When the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe) was announced it generated plenty of excitement online, and then rapidly sold out in the pre-order phase. It's been possible to get a unit at its proper price - ignoring eBay scalpers - with a bit of luck and a lot of persistence, but Nintendo has never truly got stock levels to the stage that they've been readily accessible in stores.
Speaking to investors recently, company President Tatsumi Kimishima stated that Nintendo was looking to improve the situation.
We apologize to our consumers and retail partners for the inconvenience caused by product shortages. Some parts require time to procure, but we are working to increase production. We also see the nostalgic interest in these products as an opportunity to draw consumers' attention to our latest game system, Nintendo Switch.
Now, however, there are some worrying reports coming out of the Scandinavian region that future supplies will be limited and final. Norwegian retailer Spillsjappa posted on Facebook to advise that Bergsala - Nintendo's distributor in the region - had stated that some stock would come but that they'd be final batches. A translation of the post (which we've tidied up slightly) and a subsequent comment in response to a follower are below.
Now it's official.
The NES Classic has expired from the range from Nintendo importer Bergsala AB.
This is tragic for us and our customers as they do not want to fully deliver the order we added in July 2016.
It comes to deliveries in March and April, and then there is the end.
We will contact everyone who stands in line with us and those who put them in the queue last will get the sad news on the email first.
We will still follow the queue, of course those who stand first at any given time will get delivered first.
...Nevertheless, we have it in writing from Bergsala AB.
See Elkjop [another major retailer] and several already have put the product as out of date.
This thread on NeoGAF has various retail posters from other countries (such as the US) stating they've been told similar things by Nintendo reps - limited stock coming in the next couple of months before the product ends. These additional posts are unverified at this stage, however. We have taken the chance to browse around a few UK stores - GAME doesn't list the product at all, the Amazon UK page only has merchant sales at over £100, and it remains out of stock on the official Nintendo UK store.
We have asked Nintendo UK for comment and will update this post should we receive a response.
It's clear that Nintendo has been disappointingly slow in restocking this system, though it's important to maintain the context that just recently the company stated production was ongoing. Nevertheless the ongoing scarcity of units and this post by Spillsjappa (along with various other remarks online) add some smoke to the fire that suggests the system will indeed be a very limited run.
It's possible that the system is still very much in production, of course, but that supply will take some time - the hope would be that there's been a communication error along the line from Bergsala. If Nintendo does end shipments after March and April, and potentially only with modest numbers in those distributions, there'd be plenty of surprise and disappointment. It's been a hugely popular product, yet at no point has Nintendo been particularly close to meeting demand. Some speculate that the extensive hacking of the system could be a factor in phasing out production, but even that seems like a stretch.
Fingers crossed that Nintendo makes good on its word to make more of these systems and get them to retailers around the globe - it'd surely be a mistake to walk away from a good thing.
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[source neogaf.com, via facebook.com]
Comments 92
You can't spell Nintendo without ten! Which is coincidentally the number of units of these things ever shipped.
Seriously Nintendo.
I wonder if the system being hacked so thoroughly has anything to do with this? I think you can play a bunch of different emulators on this system now relatively easily. Or maybe they don't want to flood the market with the 3DS/2DS and this system while also trying to get the Switch to be a big seller. You know Nintendo, maybe they think this will be too confusing for the casual gamer.
I live in the US. I just showed up at 3am to the Target and got one. It was my 4th try. If you want one, then you can get one; you just have to work for it.
I have a friend in the Netherlands who had a pre-order canceled and then eventually received this message as well. He ended up buying one from a scalper. I asked a store in the US if the product was still in production and they said as far as they knew it was.
The moment has gone to be fair
When it was first announced I thought it sounded pretty cool and at £50 it was an impulsive sort of buy (had I been able to find one)
But the more I sat and thought about it the more I realised that I already own most of the games I'd actually want to play on there on the virtual console so effectively I'd be shelling out £50 to play ghosts n goblins
No thanks
once again nintendo says one thing to its customers and investors and then (potentially) does something different. more very questionable business practices that are hurting its brand. i very much hope this isnt the case but it wouldnt surprise me
Clearly a strategy to make sure the Switch isn't made irrelevant by the NES Mini.
Wow... wow...
