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Nintendo Apologizes For ‘Pokemon GO Plus’ Shortages At Toys R Us, Walmart, And Other Stores

By Trisha Faulkner
Published on: 19:02 PST, Oct 29, 2016

Pokemon GO Plus has been available at stores near you, including Toys R Us, Walmart, and GameStop, for a little more than a month. It was September 16 that Nintendo officially released this Pokemon GO accessory.

According to IGN, Nintendo has since apologized for product shortages as fans of the game are going to Toys R Us, Walmart, GameStop, and other stores near them only to find out the game accessory has been sold out.

“We launched the Pokemon Go Plus accessory on September 16th to provide a more comfortable play experience for Pokemon Go. Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this. We are planning to expand production as needed, and will continue to produce and ship additional units.”

Nintendo has reassured Pokemon GO players that they will continue to produce and ship additional accessories until they meet the demand. Unfortunately, some Pokemon GO players may just be forced to wait as Toys R Us, Walmart, GameStop, and other stores near them slowly restock their shelves with additional accessories for the game.

The question some Pokemon GO players have at this point is simple – is there a way to see if Toys R Us, Walmart, GameStop, and other stores near them have Pokemon GO Plus in stock before taking a trip to the store? These players are hoping to find out if Toys R Us and/or these other local stores have the game accessory in stock in order to avoid wasting a trip to the store only to find out the store does not have the accessory in stock when they get there.

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International Business Times reports the best thing you can do when trying to hunt down Pokemon GO Plus is simply to call a few local stores in your area such as Toys R Us, Walmart, or GameStop. Nintendo never told customers where Pokemon GO Plus was being sold, but any video game store or store with a video game and electronic department is a safe bet.

Most of the stores that sell the video game (such as Toys R Us, Walmart, or GameStop) will have store locators on their official websites. These store locators can be used to find stores near you. The store locator will also provide you with the phone number. Just give a few of the stores a call. If you find a store that has one in stock, see if they can set it aside for you.

Impatient Pokemon GO players, who are not having any luck by checking local stores such as Toys R Us, can also resort to purchasing the game accessory online. It is, however, important to keep in mind that third party vendors selling Pokemon GO Plus through websites such as Amazon are going to be selling the accessory for more than retail price because of the demand. It is not uncommon for these vendors to purchase game and game accessories such as Pokemon GO Plus when they are in high demand and selling them at higher than retail price because they know some fans will be willing to pay more to get their hands on the product as soon as possible.

According to IGN, one of the biggest features Pokemon GO Plus will offer to players is not requiring the application to run on your phone in order to play the game. With this accessory, players do not have to stare at their screen or run the application. This will allow the battery on your smartphone to last longer and it makes it a lot easier for players to be aware of their surroundings while playing the game.

In order to use the accessory with this special feature, you just have to open the application, sign into your account, and then put your phone on screen lock in order to conserve the battery power. Then, Pokemon GO Plus will notify you when there are Pokemon or PokeStops nearby. This way all players will have to do is press a button to collect the item or Pokemon that is nearby.

For Pokemon GO players who have yet to get their hands on this gaming accessory, the Toys R Us Holiday Toy Guide revealed that all Toys R Us stores would be restocking their shelves with additional accessories today – October 30.

Did you manage to get your hands on Pokemon GO Plus before it went out of stock in your area? Did you pay retail price or did you hop online and pay an inflated price to get your accessory? More importantly, if you’ve had a chance to use Pokemon GO Plus – what do you think about it? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]

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