Nintendo has discontinued the NES Classic.

[ratchetdude231]

Quote

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.

 

A representative for Nintendo added to 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.”

 

Source

 

Well if you wanted a NES Classic it seems that you might be out of luck. It's baffling that Nintendo is doing this. The system sold so well that you would think they would just continue selling it.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Ratchet

[MeteorHawk]

I still have a passing interest in procuring one but not so much that I'll get ripped off by the fucking scalpers the likes of whom bought them up and are selling them at obscene prices on ebay. Fuck it, I'd rather have an original NES anyway, which I soon will!

[mcnichoj]

14 minutes ago, Ratchet said:

Well if you wanted a NES Classic it seems that you might be out of luck. It's baffling that Nintendo is doing this. The system sold so well that you would think they would just continue selling it.

Probably to focus resources on Switch manufacturing.

The Classic was garbage anyway. Buy a cheap laptop and download the entirety of the NES collection in two minutes, then you don't have to worry about having one foot long controller cables.

[audiopile]

Strange. I was waiting for another run so I could get one. Oh well.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

I had a passing interest until I found out its game database couldn't be changed (legally). Both the real NES and any Virtual Console would be better alternatives.

[MMDE]

Seemed like overpriced garbage in the first place. Buying hardware to play some few limited ROMs on an emulator? Obviously Nintendo didn't think this would be a hit. A lot of people download an emulator on their phone and play these games on it whenever they want, or on their PC or laptop or whatever.

[Undead Wolf]

You can't discontinue a product if you never manufactured them in the first place.

 

[xZoneHunter]

And here we can see ninty doing their thing again. Artificial scarcity. Scalpers rejoice!

Edited April 13, 2017 by xZoneHunter

[BlazingCat83]

I'll just repost my status on the matter:

 

This is bullshit! I love Nintendo, but this is the last straw! Besides the Kirby game coming out for 3DS this holiday, I'm not giving Nintendo another dime! If I want one of their products, getting it either used, buy it on eBay, or get it as a gift so they don't actually get my money.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Torracat83

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

All you guys who think it was overpriced, just remember that next time you see me complaining about eShop or PSN prices for old games. 100 bucks it was here and that got you the console itself, a little controller, and 30 games. Each NES game on Wii U or 3DS here is 6.50... meaning it would be twice as much to buy those games on the Virtual Console and not get a spiffy little mini unit. 

 

Sure, there's a lot of flaws, but when you compare it to all the other options you have to LEGALLY play these old ass Nintendo games, it's far from expensive. 

 

That being said, the Target near me got them in stock again the other day and they sat right next to the Mega Drive knock off for 80 which had 80 odd games and 2 remotes.

[yellowwindow7]

well this is unexpected......

[angelgrievous]

I found out it was discontinued and decided to try and find one on craigslist.  Found one for $90 at 5:15p.m est and contacted the guy.  He said he would meet me in about an hour to make the sale.  He contacted me back at 6:15 p.m est and told me he just found out it was discontinued and was not selling it anymore.  Sometimes I hate the internet.

[wackt1]

It's like Nintendo dosen't understand supply and demand

[Kittens Are Awesome]

3 hours ago, Torracat83 said:

I'll just repost my status on the matter:

 

This is bullshit! I love Nintendo, but this is the last straw! Besides the Kirby game coming out for 3DS this holiday, I'm not giving Nintendo another dime! If I want one of their products, getting it either used, buy it on eBay, or get it as a gift so they don't actually get my money.

 

I'm sure your disappointment pales in comparison to your cat's. I mean, there's an empty spot in her soul now that only sitting on a NES could fill. Poor fluffy kitty.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Phil

[BlazingCat83]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

 

I'm sure your disappointmentpales in comparison to your cat's. I mean, there's an empty spot in her soul now that only sitting on a NES could fill. Poor fluffy kitty.

Yea, she's meowing inconsolably.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Torracat83

[Otonio_Bruno]

I wonder how Nintendo has yet to declary bankruptcy, because seriously, how can game company survive doing this kind of **** for over 20 years? Nintendo pretty much failed every home console from the Nintendo 64 and onwards with the exception of the Wii: 64, GC and Wii U are total flops and Switch on the to way to be next one. And I don't even like 'hating' on Nintendo, they certainly gave me the best handheld experience since the advent of the game boy color, but their decisions are so backwards that it really makes you scratch your head how they actually manage to stay in business.