If this is TRUE! And I can't get one at no more than MSRP, this will be the final nail in the death of my Nintendo Fan Boyism.
@Firelork -and you can't spell Nintendo without "do'h!" cause that's what you should be saying to yourself right now for the terrible joke. :V
@Drummertist I want one, and I shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get one.
Typical Nintendo when it comes to supply. They would rather do nothing than actually try to meet demand for anything other than pokemon. I get so frustrated with them especially when they do this time and time again (fe fates special edition, majoras mask 3ds xl, black friday 3ds, etc)
I've given up hope of getting one now and my interest has dropped from where it was. Disappointing for all
Very dissapointing, I was hoping to get one for my nephew's but it looks like I'll need to put my Raspberry Pi to use 😄
When the NES Classic was first announced, I really REALLY wanted one. When it sold out initially and I couldn't get one, I still wanted one but knew I had to wait. When it's been three months since initial release and STILL no restock, I no longer want one. Good job Nintendon'tgivafudge
@Cosmic-K9 same...
Really hope this is false. It's bad news if so because hardly anyone even managed to buy one. It'll be a stain on Nintendo's reputation with the public. I've seen plenty of non-Nintendo faithful who were interested in buying one of these things because it was a part of their childhood before growing distant from modern gaming. If they never come back into stock those people will never trust Nintendo with a new product again, because why pin your hopes on buying something that disappears within a week of release?
Besides all that, if people buy one it's like Kimishima himself has said. It'll bring more attention to new products like Switch and 3DS. They were on a roll last year with Pokémon Go (not Nintendo but owned by them), NES Mini and Super Mario Run. I had friends who aren't even gamers wanting to buy a 3DS to download Pokémon Red/Blue or buy the new games, and it was suddenly cool to be into Super Mario again. This will be a disaster for the image of the company if they stop making the NES Mini this soon. They can sell these for years.
Nintendo, stop being as stupid as Sega when it comes to hardware.
It has never happened to me that I didn't get something Nintendo related if I wanted it on launch day, including 3DS XL Link Between Worlds edition, New 3DS XL Majora's Mask Edition, NES Mini and in a few weeks Switch, so I'm extremely lucky or I've found the right retailer
Maybe they're stockpiling to relaunch before next Christmas?
As a Norwegian I can read what else they said on their Facebook page as in the comment section, and it don't seems like they know if this applies to other distributors than their own Bergsala, so hopefully there will be more units coming out than it seems like now.
I guess we can all, but hope now, or email Nintendo I suppose creating a mail campaign to convince Nintendo to make more NES Minis.
@Drummertist lol this comment is so wrong though. If everyone shows up at 3am at Target, the number of units won't magically go up to meet demand.
Only the most dedicated will get one, not everybody that wants one.
I just want them to restock the controllers for use on the VC. I saw one at my local CEX last weekend; £38!!!! The console was also there at approx £150.
I remember them saying that NES Mini will be restocked plentiful so everyone can get one. :s
Make a lot of sense to stop (or pause) the production of a console that would be a direct competitor for the Switch and we also do not know how the eShop and Virtual Console will work on the new machine.
I strongly believe that after the "Switch wave" Nintendo will start the prodution again and, who knows, announce a new mini for SNES or N64 =D
@freaksloan a little bit extreme. Just have patience...
Well now... that's not so delightful news
In Portugal we got plenty this week.
If they make money selling the unit (which I suppose they do), there's no reason to stop production.
I've been warning about this from the beginning, Nintendo has never ever said what their plans were for the NES Mini. Go back and look at all of their quarterly financial reports that have been covered extensively on Nintendo Life. Nintendo never gave a sales number for these. Nintendo has repeatedly given sales and projections for Wii U and 2DS and have said 2 million Switch at launch, but the most their financial meetings have ever said about the Mini were the release date and afterwards what they sold.
From the beginning this has looked like a stop gap measure for the holiday when Wii U wasn't selling and had no games after Paper Mario Color Splash. Surely if Nintendo had planned this as an ongoing item they would have told their investors sales at launch and projections for the year going forward.
Not to say there won't be a SNES Mini next holiday, but maybe this was just a one off for the holiday b/c Wii U died early. They can always sell SNES games on VC and have monthly rentals with their paid online subscription plan. Would be hard to give away NES VC games if they sold everyone 30 NES games for $60.
