If you’ve been following the news on the SNES Classic, you’ll know just how hard its going to be to get your hands on one. Not only were they completely sold out in the UK in a matter of hours, but here in the US, Walmart has canceled all the preorders that were made last week due to a technical glitch allowing them to be made available earlier than planned. It seems that many fans of retro gaming will once again be left empty-handed. But it seems there are a couple alternatives to Nintendo’s throwback console.
According to a recent article from GameSpot, AtGames will be releasing their newest iterations of the Atari and Sega Genesis classic consoles on September 22nd, about a week before the SNES Classic becomes available. AtGames will also be releasing portable versions of these systems, the Atari Flashback Portable Game Player and the Sega Ultimate Portable Game Player, on September 1st. The Atari Flashback 8 Classic Game Console will also be available that day. Each of these early preview consoles will be available for $59.99, retail price.
As for the main systems, the Sega Genesis Flashback and the Atari Flashback 8 Gold, they will have a retail price of $80 each and will come preloaded with a selection of classic titles. The Sega Genesis Flashback will feature 85 games, while the Atari Flashback will include 120. However, not all of those titles will be classic games. The Sega Genesis Flashback will feature about 55 classic games, including the Sonic series, Mortal Kombat series, and Phantasy Star series. As with versions from AtGames, the rest of the system has been padded with “arcade games” such as Air Hockey, Fight or Lose, and Mr. Balls. They’re about as cheap as you’d expect. The box art of the Atari Flashback also states that it will include “new hit titles,” so expect some padding there too.
Still, 55 classic games beats Nintendo’s 21, so Sega and Atari might have the edge here. The lists of games for the Atari and Sega Genesis can be found here and here.
This newest version of the consoles will also feature 720p HDMI output, a big step up from the audio/video cables they were still using even last year. They also include two wireless controllers, ports for wired controllers (because the ones included probably won’t work so well), and a save/pause/rewind feature for each title. Not really sure what rewind will do, but Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time comes to mind. The Sega Genesis Flashback even supports original Genesis cartridges, which is a definite step up from what Nintendo is providing.
The Sega and Atari classic consoles will be available for pre-order tomorrow, July 28th, at most major retailers. In the highly likely event you miss out on the SNES Classic, its a good idea to have a back-up plan in mind.