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[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Can I buy one of those controllers yet?

Yeah, I literally had to buy another console just for the controller... That shit is sold out since Christmas!

 

[hanspampel]

So about the same as ps4 pro :O

Spoiler

I know its a useless comparison. Just wanted to be funny

 

[Admiral Woofington]

It's also lost them some sales. People like me who were willing to buy it when it was new and out, and now since we had to wait months to try and get one I'm no longer interested as the initial desire has passed.

 

[Chie Satonaka]

I'd still like to buy one.

But fuck me, right? We'll see if I ever get the chance.

 

[NintendoGal]

This actually shows part of the reason why Nintendo went conservative. Clearly there was a narrow window and if they over produced or had too many production lines going it would have cost them because consumers are obviously short attention spanned with this product. Could Nintendo have sold more? Yes. Could they also have lost more money? I think these types of posts also show yes.

Glad someone has a level-headed thought on the matter.

 

[Calamari41]

If these had been on the shelves, I would have bought at least 5 for gifts. Instead, I probably won't end up getting one even for myself as long as Switch virtual console fixes the dimming issue seen on Wii U.

 

[GameCenterXDS]

It's also lost them some sales. People like me who were willing to buy it when it was new and out, and now since we had to wait months to try and get one I'm no longer interested as the initial desire has passed.

I lost interest but just learned you can add up to 80 games of your choice very easily(even a hidden message from Nintendo in there) now I want one really bad. I always thought it was cool how they recreated the controller.

 

[Lemaitre]

I wanted one too, and I would have bought one for a friend.

I can't believe all the bone headed mistakes Nintendo makes. It's migraine inducing.

 

[poodaddy]

I was hoping to buy one for my mom's 50th b day. That's on Feb 6. I figured for sure I'd be able to find one by then, alas I'm kinda giving up hope. My mom keeps asking about whether I know anything about it every time we speak and I keep saying no because I wanted it to be a surprise and I knew she'd absolutely love it. Alas I'm thinking I won't have it by Feb, and honestly that's a crock of shit. I'll figure something else out, but I will not reward Nintendo's incompetence with an eventual purchase after this disappointment. The bridge is a pile of ashes by now.

 

[rezn0r]

That ain't even salt, man. Just observations from peeps frustrated by the nonexistent supply at retail.

^ what he said, not like I or anyone else was freaking out and yelling fuck Nintendo or anything. those people are in the Switch threads.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

^ what he said, not like I or anyone else was freaking out and yelling fuck Nintendo or anything. those people are in the Switch threads.

I'll admit. I have done that, and I'll still do it.

FUCK NINTENDO. I had to track all these various websites, F5-ing for WEEKS, and had to drive for two hours to finally pick one up. Those dumbfucks and their shitty artificial demand is a BITCH MOVE. So yeah, FUCK THEM.

 

[Izayoi]

I'm convinced that this device is actually a myth. I have yet to see one in person.

You can't fool me, GAF!

 

[Lemaitre]

I'll admit. I have done that, and I'll still do it.

FUCK NINTENDO. I had to track all these various websites, F5-ing for WEEKS, and had to drive for two hours to finally pick one up. Those dumbfucks and their shitty artificial demand is a BITCH MOVE. So yeah, FUCK THEM.

lol. I agree with all this even though I'd never type it all out myself.

So thank you sir for expressing my inner thoughts about this fiasco.

 

[oatmeal]

Still can't find them.

 

[NimbusD]

Yeah Nintendo, make people spend 300 bucks plus a monthly subscription for NES games that you can't make fast enough.

Want the Switch to sell? Make a fucking Nintendo Netflix. Or pack in virtual console games at least.

And they'll be fucking stupefied when the Switch is failing.

 

[EloquentM]

I'll admit. I have done that, and I'll still do it.

FUCK NINTENDO. I had to track all these various websites, F5-ing for WEEKS, and had to drive for two hours to finally pick one up. Those dumbfucks and their shitty artificial demand is a BITCH MOVE. So yeah, FUCK THEM.

Artificial demand sure works when even after subsequent shipments you fail to meet demand.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Wait until the SNES Classic comes out lol! If they keep the supply right that should easily sell millions in a holiday

 

[ggx2ac]

Artificial demand sure works when even after subsequent shipments you fail to meet demand.

That's what I was getting at with the thread title if anyone misread it.

 

[Claude Augario]

How can artificial scarcity be real if NES minis aren't real?

 

[KaYotiX]

This thing could of sold a few million units if it was available all over.

Now my hype has died and i doubt ill bother with it, and ive still never seen one on a store shelf.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I still never saw one in person

Pretty much lol.

 

[mlclmtckr]

Maybe the plan was to make people so sad they couldn't get one that they buy a Switch out of Nintendo blue balls.

 

[kIdMuScLe]

You guys don't get it... Nintendo sells these to the stores so blame the stores for underestimating demand

 

[Fat4all]

Not trying to be snarky... Do young kids these days like classic videogames? I guess you might be older and have an adult new though!

My sister told me he wanted one, I've been getting him video games for a while anyways.

Apparently he heard about the NES Classic at school.