I suppose they could make more, but how would that help Switch sales?
@AlphaJaguar If it were like SEGA, we'd still be getting new official games for the NES onwards.... XD
@BinaryFragger Exactly.
Here in Switzerland, not one single retailer bothered creating shelf space for the NES mini.
When you have one or two units per delivery, even the motivation of nintendo fans can't create happy customers.
Especially when you see who is always first in line at 3 am on delivery day :
However, Nintendo did manage to create some buzz on the concept.
It's just that big stores are piling up on Megadrive handhelds, Atari Flashbacks, and even Retrons.
But who cares about who brought the buzz when the competitors are getting all the money ? This is ridiculous.
@rjejr Yeah, I was going to say it was a Switch pre-release stopgap, but you're right that there was the Wii U to consider too.
@Drummertist You're literally right, but this is terrible economics. Selling a product shouldn't come down to being some proving ground for the diehards. Common sense dictates that it should be widely available at the price the market is generally willing to pay.
Calling it SNES Mini later this year
@rjejr I'm disappointed with how Nintendo has handled this (and like you I have one) but I'm not seeing a reason for Nintendo to drop it entirely.
My guess is that this was a last minute effort to fill in the Holiday gap. The software seems like it was developed with care over time so I'm guessing the original target was Nintendo Switch. The hardware is the part that seems rushed.
Nintendo has stated component shortages (hah, and those cables prove it — shortages get it?) and some hardware decisions seem weird (either make the controller cables longer with a reset button hidden on the controller, or make the HDMI cable and power cable longer, or all longer. All short is a disaster).
My slim hope is that Nintendo realized the miscalculation of how popular this device is and is working on a refresh that addresses those hardware issues and that it probably doesn't mind waiting until after the Switch launches to bring it back into the limelight.
Because let's face it, it's a profit machine and Nintendo would like to return to solid sustainable profits.
http://wwg.com/2017/02/13/nes-classic-edition-production-may-be-ending-soon/
Can't be true. And if it is, I assume a mini NES 2 with more games is incoming.
Or we've got a big VC surprise announcement for the Switch due soon.
I wanted one because it seemed like an convenient way to play 30 awesome games. But Nintendo made it very inconvenient. And all that happens now is that I download the ROMs for free instead, so Nintendo really doesn't gain anything here.
This kind of crap is exactly why I decided to get Launchbox and Emumovies passes instead of wasting time finding a Nes mini. My current NES experience blows away the Nes Mini in terms of emulation quality, game access and variety and menu artwork.
@Drummertist It's baffling that people still find excuses for Nintendo. It's in the company's interest to sell the consoles, not the other way around.
Nintendo's general ideology is weird, and I can't see how on earth people still defend this company. Yes, they DO produce great, polished games, however the lack of respect for the general consumer, and most of all, for its loyal fan base is staggering.
I shake my head in baffled exasperation.
If true, this is NO surprise. The NES is the last console Nintendo needs to ensure the success of.
Prepare to see this thing resurface maybe at the end of the Switch's lifecycle
Thought about getting one as a bit of a novelty, couldn't find one, spent the money on Forza Horizon 3 and Titanfall 2. Well played, Nintendo.
I'm sorry, but I never saw this as being a long-term thing... I always saw it as being limited availability, so I don't see the point of complaining when they run out of this sort of thing.
Demand was higher than expected, and they do seem to have produced more than they originally planned already.
Limited supply is a sensible move in a lot of cases... not only does it generate more interest from consumers, but it also reduces waste from unsold units, which could cost them a lot of money if not enough are sold... so by limiting the number to an amount that they know they will sell could actually be more profitable to sell out than to overproduce and be left with unsold units.
I swear Nintendo has just got to be the most stupid company on Earth, seriously they border on inept. This is the kind of thing that if it happened in a normal company with get people fired and people at the tops heads would roll. But not at Nintendo, they just figure out a way to exacerbate the situation and make it worse. I recently bought a Xbox 360 used and I am enjoying playing games that I missed over the last ten or so years because of Nintendo's decisions.
I want to buy Nintendo products, but I literally can not, or they give me a reason not to buy their new products, they are so strange.
