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Nintendo Discontinues NES Classic Edition Despite Massive Sales Since Release

By Danny Cox
Published on: 09:06 PST, Apr 13, 2017

In mid-November of last year, Nintendo put the NES Classic Edition mini-system on sale, and it has pretty much been sold out ever since. Despite the massive sales of the system over the last six months, Nintendo is going to discontinue the system in North America. If you have not yet grabbed one, you might want to do whatever you can to get it, as the last shipments are set to go out to retailers this month.

As first reported by IGN on Thursday afternoon, Nintendo has indeed confirmed that after the end of April, retailers will receive no more shipments of the NES Classic. The company did say that companies making third-party accessories for the system can choose if they wish to continue producing them.

Nintendo told IGN the NES Classic Edition was never meant to be a “long-term product” and that the production of it was always meant to be limited. Actually, the original plans called for a lot less of the systems to be created and sold, but the high demand called for extra shipments.

A message received fro Nintendo explained everything.

“Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product.”

The NES Classic Edition mini-system was a smaller version of the original Nintendo Entertainment System, but it also had 30 iconic games built into it. The system comes with one old-school controller but has a slot for another to be hooked to it upon purchase.

Nintendo watched as the systems flew off the shelves in record time upon its November release, but they always promised new shipments through the end of 2016 and into the new year. That appears to have been their stopping point, but the massive demand extended production into April.

Fans are obviously quite shocked on social media and can’t believe that Nintendo would want to stop profiting off of such a successful product. Still, the company is now focusing on the new Nintendo Switch and other future games and products.

Gamespot inquired about the production and sale of the NES Classic Edition in other countries since Nintendo was discontinuing it in North America. Nintendo simply said check out the statements made for other territories and countries.

When asked if the classic NES games were going to be made available on the Switch or any other system, Nintendo said, “We have nothing to announce at this time.”

Some of the games included on the system are as follows.

  • Dr. Mario
  • Castlevania
  • Super Mario Bros. 1-3
  • Kid Icarus
  • Metroid
  • Mega Man 2
  • Tecmo Bowl
  • Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
  • Ninja Gaiden
  • Pac-Man
  • Super C
  • Ghost ‘n Goblins

The North American version has 30 retro games total on it, and after they are all gone from stores, fans might have to find other ways to play them.

It is quite insane to think that Nintendo is discontinuing the NES Classic Edition mini-system considering how many they have sold in such a short period of time. Obviously, the company didn’t anticipate the high demand for it, and that caused the video game system to sell out time and time again. Now, North America will have it no more, and you can bet that anyone with a system or two will see the value skyrocket.

[Featured Image by Nintendo]

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