 

Nintendo of America HQ general business reunion:

Nintendo Executive #1: - It seems the Nintendo Classic system is selling very in our market, there is plenty of demand for it.

Nintendo Executive #2: -Yes, but we're constantly having problems to meet that demand since our company police is to create artificial scarcity.

Nintendo Exec #1: Can something be done about increasing the supply of this product?

Nintendo Exec #2: I'm afraid I have no idea.

Nintendo Exec #1: Then what should we do then? It's selling like hotcakes.

Nintendo Exec #2: Well, the only sensible idea is to simply stop manufacturing this product, since you know, we have to have artificial scarcity.

Nintendo Exec #1: You're totally right, we'll do much better without the revenue this product could generate if we actually produced more units of it.

Nintendo Exec #2: Then it's done. No more NES Classics, no more problems :).

 

 

[Caesar Clown]

1 hour ago, Otonio_Bruno said:

I wonder how Nintendo has yet to declary bankruptcy, because seriously, how can game company survive doing this kind of **** for over 20 years? Nintendo pretty much failed every home console from the Nintendo 64 and onwards with the exception of the Wii: 64, GC and Wii U are total flops and Switch on the to way to be next one. And I don't even like 'hating' on Nintendo, they certainly gave me the best handheld experience since the advent of the game boy color, but their decisions are so backwards that it really makes you scratch your head how they actually manage to stay in business.

 

 

They stay in business because they're making a profit. The NES Classic probably costs $10 to make, then they sell it for $60. They're making bank so it's fine with them. The problem is they don't realize they can make more money. They foolishly limit their supply, get their money, then run off, while someone else takes that product and sells it for twice the money Nintendo got. If Nintendo would just make more of their product (be it Amiibos or NES Classics), they could get more money, more profit, and completely eliminate the scalpers who are making money off them.

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

1 hour ago, Otonio_Bruno said:

64, GC and Wii U are total flops and Switch on the to way to be next one

 

Well, no. The GameCube didn't flop, flopping would be losing by a fucking mile, and since the GameCube sold 2 million less than the Xbox, it did fine. The PS2 was ridiculous, nothing could compete with it, which really means that the GameCube kept pace with it's only real competition that gen, the Xbox. People largely ignore the Wii when it comes to comparing the PS360 gen sales because the Wii just wins by a mile and a half, and it's the same here. So the GameCube held it's own perfectly well against the Xbox.

 

In effect, the 64 was a similar story. It sold 30 odd million units compared to the PS1's 100 odd, but in both of these scenarios, the PlayStation product was around for a lot longer. The PS2 was still getting made until just months before the PS4 dropped for fuck's sake. The PS1 stopped not too long before the PS3 dropped as well, and both received years worth of support after their successor dropped, Nintendo on the other hand have a habit of dropping their systems the second a new one comes out and pretending the old one doesn't exist, and to an extent, this account for a fair few sales... good example, PS2 was my main home console until Sept '11 when I got a PS3. In the time between the PS3 launching in 2006 and me getting one 5 years later, my PS2's mod chip shit itself so I bought a new one. Then that one's power brick died and it was 40 for a new knock off lead or 70 for a whole new PS2 so I bought another one. That's 2 more PS2 units I bought in that time than I did PS3 units and there's plenty of similar stories out there too I'd bet. On top of that, continuing support for the console is a great way to sucker in people on a low income who want to game but can't afford to pay over a thousand dollars for a bloody PS3 at launch. So I was happy getting Force Unleashed and MotorStorm 2 on PS2, and there's plenty of others out there in similar situations. Point is, if you support the machine and leave it on the market, people will still be coming, and that has a lot to do with the overall lifetime sales of a console. Hell, if you look at PS2 sales by the time the 360 came out, it's sitting around 100 million, meaning over a THIRD of the systems life time sales happened AFTER the launch of the next gen. Meanwhile Nintendo and Microsoft dumped their old consoles and moved onto the Wii and 360 respectively. Things like this NEED to be taken into account when making statments like yours. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales

 

And finally, the Switch is selling pretty damn well, better than Nintendo thought it would, better than I thought it would, better than most people thought it would. Given that it's not a portable or a home console entirely, it's a new thing and a bit of a gamble, but so far, it seems to be paying off for them. When Mario Kart drops, and a new main Mario game comes out, along with other heavy hitters like Splatoon 2, the system will probably do even better. Releasing in March with only one decent game, which is already available on your previous console, was probably a dumb move, and they're still kicking ass with it, if by this time next year not much has happened, then you have a problem, but until then, the Switch has nothing but a good road in front of it, as far as I can see.

