GBA-Based Classic NES Series Confirmed For States

Thanks to IGN for its article revealing that Nintendo has confirmed their Game Boy Advance-based classic NES conversions for U.S. release on June 7th. According to the article: "The collection [already released in Japan as the Famicom Mini Series] will be called [the] Classic NES Series, and will begin as a limited edition NES Game Boy Advance SP as well as a line-up of eight classic games", with the specific titles being Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Excitebike, Ice Climber, Xevious, and Bomberman. The piece also notes: "Each game in the series will be priced at $19.99, and will be packaged in a standard Game Boy Advance box featuring the classic artwork of the original game."

Comments

Cue The Complaints...

[shadowcabbit]

I'm all for a re-release of the classics-- especially the original Legend of Zelda (stupid save batteries dying... grr...)-- but I am also very much of the opinion that $20 per game is WAY overpriced. Fortunately for me I still have my e-reader and copies of DK, Excitebike, and Ice Climber, and I also picked up Pac-Man Collection a few months back for $10... let's see, $30 for the e-reader, $15 for the card sets, and $10 for Pac-Man is $55 for eight games (Pac-Man Collection has four games on the cart, and the e-reader bundle I bought had DK Jr.) We're looking at a little over $7 per game. I'd find that to be a fair price... but then again, let's assume that $15 is the absolute lowest a "new" GBA game can be and set the price to that. I'd buy Zelda for $15; maybe Xevious, too. Never got a chance to play it. So the question is then what extra goodies and incentives will Nintendo offer for US gamers?

This post differs from the similar troll post below from the anonymous coward in that, to the best of my knowledge, I'm not being a total asswipe about my complaint. Please moderate accordingly.

Re:Cue The Complaints...

[AvantLegion]

Yeah, these aren't Metroid: Zero Mission.

These should be, like, all on one cartridge.

Imagine an "NES Sports" GBA cart, with Excitebike, Ice Hockey, Tennis, maybe even something later like NES Play Action Football... easily worth full price.

Then maybe an "NES Adventures" with Zelda and some others. You know, group a bunch of NES games together in that vein. Those would be the must-have GBA carts of the year.

See, this is why Nintendo is less than loved (at least as loved as they could be). They could take a very profitable yet consumer friendly approach, but they opt for the "fuck the customer" approach instead. A bit less customer screwing would certainly breed more brand loyalty in me. I just don't really feel compelled to jump on Nintendo stuff immediately - I pick up a lot of stuff second-hand, after the fact.

20 Bucks?

[redfiveneo]

I would buy all 8 for $20... The prices are a bit steep.

And they didn't include Punch-Out!....

Re:Emulation, possible extensibility?

[josh glaser]

Buy Metroid Zero Mission. It's a GBA remake of the NES version. Perhaps best of all, you can unlock the actual NES game. In related news, GBA SPs are *only* $99 ;-)

Or just buy an original NES... or maybe not.

[2Flower]

I gots me a hankering for the classics one day, and went on a crazed eBay spending spree. Got an NES and a bunch of good titles: Contra, Mario 3, Zelda, Ice Climbers, etc. Nothing beats the original hardware playing the original games on the original controllers...

Except that I can't get the blasted thing to work. It's got Grey Blinky Syndrome, a common ailment because the pin connectors are too lose... I cleaned my carts and got a shiny new 72-pin connector, but after installing it, now the thing's got a vice-like grip on my carts to the point where a grown man can't pull them out without yanking the 72-pin free. Agh.

A) Anybody got any suggestions?
B) Maybe getting them emulated on your GBA isn't such a crazy idea...

Re:Or just buy an original NES... or maybe not.

[redled]

A few suggestions:

1) Use a fine grit sand paper to clean the contacts on the games as well as the pin connector

2)(This is for other readers, I guess). You don't need to buy a new connector. Take your nes apart, and use a small screwdriver to pry all the pins up slightly.

3) Use a game genie. It's a tighter fit, and usually solves the problem (you don't have to use the codes if you don't want to). This might be a good solution for you since you can leave it plugged into the nes always, instead of pulling out your pin connector trying to remove it. It's ugly because it sticks out though

4) Find one of those rare top-loading nes machines.

