NES Classic Edition Promptly Sells Out, Nintendo Promises ‘Steady Flow’ Of New Stock
As we noted yesterday, trying to purchase the NES Classic Edition from an online retailer wasn’t much better, as most quickly went out of stock (or never had any stock to begin with). Many gamers penned their hopes on getting the console from Amazon, which advertised that the NES Classic Edition would be available to purchase online at 5PM EST. Well, as you might expect, the site actually crashed:
Not even joking. NES Classic killed Amazon. This is the homepage right now. pic.twitter.com/R9MvYiQH7h
— Seth G. Macy (@sethmacy) November 11, 2016
Whatever stock Amazon had was depleted in mere seconds. But cheer up; if you’re lucky, you won’t have to pay ridiculous markups to get the NES Classic Edition before Christmas time rolls around. In a series of tweets, Nintendo confirmed that there will be a "steady flow" of the consoles over the next few weeks:
The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition system is a hot item, and we are working hard to keep up with consumer demand. 1/3
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 11, 2016
There will be a steady flow of additional systems through the holiday shopping season and into the new year. 2/3
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 11, 2016
Please contact your local retailers to check availability. A selection of participating retailers can be found @ https://t.co/rMbd6Wacpi 3/3
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) November 11, 2016
In case you need a refresher, the NES Classic Edition is a shrunken version of the legendary Nintendo Entertainment System, and comes with 30 classic games preinstalled. However, Nintendo has updated the system to support modern HDTVs (it connects via an HDMI cable) and each game supports save slots (so you can keep replaying those tricky spots in a game until you get it right).
The console comes with a single wired controller, and an additional controller can be purchased for $9.99. The NES Classic Edition itself costs $59.99, although opportunistic sellers on eBay are unloading them for triple or quadruple the MSRP.