[Remilia Scarlet]

It's not worth it anyways. If you have any modern Nintendo system you can buy nearly the entire NES library on their virtual console.

[Elvick_]

Gotta love Nintendo. There's demand, it's easy money. Let's stop production. Brilliant.

[Otonio_Bruno]

51 minutes ago, Super-Fly Spider-Guy said:

Well, no. The GameCube didn't flop, flopping would be losing by a fucking mile, and since the GameCube sold 2 million less than the Xbox, it did fine. [1] The PS2 was ridiculous, nothing could compete with it, which really means that the GameCube kept pace with it's only real competition that gen, the Xbox. People largely ignore the Wii when it comes to comparing the PS360 gen sales because the Wii just wins by a mile and a half, and it's the same here.[2] So the GameCube held it's own perfectly well against the Xbox.

 

In effect, the 64 was a similar story. It sold 30 odd million units compared to the PS1's 100 odd, but in both of these scenarios, the PlayStation product was around for a lot longer.[3] The PS2 was still getting made until just months before the PS4 dropped for fuck's sake. The PS1 stopped not too long before the PS3 dropped as well, and both received years worth of support after their successor dropped, Nintendo on the other hand have a habit of dropping their systems the second a new one comes out and pretending the old one doesn't exist, and to an extent, this account for a fair few sales...[4] good example, PS2 was my main home console until Sept '11 when I got a PS3. In the time between the PS3 launching in 2006 and me getting one 5 years later, my PS2's mod chip shit itself so I bought a new one. Then that one's power brick died and it was 40 for a new knock off lead or 70 for a whole new PS2 so I bought another one. That's 2 more PS2 units I bought in that time than I did PS3 units and there's plenty of similar stories out there too I'd bet. On top of that, continuing support for the console is a great way to sucker in people on a low income who want to game but can't afford to pay over a thousand dollars for a bloody PS3 at launch.[5] So I was happy getting Force Unleashed and MotorStorm 2 on PS2, and there's plenty of others out there in similar situations. Point is, if you support the machine and leave it on the market, people will still be coming, and that has a lot to do with the overall lifetime sales of a console. Hell, if you look at PS2 sales by the time the 360 came out, it's sitting around 100 million, meaning over a THIRD of the systems life time sales happened AFTER the launch of the next gen. Meanwhile Nintendo and Microsoft dumped their old consoles and moved onto the Wii and 360 respectively. Things like this NEED to be taken into account when making statments like yours. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_sales

 

And finally, the Switch is selling pretty damn well, better than Nintendo thought it would, better than I thought it would, better than most people thought it would. Given that it's not a portable or a home console entirely, it's a new thing and a bit of a gamble, but so far, it seems to be paying off for them. When Mario Kart drops, and a new main Mario game comes out, along with other heavy hitters like Splatoon 2, the system will probably do even better. Releasing in March with only one decent game, which is already available on your previous console, was probably a dumb move, and they're still kicking ass with it, if by this time next year not much has happened, then you have a problem, but until then, the Switch has nothing but a good road in front of it, as far as I can see.[6]

Your post is big so I'll bolden some sentences and leave number marker to it's easier to follow to what part I'm replying.

 

1. When you come at 3rd place in a generation, losing to entirely newcomer (Microsoft) in the home console market and even getting a bigger gap between sales of the previous gen adversary and yours, that's the definition of a FLOP. Seriously, when can only win against Sega in sales (And consider even that Sega abandoned Dreamcast in 2 years), that's a big red sign right of failure right there.

 

2. False. Wii has lifetime sales equivalent to 101 million units, but the 360 and PS3 figures in the 84 million. Roughly, that equals to 37% - 31% - 31% market share for Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft. Going back to 5th generation, you had Playstation selling 102.5 million units, while Nintendo 64 sold almost 33 million units and Saturn 9.26 million. That goes for a market share of 70% - 22% - 7%  in favor of Sony. So, if you want to talk about loopsided market, don't bring Nintendo Wii into the talk, it did win in hardware sales, but it hardly won by 'a mile and a half'. Yeah, I didn't even touch 6th generation of consoles in this example.

