The SNES Classic Edition is available now, and Nintendo celebrated the system launch with a cool 90s party at its flagship Nintendo NY store in New York City on September 28. The first 150 people who lined up at the store received wristbands that gave them access to the party and the privilege of buying the SNES Classic at midnight on September 29. Thankfully we were able to attend this 90s’ bash, and celebration of all things Super Nintendo!
Inside the store were stations designed to resemble basements from the 90s, complete with old CRT televisions, oversized cell phones and even some CDs lying around. There were also SNES Classic Editions for people to play, featuring Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Star Fox. Play these games, and the Nintendo reps handed out snacks (Gushers, Ring Pops) and mock covers of Nintendo Power, which showcased such titles as Star Fox 2 and Super Mario World. Nintendo even put the original SNES cartridges on display upstairs, and had us drooling over such titles as Super Mario RPG and EarthBound, both of which are missing from our personal collections.
Of course, you can’t have a 90s party without music from the decade, and Nintendo kept the hits playing all night long. The crowd was definitely into it, and broke out into song when I Want It That Way from Backstreet Boys came on. Even Mario joined the fun!
Roughly 30 minutes before midnight, the DJ told everyone that it was time to line up to buy their SNES Classic Editions. To help things run as smoothly as possible, Nintendo had fans line up per their wristband color (be it purple, orange, etc.). Systems were limited to one per customer, and we also saw lots of people pick up Prima’s Playing with Super Power guide; the hardcover version was designed to resemble a Super Nintendo cartridge!
Meanwhile…outside was a long line of people waiting until 9AM for the store to reopen and pick up their own SNES Classic Editions. We left at 1:30AM, so the line was probably even longer a few hours later. One person near the front had his Nintendo Switch, and planned to spend the time enjoying Splatoon 2.
Nintendo’s 90s party was a great way to kick off the SNES Classic launch, but enough about the event… were you able to buy a SNES on launch day? Early reports sound positive, with shoppers having much better luck finding the console than the NES Classic Edition from last year.
We’ll have more SNES coverage throughout the holidays. Now it’s time for some Star Fox 2!
