Capcom releases limited run of 30th anniversary Street Fighter II cartridges – but there’s a dangerous catch

In an attempt to no doubt capitalise on the soaring demand for retro products, Capcom has teamed up with iam8bit to re-release Street Fighter II cartridges to mark the game’s 30th anniversary.

There will be just 5,500 units available, in either “Opaque Ryu Headband Red” or “Glow-in-the-Dark Blanka Green”. The boxes look identical and will be sealed so customers won’t know which version they have until the box is opened – like a retro gaming version of Schrodinger’s cat.

The split of cartridges sold will be 4,500 for Ryu’s version and 1,000 of the Blanka models.

The $100 cartridges each come with the original game code, meaning they are fully playable on NTSC consoles and will be sold with bonus vintage art when they start shipping in late November.

 There is one significant, and dangerous catch, though – the cartridges run the risk of catching fire. In a disclaimer on the iam8bit sales page, the company warns that “use of this reproduction game cartridge on the SNES may cause the SNES console to overheat or catch fire.”

It even goes a step further by saying that if you do decide to play the games “make sure there is fire extinguishment equipment nearby.” The full disclaimer is below.

Earlier this month we got our hands on the SNES Classic Edition, being referred to as the SNES Mini. It’s a tiny version of the original console being shipped with 21 games including the previously never-before-released Star Fox 2. The full list of games is below.

• Contra III: The Alien Wars
  
• Donkey Kong Country
  
• EarthBound
  
• Final Fantasy III
  
• F-ZERO
  
• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby’s Dream Course
  
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  
• Mega Man X
• Secret of Mana
  
• Star Fox
  
• Star Fox 2 (Unreleased)
• Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
• Super Castlevania IV
  
• Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
  
• Super Mario Kart
  
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
  
• Super Mario World
  
• Super Metroid
  
• Super Punch-Out!! 
• Yoshi’s Island

Pre-orders for the SNES Mini opened on 27 June and sold out just 24 hours after the initial unveiling. The SNES Mini costs $80 in the US and £70 in the UK.