 

[DarkConfidant]

There it is. Can we finally just agree that it was a mistake and not on purpose?

If they wanted a window to sell millions of these based on scarcity-driven hype, the best time has passed.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

This thing could of sold a few million units if it was available all over.

Now my hype has died and i doubt ill bother with it, and ive still never seen one on a store shelf.

Yep. This was the perfect gift to give last Christmas. It should've been under everyone's tree, and would've sold them millions. It could've sold better than current gen console. Could've been the next goddamn Elmo, but Nintendo fucked up heavy. Switch is coming out soon, and people with no disposable money, who have disposable money for Christmas, are going to look for better things this year.

 

[brickarts295]

Watch it be available in large amounts on March 3rd. For those people who couldn't get a Switch. Almost seems cruel XD

 

[staticneuron]

Thank you all. At least this shows that Nintendo lost sales and, the data here shows it wasn't because they were holding back units to generate hype and sell more (by those who claimed that) and then suddenly release 500k units from their "hidden warehouse" to stores across the US.

It was just something that was mismanaged that Nintendo didn't predict and couldn't ramp up production in an instant regarding the time it takes to manufacture and ship more units globally.

The concept is that they create scarcity during launch to generate interest, not AFTER the console has already been on the market for a month. There is a problem if they cannot get enough for second shipments. Here is an example using Nintendo's Wii U. The initial allotment was 400K, yet after 41 days on market they sold 3.06 million. The question then becomes, exactly how much units can the company produce a month. If they can in fact make and ship over 2 million after 30 days, why was the initial shipment only 400,000?

Did they not manufacture at least a months worth in advance knowing the demand was high? If they can hit that number in one month what about subsequent monthly shipments? Would that mean they would be around the same amount if demand remains the same?

Despite the sarcasm and snarkiness so many people on display trying to refute the concept of limited initial stock as hype, Nintendo did this with the Wii U. With the original Wii the demand actually outstripped their ability to produce which was revealed to be 1.8 million a month during the first few years.

So it would help understanding what people are pointing out and actually looking at the numbers before trying to be smug. For this particular situation this is most likely Nintendo not estimating or preparing for demand of system.

 

[ggx2ac]

The concept is that they create scarcity during launch to generate interest, not AFTER the console has already been on the market for a month. There is a problem if they cannot get enough for second shipments. Here is an example using Nintendo's Wii U. The initial allotment was 400K, yet after 41 days on market they sold 3.06 million. The question then becomes, exactly how much units can the company produce a month. If they can in fact make and ship over 2 million after 30 days, why was the initial shipment only 400,000?

Did they not manufacture at least a months worth in advance knowing the demand was high? If they can hit that number in one month what about subsequent monthly shipments? Would that mean they would be around the same amount if demand remains the same?

Despite the sarcasm and snarkiness so many people on display trying to refute the concept of limited initial stock as hype, Nintendo did this with the Wii U. With the original Wii the demand actually outstripped their ability to produce which was revealed to be 1.8 million a month during the first few years.

So it would help understanding what people are pointing out and actually looking at the numbers before trying to be smug. For this particular situation this is most likely Nintendo not estimating or preparing for demand of system.

Source on the initial shipments?

Are you telling me they shipped 400k worldwide initially and then 3.06 million worldwide after 41 days?

If you actually meant 400k initially for US and 3.06 million worldwide after 41 days after that, that sounds very misleading for the argument you are trying to make.

Edit: Found the source on post #94 of this thread.

 

[whalleywhat]

Supply limited sale number too. I would have bought one if I didnt have to compete with the unemployed Ebay/Craigscam flippers and camp the entrance to the local target for it.

The reserve army of labour strikes again.

 

[p_xavier]

I was lucky to snatch a NES on launch day. Just bought a Famicom Mini this week while on a trip in Hong Kong. The FDS versions are so much better, but the tiny remotes make the games nearly impossible to play.

 

[Professor Beef]

Yep. This was the perfect gift to give last Christmas. It should've been under everyone's tree, and would've sold them millions. It could've sold better than current gen console. Could've been the next goddamn Elmo, but Nintendo fucked up heavy. Switch is coming out soon, and people with no disposable money, who have disposable money for Christmas, are going to look for better things this year.

Hindsight is 20/20

 

[TrojanAg]

I've moved on to the Switch. I just don't care anymore, and I'm sure many others feel the same way at this point. I'm not going to the lengths that Nintendo is forcing people to deal with for a $60 novelty.

 

[whalleywhat]

Hindsight is 20/20

Because nobody was complaining about this before or during the shortage...

 

[Madao]

does the thread title mean they'd have sold less units if they had more stock?

 

[kinoki]

Nintendo now wish they had the same hype for Switch.

 

[ant_]

jesus, if this was available for christmas, it would have been a no-brainer present for so many of my family/friends

 

[CouchMaster]

Its not artificial scarcity, its just plain old incompetence.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Nintendo now wish they had the same hype for Switch.

"The Nintendo Switch Is Already Sold Out Almost Everywhere"

Well I mean.

 

[yyr]

I still never saw one in person

Me neither.

