Video Game Odds: Nintendo Sells Nostalgia with SNES Classic
If Hollywood has taught us anything over the past few years, it’s that nostalgia sells. Nothing hits home like a blast from the past, and it’s not just the film industry tapping into the lucrative world of remakes and reboots. The gaming industry is also quite fond of selling our memories back to us.
On September 29th, the Super NES Classic Edition hits the shelves, offering us a chance to relive the early years of console gaming. How well will the retro Nintendo console sell? Which games will gamers flock to? Here are the odds on that and more.
Super NES Classic Odds
Over/Under on units sold in 2017: 3.4 million
Last year, Nintendo sold 2.3 million NES Classic consoles before the item was discontinued. Demand for the classic console greatly outstripped supply, forcing nostalgic gamers into a thriving secondary market. Nintendo will not underestimate the popularity of their retro consoles again and promised to release “significantly more” units this time round.
If gamers are just as interested in the SNES Classic, expect sales to go through the roof.
Odds to be the most-played game:
- Super Mario Kart: 3/1
- Super Mario World: 4/1
- Star Fox 2: 4/1
- Donkey Kong Country: 9/1
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: 20/1
- Final Fantasy III: 20/1
- Kirby Super Star: 30/1
With 21 built-in games, there’s quite a lot to choose from. Fans of Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Kirby will be happy to hear that their favorite characters have not been neglected. But of course, the breadwinner at Nintendo is the Super Mario franchise.
The SNES Classic features three Super Mario games: Super Mario Kart, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and Super Mario World. These time-tested classics are definitely the most highly-anticipated games of the bunch.
The never-released Star Fox 2 will also feature on the console. After two decades of waiting, Star Fox fans will finally be able to experience the canceled sequel.
Odds Nintendo meets the scheduled release date: 1/3
The Switch is Nintendo’s main priority at the moment, but the SNES will be a nice addition to their holiday-season sales. It’s unlikely they’ll miss their release date. After all, they’re pretty much just re-releasing a console from 1990.
Odds Nintendo releases a “Classic” edition of the following product by 2019
- Nintendo 64: 5/1
- GameBoy: 9/1
- GameCube: 30/1
If Nintendo is reliving the past in chronological order, then the N64 is next in line for a reboot. The console marked the end of the 16-bit era (unless you count Sega’s 32X and Saturn, which you should not) and ushered in a new age of gaming. The console brought us the likes of Banjo-Kazooie, Mario Kart 64, and above all, GoldenEye.
The GameCube and GameBoy are also options. However, the GameCube may be a little too current to qualify as “retro” and the GameBoy is far too similar to the Switch.
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
