The NES Classic Edition is dead. Just a few short months after its release, Nintendo has announced that they plan to discontinue the retro console. Users looking for the NES Classic should check retail establishments quickly, because once the latest batch of consoles are gone, they’re (possibly) never coming back.
The mini console became the must-have gift for the holidays, though it quickly became the must-find gift due to its popularity. I myself had a near miss on launch day, when I was #32 in line at a store that had 30 consoles. Amazon’s pre-order page simply vanished, and consoles quickly started showing up for far more than its retail price on sites like eBay.
A Nintendo representative provided the following statement to IGN:
Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product.
So… in typical Nintendo fashion, they release a product that becomes popular beyond their wildest expectations. It becomes difficult to find or purchase this product. We’ve seen both of those situations before. The kicker here is that they understand that the console is immensely popular and ridiculously difficult to find (at its regular retail price, at least), and they’re killing it anyway. Oddly enough, the official statement does mention “for this year,” but as to what that exactly means is unknown at this point.
Were you able to get your hands on an NES Classic? Are you going to try to find one now that Nintendo is killing it? Do you have an extra one laying around that you’d planning to sell once prices go up? We don’t know about you, but here at Techaeris we’re chalking this one up to stupid marketing decisions. Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/13/nintendo-discontinues-the-nes-classic-edition” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: IGN[/button]
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