Snippet: Nintendo is Stupid ☇
Jose Otero for IGN:
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.”
Additionally, a representative told IGN, “NES Classic Edition wasn’t intended to be an ongoing, long-term product. However, due to high demand, we did add extra shipments to our original plans.” The company has no plans to produce more NES Classic systems for North America. This announcement includes the discontinuation of the NES Classic Controller. As for third party accessories, Nintendo said the decision whether or not to continue production of accessories will be up to each individual manufacturer.
The crux of this story is that the wildly-popular and impossible-to-find NES Classic that went on sale last year has been discontinued. Rather than use it as a way to make a few extra bucks, even though the margins and ongoing purchases are much less than the Switch, it kept Nintendo in the minds of people during the gap of the Wii U and the Switch. To be honest, I have yet to see one in the flesh and numerous regular visits to GameStop and Toys R Us stores near me and even then, it had been weeks or months since they’ve gotten them in.
The thing is, I have no desire to buy a Switch, so if this was some sort of tactic, it’s flawed. Trying to think of an analogy, it would be if I was an Android user and the only Apple product I’d buy was the iPod shuffle. I’m sure Apple would love if I were to buy their headlining product (the iPhone in this case), but I also think they’d be glad that I’m at least giving them some money and keeping a product in my life.
Instead, Nintendo basically couldn’t keep up with demand for a product that was an impulse buy and decided to discontinue it before the market even got somewhat saturated. They basically could’ve printed their own money, but instead, the only people that are profiting are those re-selling these on eBay. Dumb.