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Nintendo NES Classic Edition Continues Production, Where To Get It

By Ronald Cress
Published on: 02:44 PST, Feb 16, 2017

News of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition being discontinued are blowing up on the internet, but fortunately, Nintendo quickly refuted the claims. Fans need not worry anymore as production is underway and more units are going out to retail stores soon.

The rumors of NES’ shipment being halted arose from a NeoGAF user claiming that the Nintendo Classic Edition “will be phased out.” The member called Roarer further explained that he works for a Nordic retailer, which received word from the Japanese company that production is ending.

“We will be receiving a few more shipments before everything dries up,” Roarer said.

“By our estimates, we (as a single retailer) might not be able to fulfill all orders that have been placed so far. Our last shipment should arrive in April or May, and after that there won’t be any more shipments.”

Other retailers also reportedly confirmed that this is the case. A Facebook post from a Norweigan retailer corroborates the claim, which says that there will be no more deliveries past April.

A U.K. Nintendo representative addressed these rumors and spoke to TechRadar.

“Production for the Nintendo Classic Mini: NES continues, and NOE [Nintendo of Europe] will continue to ship units to retail on a regular basis.”

So, there you have it. Nintendo is still keen on delivering more NES Classic Edition consoles into as much homes as possible. The Inquisitr previously reported that the Japanese company is increasing its NES production to meet the demands, which seems to be not decreasing anytime soon.

With that said, where can fans actually buy a unit?

As far as we know, there’s almost no retail store right now that holds an NES Classic at its original price of $60. There might be some at Target’s and Walmart’s physical stores, but their inventory level is only at 4 percent and 3 percent respectively, based on Brickseek’s data.

There were some who lucked out on finding an NES Classic in Walmart, I4U reports. The publication advised to use the “View Barcode” feature in Brickseek to have the store attendants scan it for availability. But it’s best to only try it if the website says that there are stocks in a particular store.

Other retailers such as Best Buy and GameStop briefly re-stocked the NES last week, but as expected, the supplies only lasted for a few minutes. Even a bundle priced at $185, which includes the platform, a controller accessory, and a 32-inch ProScan TV, sold out fast.

For desperate fans who absolutely must have the NES Classic Edition right now, there are some third-party sellers in Walmart, eBay, and Amazon. However, be prepared to shell out more than twice its original price.

On average, fans can get an NES Classic Edition on Amazon and Walmart for $150. On eBay, a unit can fetch as high as $200. Newegg also has some stocks as of this writing, but it’s $189.95 a piece with free shipping.

Although supplies may be scarce right now, fans can take comfort in the fact that 2 million units of the NES Classic Edition are being prepared for a worldwide launch in March. That’s half a month from now, which should not be too much of a wait.

It’s possible that Nintendo wants fans to put their attention first on the Nintendo Switch, which is launching on March 3 together with the breathtaking The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The hybrid platform is expected to put the tech giant back on the map after being left behind by the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately, that means that there will be no surplus of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition to tide the wait over.

[Featured Image by Ewen Roberts/Flickr/Cropped and Resized/CC BY 2.0]

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