Nintendo Classic has Been Discontinued

Nintendo has done something that pretty much flies in the face of business models that most of us expect. I don’t think any of us expect Nintendo or any other company to stop making a product when the demand is high and consumers are trying to locate the product so they can buy it. Yet that is exactly what Nintendo has done with the discontinuation of the Nintendo Classic Edition.

Nintendo has said that the last shipments will go to retailers this month, sadly those last shipments won’t be for North America which means for gamers in the US who haven’t found a Nintendo Classic Edition yet, you won’t find one unless you pay big mark ups on eBay. IGN has a statement from Nintendo that you can read below.

“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.”

I do see one interesting tidbit in that statement though, it says “for this year.” That would seem to imply that next year there might be more systems available. That may be wishful thinking though. A Nintendo rep told IGN, “NES Classic Edition wasnt intended to be an ongoing, long-term product. However, due to high demand, we did add extra shipments to our original plans.”

Nintendo says that third party accessories could continue to be available and that would be up to the manufacturers. I’m not sure what sense it makes to continue manufacturing for a console that isn’t available. Nintendo is officially discontinuing the NES Classic Controller.