tried to order more than one when stock became available. Unfortunately, if you tried to do this via Amazon UK you're in for a bit of bad news as the retailer has retroactively limited orders to one per person.

In an email to customers posted on NeoGAF, Amazon put its decision down to "a change in availability." Whether this is because Amazon has been told it'll receive less stock than it initially thought or whether Nintendo has requested that Amazon enforce one-per-customer the rule that Nintendo itself had on its own site is unclear.

If you did managed to make an order through Amazon for more than one console, you'll still get your SNES. But you'll only get one.

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Nintendo is having a record year and looks set to dominate the 2017 holiday season. First the Nintendo Switch, a brand-new and highly praised The Legend of Zelda game, then trailers for Metroid Prime 4 and now, finally, the news of the SNES Classic Mini.

Like the NES Classic before it, the SNES iteration will be a petite, palm-sized console. While it has 9 fewer games than its re-release predecessor, the 21 16-bit classics squeezed onto the console are far better titles. It will be available this fall and, thankfully, Nintendo has promised it will be available in slightly larger numbers than last year’s NES Classic.

We got our first peek at the console on June 26, along with a release date for the 16-bit era hardware: September 29, 2017. There’s also a price tag to go along with it: $80 / /£79.99/ AU$ 119.95 – before you ask, yes, that’s a whole chunk of change more than last year’s NES Classic.

So what does that sticker price get you? A miniature version of one of Nintendo’s best systems and 21 games (listed further below) including Star Fox 2, a game that has never made its way out of Japan until now.

Cut to the chase

What is it? A plug-and-play home console that plays SNES games
How much will it cost? $79.99/£69.99/ AU$ 119.95
When does it come out? September 29 in UK and US, September 30 in AU

Features

What's in the box?

Like the NES Classic Mini before it, the SNES Classic Mini will come with pretty much everything you need to start playing right away in the box. It’s not much of a challenge to include these things since it’s a plug-and-play console. The 21 games come pre-loaded on the console so all you need is an HDMI cable to connect the console and your TV.

It also comes with a second controller in the box, unlike the NES Mini, so that you can sit cross-legged on the floor and enjoy the multiplayer games with your friends just like you used to.

Unfortunately these controllers don't appear to be able to plug into WiiMotes as the NES Mini's controllers used to, so you won't be able to use them to play your Wii Virtual Console games. However, with the death of the Wii U it's unlikely that many people are going to have WiiMotes lying around for much longer.

Thankfully this time, the wires on the controllers are longer so if you want to move back to the sofa (your knees are less forgiving than they used to be) you at least have the option.

It’s worth noting that something not included in the box is an AC adapter for the USB power cable, which you will need to plug it into the wall.

The appearance of the console that you pull out of the box will depend on where you purchase it from. Those in the UK will get the EU model of the console with its more colorful buttons while those in the US will, of course, receive the purple-accented US model.

Those in Japan will get a different model again: the Super Famicom Mini on October 5, a model whose design is more similar to the European version and will come with a slightly different selection of games.

What games are on it?

In the UK, US and Australia, the games pre-installed on the SNES Mini will be as follows:

Contra III: The Alien Wars™
Donkey Kong Country™
EarthBound™
Final Fantasy III
F-ZERO™
Kirby™ Super Star
Kirby’s Dream Course™
The Legend of Zelda™: A Link to the Past™
Mega Man® X
Secret of Mana
Star Fox™
Star Fox™ 2
Street Fighter® II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Super Castlevania IV™
Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts®
Super Mario Kart™
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars™
Super Mario World™
Super Metroid™
Super Punch-Out!!™
Yoshi’s Island™

You should note that Final Fantasy III is something of a confusing entry on this list, as it's more commonly known as Final Fantasy VI these days. This was the name it was originally released under in Japan, however when it came to the west it was only the third game in the series to do so - hence the 'III' - despite actually being the sixth game in the series overall.

But what about Chrono Trigger/Super Star Wars/other classics?!

Nintendo has included a lot of the console's classic games, but it was always inevitable that there were going to be some missing.

This was also the case with the NES Mini, but thankfully pretty soon after the console's original release, third-party modders stepped in to fill the gaps left by Nintendo with tools that would allow you to install additional games on the console.

Since this was an initiative that was in no way supported by Nintendo there's no guarantee that the same will be possible on the SNES Mini, but there's still hope.

Where can I get one?

Pre-orders for the console have gone live on Game UK and Amazon UK, though it appears stock is currently unavailable. Nintendo UK has launched pre-orders on its own official site where the console is being sold for £69.99. Despite being limited to one per customer, the pre-orders went very quickly but you can sign up to be alerted for when more stock comes in.

Amazon started taking pre-orders for the console again recently and appears to have lowered its price point from £79.99 to £69.99 to be in line with Nintendo's own pricing. Unfortunately, pre-orders have once again closed.

In Australia EB Games has set up a pre-order page too, as has JB Hi-Fi.

In the US there are currently no pre-order pages available just yet, so we’d advise that you wait until reputable retailers such as Amazon or GameStop set up product pages before spending your money.

Not having any luck getting your hands on one? Why not use our guide to build your own!