Hmm?... Yeah I still don't find any statement from Kimishima believable about the NES Classic. Nintendo (imo) done it on purpose. Maybe it's some kind of stress test if you will? BS is my opinion about it, and I'm sticking with it.
@Grumblevolcano I agree that this is some kind of strategy or stress test of some kind. I don't care how much apologizing Nintendo does. They know the intent on what is about it. Lol, who they think they're telling??
@Hikingguy I totally agree I am like how are you going to turn people on to the switch if nobody has a freaking NES classic? I never did understand this thing about we're going to make money by not selling products, and honestly I am not sure I am going to buy a switch because so far everything they have showed me my Wii U already has except for a course Legend of Zelda, I am like so you want me to buy a new system so I can finally play Mario Kart the way it was supposed to have been When You released at the first time on Wii U and same with Splatoon, so far I am pretty pissed off about that. Now if Nintendo announces a price cut or good freebies for Wii U owners that only is games then maybe I will switch up to the switch, but until there is a compelling reason it's a no-go.
I'm so frustrated with Nintendo!
Everything Nintendo is doing, at least recently, is based on supply and demand. I mean come on.. Even the 3DS is sold out everywhere. My local Wal-Mart has like five 2DS systems available, that's about it..
I thankfully finally managed to pick up a pair of these a couple of weeks ago, more by luck than anything else. But good God Nintendo, you really know how to botch things. I feel sorry for the millions of people still looking for this and now potentially won't get it. I could see Nintendo producing more next Christmas. And in the meantime make it hack proof. We all know how Nintendo are with piracy.
Hmm. I don't buy it. Kimishima wouldn't specifically use the term "increase production" if what he really meant was "one last production run". It seems much more likely that Nintendo are looking for new distributors in certain (tiny) regions, for whatever reason.
lulz
I always thought this was meant to be a limited-run system anyway.
I call 'Cock and bull'.
What's the point of keeping a vintage console on sale while a newer one is on the way. I don't mind seeing the NES Mini gone for a while.
Nooooooo!!!
The point of this machine was never that everyone should own one. It was a way of bringing some focus back on Nintendo as a hardware manufacturer.
It's becoming apparent that their aim never was to create "artificial shortages" for the sake of "hype".
They just sold the ones they had made, apparently.
This is getting out of hand.
I'm happy with this news. Be gone, ye old whippersnapper. You are not needed anymore.
@aaronsullivan Shrinkage. Maybe the cables spent too much time in the water with George?
Any thoughts on their profit on the device? As I said earlier their financial reports never really addressed the device. I thought they could sell 10 million at $60 each 3rd quarter, thats $600 million. I thought that number might interest investors, but they sold 1.5 mil, and it's not like a lot are sitting on store shelves. Maybe a few million more over the year once the feeding frenzy stopped, but where are the projections?
So yeah, it's a profit maker, but Nintendo really does not like making things. How much money do they want to pay to produce this hardware when they could be giving that money to Switch manufacturers, 2DS, New 3DS, New 3DS XL production. Maybe they just don't want to pay anyone to make a 5th device regardless of the potential profit? Maybe there is a "Rare Replay" like 30 games for $60 cartridge coming for Switch? Profit on a cartridge is higher than on hardware, no? Maybe those 30 games are the included monthly rentals with paid online?
I agree with you, they should be making these for years, alongside the SNES Mini starting next holiday, not N64 or GC, not retro enough just keep those on VC, but when's the last time you saw a Wii Fit Trainer amiibo on a shelf? Or New 3DS? They just don't like investment for production.
Past caring now. Would have liked one but I've moved on.
@cmk8 This.
If this turns out to be a rumour many ppl will have egg on there face
@SLIGEACH_EIRE funny, just a couple of days ago you complained that there are too many switch consoles available for pre-order
I'm still convinced Nintendo has produced no more than 17 of these. I have yet to find one. Anywhere.
"The NES mini was supposed to be stopgap product, and was never meant to be long term."
How adorable. Keep telling yourselves that.
I have one, still in its box, unopened. Sad I know but it almost seems too special to open?!
If the console makes N money, it seems crazy that they wouldn't make more to at least fulfil initial demand. Plus I want a SNES mini... and N64, and Gameboy...
