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Even before Nintendo discontinued the NES Classic, the value of the micro-console on the secondary market was far greater than its suggested retail price. Scalpers on sites like eBay were demanding astronomical amounts for the system, but prices appeared to have settled down recently, perhaps due to slowing demand and the naive expectation that Nintendo would eventually get enough consoles onto store shelves to ensure that anyone who wanted one got one at a reasonable price.

However, the news that the console is now no longer in active production has caused a spike in its resell value, and UK high street retailer CEX - which deals in buying and selling second-hand electronics and media - has capitalised on this by pricing the console at £190, more than three times its typical retail value.

At the time of writing the store is offering NES Classic owners £123 cash for their console or £142 of in-store credit. Last week, CEX was reportedly selling the system for £90.

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You could argue that CEX is simply responding to market trends when it comes to pricing this console; the news that it has been discontinued has caused a massive rise in value on eBay as well. In that regard, the store can't be blamed for making the most of the incredible demand for the NES Classic - what really beggars belief is why Nintendo would decide to axe a product which, since launch, it has been unable to meet demand for.

Perhaps the company wants to avoid a conflict of interest when the Virtual Console eventually arrives on the Switch, or maybe an updated NES Classic with more titles is planned? Let us know what you think by posting a comment below.