The inarguable success of the NES Classic Editon – as well as the presumed success of the upcoming SNES Classic Edition – has taught some casual consumers something that long-time gamers have long known:
There are few things in gaming more valuable than the Nintendo library.
You may think that after so many re-releases, updates, and ports that classic Nintendo games – or games that were exclusive to Nintendo systems – may have gone down in price. After all, the same product tends to become devalued over time unless it happens to be an incredibly rare item.
The Nintendo library doesn’t adhere to that logic. There’s something about classic Nintendo games that ensures they only seem to become more valuable as time goes on. We’re going to chalk that up to an extreme case of nostalgia.
Whatever the reason, we recently discovered that those of you who managed to snag an SNES Classic Edition at its MSRP got an incredible deal for the replica device’s included library.
Recently, I did a little research into how much it would cost to buy a classic SNES console and each of the game’s included within it.
A few notes about this process:
- Prices were determined by shopping a few aftermarket websites and analyzing the best prices at which you’d be able to purchase a game immediately.
- Clearly, the SNES Classic Edition comes with some features a standard SNES cannot replicate. It also includes a game – Star Fox 2 – that cannot be officially purchased.
- Yes, it’s possible to find better prices at a yard sale or by scouring an attic.
So how much does it cost to buy a Super Nintendo and all SNES Classic Edition games?
About $801.55
The shocking thing about that number isn’t necessarily the fact that it is more expensive than the SNES Classic Edition, but rather that it costs so much to buy an almost 30-year old system and a handful of games.
A working SNES in reasonably good shape with all included parts will run you about $100 if you’re looking to buy one right away. If you think you can outbid someone, you may be able to snag one for about $75.
That number becomes all the more impressive when you consider that you can buy the much more modern Microsoft Xbox for about $50-75 on average.
What’s truly shocking, however, is how much classic SNES games cost. Titles like F-Zero and Donkey Kong Country which sold particularly well upon their release can be bought right away for about $10-20 on average. That’s high given that you can get great modern games for that price, but somewhat understandable.
However, games like Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, and Final Fantasy III still command $50-$60 for immediate purchase. Mind you, that’s for pre-owned copies. You could absolutely buy modern-day Triple-A titles for that price.
For reference, Nintendo sold a digital copy of Super Mario RPG for $7.99 on Wii U.
Granted, some of those titles still provide 50+ hour gameplay experiences, but in comparison to much more modern consoles, the Super Nintendo still commands the kind of prices that are worthy of sticker shock.
So in case you didn’t know it already, yes, the SNES Classic Edition is an absolutely insane value even at markup prices.