@artofmana Hmm, I live in the Netherlands and there are 2 store chains (Nedgame & Mediamarkt) that occasionally have a few in stock in both physical stores and their websites. I'd honestly rather place a preorder with either of them and wait up to a month than buy one from a scalper.
Nintendo just loves to torture their fans? Why?!!!
This really sucks!
Nes mini classic 30 games will come to switch/3ds in cartridge format or download if they have stopped production.
Glad i got mine but again was just luck. I still want snes classic too...
"Nintendo importer".
Did anyone actually read the statement?
"Nintendo importer Bergsala AB" who clearly are not Nintendo don't have any more shipments planned. This has nothing to do with whether Nintendo are still making stock or not.
Rest in pieces
Glad I got mine, rather painlessly too. Preordered from Target way back in August last year
This Neogaf rumor is complete bunk, and here's why:
"We apologize to our consumers and retail partners for the inconvenience caused by product shortages. Some parts require time to procure, but we are working to increase production."
Note that. "We are working to increase production." Whoever put this rumor out didn't do their research.
First of all, there's no way in holy flaps this is true. Second of all, I'm loving my NES Mini which I got three days before launch because I pre-ordered it straight from Nintendo themselves. All aboard the NES Mini train, woo wooooooo!
@Drummertist So while I was at college trying to watch for one like a hawk and kept missing it for school and work related reasons my mother, I kid you not, walked in and heard an announcement over the intercom for a "hard to find console" and thought "my son my like that" (thinking of me in the process)....and gave it to my brother for Christmas xD
What I'm trying to say is, LUCK is a big part of this equation.
I'd be happy enough with one of the controllers, but even those are impossible to find.
II'll be boycotting the Switch until I get a NES Mini first.
@rjejr Use Seinfeld references any time you want to.
As far as Nintendo and manufacturing it seems terrified of unsold hardware sitting in warehouses and that was before the Wii U. It's a downside of offering products that are more than incremental changes in existing devices but trying to do something different. Predicting demand is much harder.
Even when it entered the toys-2-life game it didn't do it like the others. How often did we compare Disney Infinity and they didn't have stock issues but... oops, they went out of business.
I do wish they'd get better at it, though. I think New 3DS XL was very close on US demand which is quite miraculous considering how fast demand changed due to Pokemon-GO-Sun-Moon-combo. I was tracking that closely looking for deals and it was in and out of demand in places but not totally gone. Regular New 3DS units in the US are being used as bait for super fans I think. Too small for adults... but not for collectors who are adults. lol.
Anyway, it is interesting how many different manufacturers they must deal with when you list it out that way. NES Mini couldn't have been much of a priority after the year ended. It's not going to make or break Nintendo's future.
I can see it both ways. Easy cash or a distraction. I guess we'll see. I'd definitely wait until after the VC on Switch is revealed. (But are people really going to be weighing them side-by-side like that? Hmm... )
@Flowerlark agreed. I thought I would pick one up this summer if I had the $$$ and if they were readily available. Not going out of my way to get one and won't pay over retail
I hadn't used an emulator in years prior to the release of this little holiday system. I had been legit. I saw the price point and the system and I thought it would be worth buying. Now I've given up trying to find one but my desire to play the old games has returned. So what do I do? I downloaded an emulator. Nintendo kinda turned me back into pirating over being legit. They will never understand that though because they are so nervous and cautious as a company now. They would rather be a little successful and play it safe. NPD said they sold only 200k over the holidays. Could have been 2 million.
@aaronsullivan "(But are people really going to be weighing them side-by-side like that? Hmm... )"
Doesn't matter what people do or don't do, only matters what Nintendo thinks. Thousands of Muslims celebrating on the rooftops in NJ, 3 million illegal voters in Cali. 2+2=5. (I'm more about the 1984 references these days than Seinfeld sadly.)
I do hope it comes back, version 2.0 w/ longer cords works for me too. Even if they did a Rare Replay putting a cart into a Switch isn't the same as that mini system. But it may make them more money. Remember when damo was saying Nvidia didn't make Shield to make a profit, all of those devices was just a commercial marketing ad to get Nintendo to buy the X1 chips. Well maybe the NES Mini hardware was just an ad for NES games on VC?
