The Nintendo Entertainment System of the mid-1980s was a great home console, and 2016’s miniaturised NES Classic Edition is a wonderful reimagining. You can buy one, too, as a Christmas present for yourself or your friends — after the first shipment sold out entirely, a second lot, likely the last for the year, is due in early December.
But you’ll have to pre-order if you want one; the Classic Mini NES is going to be extremely hard to come by.
NES Classic Edition: The Gizmodo Review
From 12PM AEDT (Sydney time) today, EB Games will open up pre-orders for the Nintendo Classic Mini NES. (Man, I really don’t know how to style that name. NES Classic Mini? Nintendo Entertainment System: Classic Edition (Mini)? Classic Mini NES? Nintendo’s Tiny Box Of Joy?) “Extremely limited units” will be available. Head here at 12PM to find EB’s stock page for the Classic Mini.
For a few precious minutes this morning, JB Hi-Fi’s pre-order page showed the Nintendo Classic Mini: NES Nintendo Entertainment System as in stock and available to pre-order, although within about 90 seconds of finding the page and trying we weren’t able to purchase one, stock levels disappeared and the page itself was removed entirely. Nonetheless, we’d recommend checking back there at 12PM as well just in case.
Deliveries of any NES Classic Mini units that enter the country, in again said “extremely limited” quantities — we can’t stress that enough — will start in early December. That should mean you’ll have one in your hands well in advance of Christmas, whether you intend to gift it or selfishly keep it for yourself. You should keep it for yourself. [EB Games / JB Hi-Fi]