JAPAN TODAY



 

Video games are a cyclical hobby. When Nintendo released the Famicom/NES, it was the hottest hardware with the best lineup of games the industry had ever seen. After enough time passed, though, that enthusiasm got transferred over to its successor system, the Super Famicom/SNES, only for it to lose its luster too as later-generation consoles debuted.

But in time, people began to see the appeal of the NES and SNES libraries again, with both those who’d grown up with the systems craving another go at their pure, straightforward gameplay and charming hand-drawn graphics as well as younger gamers intrigued by the legendary titles that laid so much of the foundation of modern game design.

So Nintendo brought out both the Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer/NES Classic Edition and Nintendo Classic Mini Super Famicom/Super NES Classic Edition, scaled-down plug-and-play retro reproductions pre-loaded with a selection of each system’s greatest hits.

But now their official lifespans are coming to a close too.

 

Nintendo’s official Japanese website has posted that the periods for which it is legally required to maintain a stock of repair parts for both the Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer and Mini Super Famicom have now both passed, and so it will be ceasing production of the components.

In other words, once the current stock is used up, Nintendo will no longer be offering repairs for either of the retro systems, and depending on the specific parts required for a particular repair job, some problems may become non-addressable sooner than others.

The Nintendo Classic Mini Family Computer went on sale in November of 2016, and the Mini Super Famicom in October of 2017, so it’s unlikely anyone is going to be buying a brand-new model that’s defective from the factory right out of the box.

However, eight years is enough time for controller wear and tear, or unfortunate accidents to occur such as the system getting a drink spilled on it or being knocked off a table.

With Nintendo of America having discontinued repair service for the NES and Super NES Classics back in January of 2022, owners of the Japanese versions have actually enjoyed a much longer safety net.

Still, this being the end of the line for the Mini Famicom and Super Famicom is significant, especially because so few of the games included with the systems are available for purchase, are instead are only playable as part of a subscription to Nintendo’s paid Switch Online service, which launched after both mini consoles went on sale.

That means we’re unlikely to see Nintendo offer an alternative way to own these games outright, so if you’ve got a Mini Famicom of Super Famicom that needs fixing, now is the time to get it done.