I would've bought one. The time has passed.

The same applies to me.

For this particular situation this is most likely Nintendo not estimating or preparing for demand of system.

All they had to do was poll some of their customers. Hell, they could have pushed a Club Nintendo survey out with one question: "would you buy this?" Except that they killed Club Nintendo.

Seriously, this was a product that appealed to millions of people and was priced such that they could all afford it. It was a guaranteed win, and we all knew it the moment it was announced. Heck, they could have gauged reaction to the trailer, produced a bunch more, and sold them directly from their own Web site.

They done f'ed up. That's it. There is no defending this.

 

[Atomski]

Really dropped the ball. Wanted to get one around Christmas time and couldn't. No longer have any interest in buying it.

Shouldnt you be thanking Nintendo then? They saved you 60 bucks on something you are not interested in buying..

 

[Sword Of Doom]

Such salt over a shitty emulator box.

I sound salty to you?

 

[AniHawk]

i'm surprised anyone wanted this thing. a $100 machine that came preloaded with games and had an nes-only virtual console would have been a lot sweeter.

 

[ggx2ac]

The concept is that they create scarcity during launch to generate interest, not AFTER the console has already been on the market for a month. There is a problem if they cannot get enough for second shipments. Here is an example using Nintendo's Wii U. The initial allotment was 400K, yet after 41 days on market they sold 3.06 million. The question then becomes, exactly how much units can the company produce a month. If they can in fact make and ship over 2 million after 30 days, why was the initial shipment only 400,000?

Did they not manufacture at least a months worth in advance knowing the demand was high? If they can hit that number in one month what about subsequent monthly shipments? Would that mean they would be around the same amount if demand remains the same?

Despite the sarcasm and snarkiness so many people on display trying to refute the concept of limited initial stock as hype, Nintendo did this with the Wii U. With the original Wii the demand actually outstripped their ability to produce which was revealed to be 1.8 million a month during the first few years.

So it would help understanding what people are pointing out and actually looking at the numbers before trying to be smug. For this particular situation this is most likely Nintendo not estimating or preparing for demand of system.

Since you still haven't cited which regions those numbers are, I found them so I can correct you on your claims that Nintendo committed artificial scarcity with the Wii U.

The Wii U 400k initial shipment was for the US launch.

The 3.06 million Wii U units after 41 days was for worldwide.

If I remember correctly, Wii U had an early launch date in the US compared to the rest of the world. It launched on November 18th ahead of Black Friday to take advantage of Black Friday for the launch.

NPD figures cite 890k units sold in the US after 6 weeks, that tells me not many more shipped after the initial launch in the US.

Wii U launched in Japan on December 8th and sold 636k units in that month.

Source: http://m.ign.com/articles/2013/01/11/how-successful-was-the-wii-u-launch

Trying to mask that Nintendo shipped a little amount for an early US launch ahead of black Friday while it didn't increase dramatically after 6 weeks doesn't tell me that artificial scarcity occured, especially when you implied it as though 3.06 million units were shipped to the US after 41 days from an initial 400k.

 

[EloquentM]

i'm surprised anyone wanted this thing. a $100 machine that came preloaded with games and had an nes-only virtual console would have been a lot sweeter.

I really wish your tag was removed. I can never take you at face value.

 

[CrowdChant]

i'm surprised anyone wanted this thing. a $100 machine that came preloaded with games and had an nes-only virtual console would have been a lot sweeter.

Some people like things. Other people don't like the same things those people like. It's the way of the world. It definitely had huge nostalgia appeal. It was obvious far before release that it was going to be difficult to get. I'm surprised Nintendo didn't capitalize. Oh wait, actually I'm not. It's Nintendo.

 

[squeakywheel]

I want one more than a switch. I hope they start releasing more stock soon and that it is still hackable.

 

[Toxi]

Apparently Nintendo of America were as bad at predicting the NES mini's popularity as I was.

 

[AniHawk]

I really wish your tag was removed. I can never take you at face value.

nah i'm serious. i had a coworker asking if i was getting one and the answer was always no.

i just don't get it. it looked really unappealing, like a cheap cash grab. i think the scarcity points to that - nintendo was probably expecting only a small amount of units, and maybe based off market research of similar devices.

Some people like things. Other people don't like the same things those people like. It's the way of the world. It definitely had huge nostalgia appeal. It was obvious far before release that it was going to be difficult to get. I'm surprised Nintendo didn't capitalize. Oh wait, actually I'm not. It's Nintendo.

based off what? i don't know how they could have predicted this would become the next hot holiday item. the trailer had a million views on youtube - and that's good, but i don't recall a ton of buzz before release, just stories about preorders going up (which i also thought was mildly ridiculous).

 

[CrowdChant]

nah i'm serious. i had a coworker asking if i was getting one and the answer was always no.

i just don't get it. it looked really unappealing, like a cheap cash grab. i think the scarcity points to that - nintendo was probably expecting only a small amount of units, and maybe based off market research of similar devices.

Timing of it was perfect. Great little gift idea for anyone who grew up playing NES but doesn't pursue emulation by other means.