NES Classic Edition Discontinue Production Leads to Skyrocketing Price; How to Make the Homebrew Version with Raspberry Pi 3, RetroPie

Nintendo decided to go back to its roots last November, announcing that it will release the Nintendo NES Classic Edition. Due to a high demand of Nintendo NES Classic Edition and the discontinue production of this console, the price is skyrocketed up to 200% mark up.

Nintendo NES Classic Edition is originally cost around $60 and now, the price has increased triple times higher than its initial price tag. Even if fans have the money to purchase Nintendo NES Classic Edition, the availability of this game port is also highly limited.

Amazon labels Nintendo NES Classic Edition as a limited stock online whereas Walmart only ships out small quantities of the device every day. Nintendo said that the last units of Nintendo NES Classic Edition will be shipped in April 2017 and regions like Japan, Australia, and North America has also confirmed the discontinue production of Nintendo NES Classic Edition in their countries which will be followed shortly by other countries soon, as reported by NDTV.

There's a way, however, to build up Nintendo NES Classic Edition on your own with the right materials. Gamers need a Raspberry Pi 3 model B, a microSD card (any brand is fine, but preferably the 32/64GB SanDisk Ultra), Official Raspberry Pi 3 case, Buffalo Classic Gamepads or wireless controller (if fans like to mix the old-time game port with a touch of wireless advanced technology).

To make your own Nintendo NES Classic Edition, gamers need to disassemble the official Raspberry Pi 3 into five separate pieces consisting of the base, top, lid, and both sides or covers. Fans need to pull off the sides then give a little press on the arrow tab while carefully pulling up the top part.

Continue the step by taking the Pi from its box and slide it into the base part and makes sure that the microSD slot is placed securely with its cutout on the front of the case. Remember to be gentle when creating the homebrew version of Nintendo NES Classic Edition, especially in placing the microSD card.

If it's difficult to insert the card, try to put it at a 45-degree angle then lower the back end of the Pi into the case. Assuming that fans do it correctly in creating the Nintendo NES Classic Edition case, there will be small plastic tabs that stick up out of the board's back two mounting holes. If gamers have heatsinks, they can also stick them to the chips on the top of the board once the Pi is already in the case.

Once you're done forming the Nintendo NES Classic Edition house or box, the next thing will be more complicated and tricky as fans, now, need to program the software. Gamers need a Mac, Windows, or Linux PC completed with an SD card slot for loading the Pi's OS and a USB keyboard or gamepad for setup, maintenance, and gameplay.

It's an important step in creating their own Nintendo NES Classic Edition to place the RetroPie boot image on the SD card, by downloading the right imaging tool that compatible with the device such as Win32Disklmager for Windows, Apple Pi Baker for MacOS, and Unetbootin for Linux. Once fans get the correct imaging tool for the homebrew version of Nintendo NES Classic Edition, they should decompress the .gz file (can be downloaded from RetroPie website), open the tool, find and select the .img file then point the tool to the SD card to run it (format should be FAT32).

After the disk image has been copied to the SD card, eject it and put it into the Pi. Fans may plug the Pi to the display with an HDMI cable and continue connecting a controller or keyboard in, then turn on the power. According to Arstechnica, gamers need to format the disk correctly to enjoy the homebrew version of Nintendo NES Classic Edition and try again if nothing happens even after the Pi's red indicator light comes on.

Providing the fact that gamers do it smoothly in setting their own Nintendo NES Classic Edition software, they will see an EmulationStation message prompt asking to connect and configure a gamepad. Once you have finished setting the controller buttons, hold down any button to enter the main EmulationStation UI.

Please make sure to take note of the box's IP address, password and don't forget to install the available update by typing sudo apt-get update and the sudo apt-get upgrade before using the homebrew version of Nintendo NES Classic Edition. Once the steps above has finished, input sudo shutdown-r now to reboot the box which will bring you back to the EmulationStation UI. If everything goes smoothly, fans, now, can start loading up some games to their self-created Nintendo NES Classic Edition.

Watch the video below for more information about the discontinue production of Nintendo NES Classic Edition. What do you think about Nintendo's decision? Let us know your thoughts