 

3. The argument that one specific console was around earlier or later than other competitors is pretty much moot in any situation, since Nintendo won over 4th generation against Sega and launched their Super Famicom/SNES 2 years later than Sega Genesis. Or for that matter, Sega launched their Dreamcast in 1998, 2 years prior to playstation 2 launch...and we know that DC didn't get any advantage because of that earlier release.

 

4. This point is very fair, but it actually shows how much Nintendo doesn't know how to take care of their business. Dropping support for a system that still is on demand isn't precisely what are talking about in this thread? People can only buy these kind of shenanigans only for a while.

 

5. This is anecdotal evidence. I had the same playstation 2 unit for 10 years, yet I won't say it's failproof because it's not. Failed units does contribute to hardware sales, but we would be better talking about 7th generation since it was much more widespread issue for all 3 main competitors.

 

6.This is the Wii U all again. Nintendo tells about this amazing console and their new gimmicks, hide how underpowered it is, focus on gimmicks again, offer a big 1st party game, promises there will be many more games and what happens? Nothing, you just get those same 1st party stuff through 3-4 years before Nintendo decides to drop it, complaining that 3rd publishers didn't make games for their consoles. This is not new, it's pratically the same cycle ever since Nintendo 64, only getting worse and worse with the only oddball being Nintendo Wii.

 

Everything about this baffles me, because Nintendo pretty much play it the other way around with their handhelds: Good network infrastructure, excellent 3rd party support, long shelf life and continued support. Even when their hardware is poor than the competition, they still simply crush it in the handheld market.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Otonio_Bruno
Typos and grammar.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

N64 and GC were flops and Switch is going to be one? Here comes the Nintendoom hate brigade!

 

News flash: not selling as many consoles as competitors is not the definition of a flop. The WiiU flopped, the rest didn't.

 

 

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

2 hours ago, Otonio_Bruno said:

I'm about to quote a big post which itself quoted a big post so I'm just gonna put this in here instead of yet another big post in a line of big posts.

1. I should clarify then, the GameCube definitely wasn't a success story, but it didn't lose them money, it made them money, it kept itself afloat, and enough people bought them that they didn't straight drop out like Sega. It didn't flop, per se, it did what it was meant to do, sell a bunch of units, have a bunch of games, and make Nintendo money. 

 

2. The PS2 sold a third of it's units in the years after it's competitors backed out. In that respect, that's when the generation ended and then it's fair to compare the 20 something mil those guys did with the 100 mil Sony did at that point in time. Likewise, when the Wii basically fucked off in 2012, it is not unfair to compare the sales of it up to that point with the sales of the PS3 and 360, and at the point in time it stopped going, it was like a solid 30/40 mil in front of the PS3 and 360 IIRC.

 

3. Not really at all, since it's perfectly relevant to this situation. The PS2 had long since won by the time the 360 rolled over, but even after that it still shoved on another 50 million units to the total. And if you are looking at lifetime sales, that's a hell of a lot, it's pretty well the grand total of the GC and Xbox put together.

 

4. Nintendo are fucking stupid and always do this shit. It's gone on so long it's not even sad anymore, it's just the obvious.

 

5. Throw away the part about me buying 2 more units all you want and that's 10/10 fair, but the part about luring in people on a low income who can't afford a PS3 is incredibly valid. The amount of people I knew growing up who only got a PS2 AFTER the PS3 launched is pretty high, and the fact that games like FIFA and PES were still being made for the PS2 for the 2014 season is indicative of how many lower income markets out there still actively game'd on the PS2. Keeping the console on the market and supporting it not only should add to sales, but clearly does, as a third of the system's overall sales came after the next generation started.

 

6. It's the Wii U again on the surface, yes. And it's the Wii U again period, to be honest... but. But there are a few lessons Nintendo is showing they've learned from the Wii U. Firstly, they aren't *focusing* on dumb gimmicks anymore. The idea of taking your console with you on the go may seem like a gimmick, but that's just their stupid marketing. The Switch should have been marketed as a portable that can go on your tele, because as a portable, it's super powered, sure it's weak as a home console, and that's why it shouldn't be shown as one.

