Nintendo is doubling down this holiday season.
In addition to the red hot Nintendo Switch, the company said Monday it will have a new standalone mini-console on store shelves, this time focused on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
News of the classic edition instantly set the gaming world ablaze, with users of Reddit and Twitter expressing their excitement for the system, which for many was their introduction to the gaming world.
The SNES Classic Edition will feature 21 games from the legacy console, including “Super Mario World,” “Super Mario Kart,” “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past” and the previously unreleased “Star Fox 2.” It will hit shelves Sept. 29 with a price of $80.
The SNES Classic Edition follows last year’s “NES Classic Edition,” which quickly became one of the hottest gift options among consumers. Nintendo only offered the system for a short period, discontinuing it soon after the holidays, which only increased demand. (That device, which originally sold for $60, is currently fetching $165-$200 on eBay.)
Nintendo, of course, was already set to have a busy holiday shopping period. The Nintendo Switch is the industry’s hottest selling consoles at present — with shortages still common more than three months after launch. The company says it’s hoping to meet demand this holiday, but can’t guarantee it will.
“Our supply chain continues to ramp up,” Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in a talk with CNBC.com during the recent E3 video game expo. “We are committed to the 10 million global selling number [we’ve previously announced]. … From an overall supply perspective, we are working hard with our component manufactures. We’re making sure the flow continues to increase. We want to satisfy that demand as quickly as possible.”
Of course, having two hot consoles in the market could also drive demand for each. Shoppers who aren’t able to get their hands on a SNES Classic Edition, for example, might opt for a Switch (or the promise of a Switch) for whomever they’re shopping.
Like the NES Classic Edition, the SNES Classic Edition will have the same appearance as the original console, which was released in 1990 and dominated the video game industry through much of that decade, selling more than 20 million units.
The inclusion of “Star Fox 2,” which was created by the company during the SNES heyday but never released, is likely to further spur demand among fans and core gamers.
Nintendo did not announce whether it will have a more adequate supply of the new system compared to last year’s shortages. And no retailers have yet announced it they will accept preorders.
But if last year was any indication, it might not be a bad idea to rush to a store when the units go on sale if you’ve got a classic gaming fan on your gift list.
Nintendo announces another classic edition of its old video games, and gamers are going crazy