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[Mushroomer25]

This is a perfect time for Sony to strike. Imagine if they released an inexpensive, tiny console capable of playing classic PlayStation games on modern TVs. Heck, they could run it off some forked Vita OS, making it compatible with most Vita games, too. And if they were really ambitious, it could run PlayStation Now and even PS4 remote play. It's brilliant...

This would work, but would be considerably less successful. There's plenty of nostalgia for the PS1, but the majority of it is amongst an audience that still actively plays modern games. They'll buy PS1 Classics all day, but a standalone box isn't quite as appealing.

The NES Classic was a hit, because it struck an audience that generally left gaming behind in the 80's. It was an easy gift option that filled a short desire to play those old games, in a really high-quality package.

 

[Lothars]

Mind pointing out where I stated or even implied it wasn't bullshit? Here's my response on the first page of this thread:

I'm surprised that you have that reaction.

 

[yyr]

How can you discontinue something that was never actually released?

...is what I want to say. I've never seen one in a store, I've never seen one in person, and at this point, I don't think I ever will.

It's a shame. I really wanted one of those controllers.

 

[tiijj]

Waiting for SNES and SFC mini now. Most likely it will be VC for the Switch tho.

 

[EloquentM]

I
fuckin
told you all

And you still sound stupid lol. Pls tell me again why discontinuing it now as it is soldout helps Nintendo. Pls tell me how discontinuing it now helps anyone but scalpers.

 

[Phu]

Nintendo did the absolute best to make sure I didn't buy one of these things.

 

[StayDead]

I can't understand it.

The damn thing sells out in minutes, but Nintendo discontinues it because....?????

They probably want to use all production space for the switch now it's doing so well.

 

[Crankshaft]

I didn't want one and now I do just because.... thanks nintendo.

 

[Beartruck]

Calm down people. I can't speak for all territories, but at least in my region there were several restocks after the post-christmas drought. There were several chances to get one. The only thing which annoys me is that I couldn't get a second original controller.

Big city guy here. Literally never saw one.

 

[Jazzem]

Pathetic, utterly pathetic.

 

[SGRU]

Nintendo being Nintendo, nothing to see here.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

I'm surprised that you have that reaction.

What are you trying to say, exactly?

 

[Indelible]

Glad I got one but this isn't surprising at all, the longest I have seen this in stock was half an hour.

 

[tbm24]

Sigh, I passed on the GameStop bundle which ultimately was well priced relative to private sellers and figured Nintendo would be selling this throughout the year. Going to try for the last shipment but at this point I'm not optimistic.

 

[Lothars]

What are you trying to say, exactly?

nothing but I didn't see your post in earlier in the thread.

 

[Kthulhu]

This would work, but would be considerably less successful. There's plenty of nostalgia for the PS1, but the majority of it is amongst an audience that still actively plays modern games. They'll buy PS1 Classics all day, but a standalone box isn't quite as appealing.

The NES Classic was a hit, because it struck an audience that generally left gaming behind in the 80's. It was an easy gift option that filled a short desire to play those old games, in a really high-quality package.

Not to mention anything NES related has always been a huge thing for collectors.

 

[GreenMonkey]

Moron decision by Nintendo.

I have mine mildly hacked (added a handful of extra games). Fun for the hotel or wherever on the go.

If they were having profitability problems they could have announced run 2 for $80 or $100 and it would have sold.

 

[Username1198]

Haha! Well. Fuck you then.

My exact reaction lol

 

[OrbitalBeard]

from your post I quoted and other threads but we agree on this.

There it is.

 

[QuixoticNeutral]

Pretty sure this was set up a Holiday 2016 stopgap before the Switch to begin with, but like many here I don't think I ever saw one in the wild.

Optimistically, we'll get a Classic-equivalent digital software bundle on the Switch, but we all know better than to really expect something like that. Still, I think Nintendo is keen to avoid a scenario where consumers would choose the Classic over a Switch, if the latter is getting a VC push soon.

Definitely premature, and it won't be fun at all for serious collectors to hunt one down on the auction market. Personally, I think this could have co-existed with the rest of Nintendo's offerings just fine as a low-cost-of-entry item like the 2DS.

 

[malfcn]

They don't like money?

Maybe a new revision?

SNES mini?

 

[Kephar]

It was a limited-release product. Scarcity is exactly what it strived for. It's not really hard to grasp.

I'm sure Nintendo could keep on making a profit if it turned it into a regular product, but given how easily hackable it is, doing so could put a dent on their VC plans for the Switch.

Why would it being easy to hack dent their VC plans when it's even easier to play them on a pc/phone emulator?

 

[RoadHazard]

Makes sense, that thing was dead on arrival and is just taking up valuable shelf space that could be used for something that would actually sell instead.

Spoiler

It's so they can sell you the same games at a ridiculous premium on the Switch VC instead.

 

[Dominator]

Nintendo really makes some baffling decisions sometimes.

They are seriously discontinuing it when at NO point was it ever readily available?

 

[Zalman]

I finally managed to snag one from Amazon last month. This was the first and only time I ever saw one in person.

 

[Ricerocket]

I've never seen these in a store ever so it's funny to see it discontinued.