Second lesson, is their marketing. They should be showing it more as a portable, but they're showing it now and that's what matters. Here's a really good example of how bad their marketting for the Wii U was. The other day I was in EB picking up my copy of Bulletstorm and the dude in front of me was buying a couple of shitty Wii sports games for his kids and one was a Wii U one and the guy behind the counter asks if he has a Wii U and he didn't even know what it was, he thought it was for the Wii. In 2017, people still don't know the difference between the two bloody machines. The Switch is on buses and TV ads and everywhere here, it's shown off as being a new thing and it's own thing and the marketing is already miles ahead of the Wii U, which is one of the many problems that poor sucker suffered.

Third, there's a steady stream of games coming. While I'd prefer a bunch at launch, look at the lineup. March, you've got a brand new Zelda (port or not), and a bunch of eShop content and a few ports. April, you've got the definitive version of the best Mario Kart, and a bunch more eShop content. May and beyond has Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, and so on. 

 

6 (tl;dr edition) Nintendo fucked up the Wii U proper bad and the Switch has learned some shit from it, it's got better marketing, it's not focusing on some stupid gimmick anymore, and it's got a steady stream of games coming out for it in the coming months.

 

The Switch is their next handheld, they just need to admit it. As a home console it pales in comparison, as a portable, if it gets the support it needs it's quite feasibly going to be the only portable console I'll need for the next decade.

Also, I up voted you because I love a good debate and your points are all perfectly valid and god damn you present yourself well. It's always funny when you argue a point on the internet and it devolves into name calling and shit and I'll end up laughing, but it's so much rarer that you get a well written retort with balanced points and shit without any aggression or anything. So yeah, welcome to PSNP dude!

 

[stitchesnscars]

4 hours ago, BillyHorrible said:

N64 and GC were flops and Switch is going to be one? Here comes the Nintendoom hate brigade!

 

News flash: not selling as many consoles as competitors is not the definition of a flop. The WiiU flopped, the rest didn't.

 

 

 

Totally agree with your last line however this type of behavior of showing complete lack of marketing and manufacturing is inexcusable for a company as old as they are. They quite literally bring this on themselves. If they didn't have so much hand held money  any other company that operated like this would be in the toilet. The false cries of "nintendoom" will stop when they seem like they have a clue.

 

Im not saying that the switch will necessarily be a flop right now but there needs to be a little more incentive than a $300 Zelda box and over priced accessories. (actually its 400 plus when you factor in the game plus pro controller which is the best way to play the game that was not included in the box and is ALSO in short supply). 

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

5 minutes ago, stitchesnscars said:

 

Totally agree with your last line however this type of behavior of showing complete lack of marketing and manufacturing is inexcusable for a company as old as they are. They quite literally bring this on themselves. If they didn't have so much hand held money  any other company that operated like this would be in the toilet. The false cries of "nintendoom" will stop when they seem like they have a clue.

 

Im not saying that the switch will necessarily be a flop right now but there needs to be a little more incentive than a $300 Zelda box and over priced accessories. (actually its 400 plus when you factor in the game plus pro controller which is the best way to play the game that was not included in the box and is ALSO in short supply). 

 

I agree that often Nintendo has no clue how much people want their stuff - too few NES Classics, too few amiibo...

 

Switch accessories are in pretty decent supply over here. I agree that there's not much big titles out for it yet, but it's by no means just a Zelda machine. I'm not that happy about the release schedule but I can see Nintendo's point - part of why the WiiU failed was because released big titles were too far between, people lost interest. With Zelda, Splatoon 2, Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey et cetera all releasing a month or two after each other instead of all at once, in the end they'll sell more Switches and they'll get people to keep playing the console, instead of buying it right away with five games and then promptly forgetting about it.

 

Personally, I thought the Switch was worth it at launch. Loved the new Zelda (I've played a lot of Zelda titles but this is only the second one of which I say that I love it), really liked weird puzzle game Snipperclips (and I hope it will get DLC), loved F-Zero successor Fast RMX and I'm playing Shovel Knight right now (Specter Of Torment DLC has been available for Switch at launch and is timed exclusive until somewhere this month) as well as discovering more stuff in Zelda, this will keep me busy until Mario Kart two weeks from now. There are more games out already for Switch I'd like to buy (Blaster Master Zero, Snake Pass, World Of Goo, just to name a few) but I promised myself to keep my Switch backlog very low.

 

Nintendo said they're not trying for everyone to get it at launch by the way, they said something along the lines of long term prospects, with the hardcore fans gettig it at launch and others waiting until that game that pulls them in gets released.