Unbelievable how gigantic was the way that Nintendo messed up the whole NES Mini situation. They went in with a limited quantity from the start and never wanted NES Mini to become big. So in the end they sold most of their stock to ebay scalpers and everyone lost.
It could have been the biggest million seller in Christmas because the hype was incredibly huge and now the hype has died completely. I never saw it sold anywhere in Finland, but before Christmas I heard so many people talking about it, even people who had not touched games since the original NES era.
What an utterly lost opportunity. Someone at Nintendo deserves to be fired because of this completely miscalculated business failure.
Regarding Bergsala, they are a horrible company that are responsible for Nintendo products in the Nordic countries. They have always done a slacker job at promoting and selling products and never try to even advertise anything. I haven't seen a single Switch commercial on tv for example or on magazines or newspapers.
Also since they are based in Sweden, they don't really care about Finland, Norway or Denmark.
I so wish Nintendo had a centralized operations in Germany where they would directly handle all European countries instead of this mess that we have always been so far where only some countries have official Nintendo presence.
@manu0 No I didn't. I said that they hadn't sold out all the pre orders.
@Firelork Hahaha so funny... I have a strong feeling though they stopped production for now to focus on Switch launch and will continue production (Nes Mini & New 3DS) after Switch production. Its like they are trying to keep costs down for the end of the fiscal year...they have spent alot of money getting things right for Switch and keeping costs low for everything else. this seems like the logical thing they are doing.
also my job does the same thing and sometimes it doesn't make sense.
@Kolzig The reason why we have this "mess" Bergsala is because they used to import Nintendo products before there even was a "Nintendo of Europe". While I'll admit they aren't as great as they were years ago, it's mostly because of Nintendo letting NoE take care of Europe as a whole and not giving Bergsala much to say about it (SCN-mark on games disappearing, etc). Understandable since there isn't as many people in Scandinavia when compared to the rest of Europe, but unfortunate.
I just hope if the rumors of SNES mini being made are true there are no such stock issues, because while the NES mini was neat I'm WAYYYYYYY more interested in a SNES mini because you'll get so much more gaming out of a pack of SNES games than the most of the shorter NES titles there's great value to be had for a SNES mini especially if it comes packed with a couple of the great RPG's.
@rjejr To be fair, I wasn't sure what the answer was myself. Would people be deciding between NES mini and Switch? I hope Nintendo isn't that blind about their own direct business though. At least someone at Nintendo must have data to look at rather than our speculations.
My guess is that having a bunch of NES minis on the shelf next to Nintendo Switch would be just fine and only help each other.
The kind of person that would only get one might go with the NES mini because they just want that nostalgia at that price. The kind of person contemplating Nintendo Switch might skip an NES mini because they want the new deeper gaming experience. Then there is the fan that knows they'll enjoy both and stood in line to get an NES mini (and didn't get one) but also wants the Nintendo Switch. Probably they'll get a Switch and wait on the mini if cost is an issue.
My point is, Nintendo wins in all those scenarios and I don't think it would be very likely that someone walked into a store hearing about the Nintendo Switch fully intending to spend $300+ and then sees the mini and says, "Nah I just want this NES mini". Right?
So, there's just not much of a conflict here in my view. Which just means Nintendo has one less reason to keep them off shelves. It's already botched and I can accept it has taken time to make new manufacturing deals and spin up production, but where are these things? Like you've mentioned before they are small and should be easy to ship in boxes in large numbers. Getting 2 or 3 on a delivery truck is probably getting close to more expensive than shipping 10-20 on a delivery truck if only they had produced enough of them.
In the end, I don't mind too much if the NES mini takes awhile longer to get on the shelves enough to be visible, if it succeeds at shipping the Nintendo Switch in numbers that get closer to demand because that's where the focus should be now. I continue to guess that Nintendo hasn't come close to matching demand on the NES mini, though.
@aaronsullivan As always you make a lot of sense, and as always Nintendo doesn't. That must be very frustrating for you.
Did you see my joke somewhere about the wooly Yoshi amiibo lady making all the NES Mini by hand?
Sorry, I'm digesting my slow cooked ribs from the crock pot, all my blood has gone to my gut, sense is gone.
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