We are all suckers for nostalgia, it seems, especially when it comes to old school gaming. Our collective desire to relive games of yesteryear was on full display when Nintendo released and quickly sold out of its miniature NES Classic Edition console, and now again with…
We are all suckers for nostalgia, it seems, especially when it comes to old school gaming. Our collective desire to relive games of yesteryear was on full display when Nintendo released and quickly sold out of its miniature NES Classic Edition console, and now again with the Super NES Classic Edition, another mini-sized game system that flew off virtual store shelves just as quickly as it was stocked (again) . Congratulations to the late night owls who scored a Super NES Classic from Best Buy before the retailer emptied its inventory. Best Buy lifted the curtain on the highly anticipated console at around 1: 00 AM Eastern on its website, and by roughly 1: 30 AM, online shoppers had snatched up every available unit available, leaving behind the dreaded « Coming Soon » placeholder in their wake. At least people living on the West Coast had a chance—checking stock at 10: 00 PM (Pacific) at night is a bit more manageable than 1: 00 AM. Either way, the late night launch came as a surprise to most people, as there was no real indication that the Super NES Classic would be made available last night. The closest indication that Nintendo gave leading up the preorder launch was that it would take place sometime this month. »We appreciate the incredible anticipation that exists for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System: Super NES Classic Edition system, and can confirm that it will be made available for preorder by various retailers late this month, » Nintendo said in a statement at the beginning of August. Nintendo also said at the time that « a significant amount of additional systems will be shipped to stores for launch day, and throughout the balance of the calendar year. » Take from that what you will. At face value, it means Nintendo is committed to supplying more systems to stores when the console actually launches, and through all of 2017. Cool beans, right? Well, not exactly. Nintendo made similar promises with the NES Classic Edition, only to later abruptly cancel production. The company would later say that it never intended for the NES Classic Edition to be an ongoing thing, and that it had to make room in production for its hybrid Switch console, which is also in short supply. Conspiracy theorists believe Nintendo’s console shortages are deliberate to drive up demand. Sales figures suggest otherwise—the Switch is Nintendo’s fastest selling console ever—but either way, it is a frustrating situation for consumers. And to rub salt in the wound, these same consoles can easily be found on sites such as eBay and Craigslist, at grossly inflated price tags. The Super NES Classic comes bundled with two wired controllers and 21 games. It costs $80 and officially launches on September 29,2017.
