Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Where to buy the NES Classic Edition

ThinkGeek will randomly pick who gets to buy an NES Classic

By

Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition sold like hotcakes — if hotcakes were far more popular and expensive, and if you could buy hotcakes online. OK, maybe that’s not the best analogy, but the NES Classic was the hottest thing under the sun since 2016, even if you can build your own using a Raspberry Pi. The all-in-one, HDMI-compatible console, which comes preloaded with 30 classic games, has been flying off shelves and out of warehouses at a staggering rate, leaving many fans frustrated and empty-handed.

Although the NES Classic Edition is still available via gray-market resellers for an exorbitant price — you can currently snag one on eBay for between $100 and $200 — it’s unreasonable to expect anyone to drop hundreds of dollars on a system that is, admittedly, quite limited in scope. Despite the Classic’s healthy collection of content, it doesn’t compare with contemporary gaming powerhouses such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The NES Classic doesn’t connect to the internet, and there’s no way to purchase new games or otherwise modify the system. Aside from a few third-party controllers and extension cords, what you see is what you get.

Nintendo NES Classic Edition
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Even as we near the 2017 holiday seasone, the NES Classic is still pretty hard to find, but it should become easier next year. Nintendo said it plans to produce and sell more of the systems in 2018, as well as additional SNES Classic systems.

Recommended Videos

We’ve put together this article to chronicle the most recent NES Classic sightings. We’ll be updating this article as new info becomes available, so you too can rage-quit after losing in Punch Out! before it’s too late. You can also check out iStockNow, which provides up to date alerts on specific retail stores where the NES Classic has been purchased recently.

Related

Test your luck with ThinkGeek

ThinkGeek received a new supply of stand-alone NES Classic systems for its stores recently, and the website is holding a drawing to determine who will be eligible to purchase one. ThinkGeek is also holding a drawing for customers who want to buy an SNES Classic, in case you’re still trying to track one down.

If you’re interested, ThinkGeek will take entries for the drawing through Friday, December 8, at 11:59 p.m (ET). Winners will be contacted directly by the retailer with purchase instructions following the submission period.

Keep an eye on your local retailers

The NES Classic is generally hard to find these days. For quick reference, though, we’ve included a list of major retailers and their most recent reported NES Classic restock dates.

Retailer In Stock? Last shipment Next shipment

Amazon

 Yes, through

Amazon

 N/A N/A
Best Buy No February 7 N/A
Urban Outfitters No December 6 N/A
Walmart No June 15 N/A
Target No April 6 N/A
Toys “R” Us No December 4 N/A
GameStop No November 11 N/A
Nintendo NYC Store No February 10 N/A
Newegg Yes, through third-party sellers N/A N/A

Update: Added ThinkGeek’s lottery information. 

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Brandon Widder
Brandon Widder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brandon Widder is a multimedia journalist and a staff writer for Digital Trends where he covers technology news, how-to…
Where to find each onion color in Pikmin 4
Collin saying how onions come in tons of colors in Pikmin 4.

The plant-like creatures known as Pikmin come in more shapes and colors than ever before in Pikmin 4. These colors do more than give each Pikmin a different style -- they also indicate what that type of Pikmin can do. The basic Red Pikmin, for example, is fireproof. If you haven't played the previous entries, you may not be aware of how you go about creating these various Pikmin types. The answer is the colored onions you can find scattered throughout the game. By collecting them and bringing them back to your base, you can unlock the ability to make more of a specific Pikmin type. Here's where you can find each of the onion colors in Pikmin 4.

Note that the new Glow Pikmin do not have an onion in Pikmin 4 and can only be found while exploring at night. There are also some onion colors that appear multiple times, but you only need to collect one of them to unlock the ability to make that Pikmin type.

Read more
The best gear to buy in Pikmin 4
The player stands with Oatchi and some Red Pikmin in Pikmin 4.

After surviving your crash landing, which itself was a mission to rescue other crashed explorers, you will need to use anything and everything you find in your environment to survive in Pikmin 4. The titular Pikmin, and your new pup Oatchi, will do the bulk of your work for you, but it will be up to you to craft your own gear to create in The Lab. There are dozens of gear items you can get, but all of them have a cost so you will want to prioritize getting the strongest ones first. This will make your early days trying to survive in this mysterious land that much easier. Gather up your Pikmin and do some research on the best gear you should buy in Pikmin 4.
How to buy gear

Before you can start buying gear, you need to unlock The Lab where it is sold. This will happen very early on after you rescue the castaway named Russ in a cave in the Sun-Speckled Terrace. Once he's back at your base, you can interact with him to spend any raw materials you collect around the map. Some gear items won't be available right away, requiring you to either do specific things or accumulate enough Sparklium first.
Best gear to buy
Charging Horn

Read more
The best SNES games of all time
best SNES games SNES controller atop a stack of games

When the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) launched, it was an instant success following some of the legendary Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Nintendo sold out of the system of the initial shipment of 300,000 systems within hours, making it one of the most successful console launches in history. Given the time of the system's release, the SNES gave us a groundbreaking chance to play video games at home relatively inexpensively.

The system offered now-classic games and follow-ups to some of the best NES games with Mortal Kombat, Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, and, of course, some of the best Mario games. The system brings back fond memories for lots of players, but because it was so long ago, some of our favorites have been lost to time. To highlight some of these missing classics, we have compiled a list of some of the best games the SNES had to offer.

Read more