5) Find one of those ultra-rare arcade nes machines

PocketNES

[triiiple]

What about PocketNES? It's not "official Nintendo" stuff, but it works. Ok, not all games - here's the compatibility list, anything tagged [P] is good to go. And, yes, you do need the ROMs, PocketNES won't provide them for you... But that what we have the Internet^W backups at home for!

Re:a joke?

[DarkZero]

not to troll, but this seems a little fishy. not the fact that they are being released, but the quote from kaplin. she is always well spoken, and that quote is out of character. plus the box art is off. take a good look at that dk box. since when is luigi taking on dk?

I believe that Perrin Kaplin was simply making a joke, using lame '80s slang to kick off their new retro release. This either soared far over the head of the IGN writer or they simply forgot to point out the joke.

That's a bit too steep

[Mupp252]

If they were polished versions of the games (ala Metroid: Zero Mission.. I'm too lazy to link) I'd be more then happy to shell out the $20. Hell, I'd shell out full GBA price for that.

Until that happens I'll be just as satisfied with Zelda on my emulator. (I own the original copy so don't hound me out.)

Europe

[Vexware]

This Game Boy Advance Famicon/NES with NES games package has first of all been released in Japan, which I read the said series would be exclusive in, and it is now America which is granted with its release. I truely hope Nintendo seriously consider releasing it on the European market, as over here, it would sell like hot buns. Why is the European gaming market always the last one considered when a game is released? On the Nintendo France forums, people are crying and even writing petitions to have Baten Kaitos and Naruto (also Animal Crossing, which is not planned to be released in France) sold over here. There is a real gaming public over here and for some reason, it does not seem to be taken seriously, at all: in the majority of cases, we are always the last to get a bite on the good games; a number of awesome video games products and gimmicks stay exclusive to Japan, when I am sure that they would be a real success here.

Of course, there is the difference in culture, which I know plays the main role in this game of releases and exclusivities. Whereas in the 'land of the rising sun', video gaming has become a cult phenomenom, a true subculture, to the point of having been banalized, here in Europe we seem to have been somewhat "late" in on the market, or so that is what it looks like. Japan has known a real growth in the technology market and America is not far off (if not on a par with) the Japanese technology market, but this does not mean Europe is not ready to be the host to new kinds of technology, which seems to be the constructors' perception of the situation. Their is a real and serious gaming audience in Europe and one that could be of profit, which is, let's not forget, why companies sell games. How could they not understand us being frustrated on being left out on some products which we will never get our hands on excepted in the pages of our favorite magazine? The culture difference is a big factor in this game, as you can notice if you compare the prices of games in Japan to those of the same games in Europe, but I am pretty sure that one can affirm that Europe is ready for the new games and gimmicks, and that there is a public here which can be taken seriously.

Now don't get me wrong, I never said we would want all Japanese releases over here, become some are seriously quite dodgy (what's with the manga whorehouse puzzle games?), but some have true appeal over here and not only to an "elitist" bunch of gamers, but also to a genuine and expanding public which is ready to hand over the cash to get these gems. The best I can hope for is one of the major Japanese companies of the industry seeing the potential of this market; I am conscious this is something which shall not happen overnight, let alone happen at all perhaps, but we over here need to be seen as gamers now, and not only as 'hobbyists'. Whoever knows, maybe one day video games will be as banalized over here as they are in Japan, but as long as the European public is not seen as a serious one, that will not happen... Though will it ever?

Re:Petition failures

[AvantLegion]

If you don't see a problem in trying to sell games that are as much as 15 years old at near full price (for GBA games) with a straight face... well, something's wrong.

And in case you're not ousted for a fool yet, your logic falls apart when I point out that nobody's complaining about the collections of Atari or Activision or Intellivision games - which usually bundle anywhere from 5 to 20 games for about $20. Not one game.

Those collections are doing it right. No complaints. Nintendo is not. Complaints.

Can you wrap your brain around that?

Easy Explanation

[Syncdata]

Japan gets the games first, because the japanese companies code it with Japanese text.
The US market gets it next, because we're a large market which only speaks one language (theoretically).
You get games last, because they have to be localized in several languages, plus you have a different TV standard (not applicable in the case of GBA games).
Why is animal crossing probably not going to make it over there? I don't think that it sold that well in the US, and given the sheer ammount of text that needs to be translated into french/spanish/german/Italian, NOJ probably won't release it.
In short, Europe gets games last, or not at all, because the number of languages spoken on the continent fragments the available market for each translation of the game. More effort, less reward.