 

[Ludist210]

I don't get this. Unless they're planning to have all 30 games ready to roll on Switch by the end of the month, why? It's still selling very well.

Even rarer is the controller for the dang thing. I have the classic, but would like a second OEM controller. I have yet to see a single one anywhere.

 

[BronsonLee]

And you still sound stupid lol. Pls tell me again why discontinuing it now as it is soldout helps Nintendo. Pls tell me how discontinuing it now helps anyone but scalpers.

Why would they make so little of them when people want it so bad
Why would they do restocks in such an ass backwards manner
Cause It's Nintendo
They make stupid decisions

 

[Iced Arcade]

Nintendo logic. people really like this and it's flying off shelves.... get the axe lol

 

[Lothars]

There it is.

I apologize, it wasn't right of me to say.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

There it is.

Shots fired.

 

[btrboyev]

I was fortunate to find one a bit ago and I picked up another last week. Guess I had an intuition. Still unopened.

 

[Beartruck]

Does nintendo even make hardware anymore? Haven't seen any of their shit on shelves in months. This goes beyond artificial scarcity, its plain incompetence.

 

[Kensation]

Nintendo is a toymaker.

 

[Vincent Grayson]

With the short controller cord, they killed any interest I had in this product in the first place.

That said, a more robust SNES version with lengthy controller cables would get me in a heartbeat (with the right software).

 

[Geg]

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[Dr. Zoidberg]

What was the point of this product?

The answer: To keep Nintendo's name in the media and on the Christmas lists in a year (2016) where they didn't have much else going on. They needed to keep the brand relevant last Christmas especially with the Switch coming up a few months later. It worked better than they ever expected or even wanted it to.

EDIT - They're discontinuing it because it served it's purpose and now it needs to go away so they can focus on selling Switch and supporting existing 3DS users until they can afford to upgrade to one. Selling NES minis is a dead end, a one-and-done proposition. There are no razorblades to sell when you buy that razor.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

As I stated before, I am 100% POSITIVE these were discontinued as of February. The only store to stock these more frequently after February is Amazon, and even they're ensuring you buy Prime before buying this.

It's slowly trickling down until the last few batches are done. Fuck Reggie, that lying sack of sacks.

 

[Anth0ny]

And you still sound stupid lol. Pls tell me again why discontinuing it now as it is soldout helps Nintendo. Pls tell me how discontinuing it now helps anyone but scalpers.

Sneaker and fashion companies have been doing it for years. It's nothing new.

Hype for the brand, not the product.

 

[mindatlarge]

Was able to finally get one a month or so ago, but there are so many people that are still looking for one, casual and hardcore fans alike...if only they could actually get one at retail. This move doesn't make a whole bunch of sense from my perspective. The attitude is almost like the run was done as a favor to the fans. Perhaps there are issues I am not aware of though. Good luck to those looking to snag one before it's gone for good.

 

[Kintaro]

Until it doesn't and there's really no guarantee the switch will keep selling long term, it all depends on what they keep announcing. This is a stupid short sighted move from nintendo designed to fuck over the fans.

BWAHAHAHA... oh wait, you're serious. BWAHAHA.

Nintendo knows what they are doing. No matter what they do, how hard they "fail," they never fail. You will be back. All of us will be back. =P

Sneaker and fashion companies have been doing it for years. It's nothing new.

Hype for the brand, not the product.

Exactly! People still haven't realized this over how many years? It fucking worked to PERFECTION.

 

[Dynomutt]

Ha ha. Knew it. Ninty does not play. This does not bode well for a SNES or N64 classic. Although I always thought those would be licensing nightmares. VC is going to mad bank on the Switch!

 

[Neifirst]

Wow. I saw one in Target on a random trip earlier this week and scooped it right up; first time I had ever laid eyes on one. Guess I'm keeping it!

 

[RandomExpletive]

I can't make any sense of this

Hell even them releasing an SNES, or N64 wouldn't warrant pulling this... Not even VC on switch...

Like... WHY?!

 

[dark10x]

Honestly, it seems like this would be an expected response to the fact that you can easily load it up with NES roms. A redesigned version would make more sense down the line.

 

[oti]

Can we at least put the Nintendo "artificial scarcity" strategy conspiracy theory to rest now?

 

[Megatron]

It's got to be because version 2.0 is coming, right?

 

[Family Fry]

In January, Nintendo announced that the NES Classic Edition sold 1.5 million consoles at the company’s 3rd quarter fiscal results meeting.

Let's quit whilst we're ahead.
Demand is still there as well.
If they make a SNES mini this year I won't make the same mistake by waiting to buy it later.

 

[The Omega Man]

And you still sound stupid lol. Pls tell me again why discontinuing it now as it is soldout helps Nintendo. Pls tell me how discontinuing it now helps anyone but scalpers.

Pls understand, you are thinking as a consumer, the exalted minds at Nintendo Japan think and react at higher plane of existence, what you think as "leaving money on the table" it's an incredible strategical amazeballs business move for Nintendo, why? dunno I am not one of those exalted minds at Nintendo.

 

[TheExodu5]

I feel like the NES Classic existed only to re-instill the idea that Nintendo products are scarce, as a way to boost Switch sales.