NES Mini is in short supply; Nintendo responds to angry fans
It's an uncharacteristic move for the publisher, which means complaints must be REALLY bad.
The NES Mini launched today, and it appears that demand is very high. So much so that fans have angrily been barraging Nintendo with requests for more.
The new retro Classic console has been flying off the shelves and Nintendo is struggling to keep up with customer enthusiasm. The company doesn't often respond to commentary on Twitter, but it did so this time, acknowledging the problem: "The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition system is a hot item, and we are working hard to keep up with consumer demand," it said. "There will be a steady flow of additional systems through the holiday shopping season and into the new year."
It followed that with a note to contact participating retailers for availability, while reminding potential customers which retailers to nag.
Many retailers have had limited quantities of the new console, and some have reported being sold out online within minutes of launch. Nintendo isn't being too clear on just what "a steady flow of additional systems" means, but you can bet that demand will continue to be high, given that the console sells for only $59.99 and comes preloaded with 30 original games.
And as with any product launch, opportunistic eBayers have the console available with an average markup of about 200%. If you are desperate, you can drop $1000 on this one.
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John Keefer posted a new article, NES Mini is in short supply; Nintendo responds to angry fans
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Yeah...I mean I KNOW I'm an outlier. I run emulators I'm my desktop, own a Framemeister and just ordered an OSSC ( http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/ossc.html ), have considered buying an old 15KHz CRT, and have a Kazzo for ripping my NES games and a Retrode for ripping my SNES, Genesis, N64, and Gameboy, GBC, and GBA games (I've got adapters for the N64 and GB* games). I've build my own arcade joystick from the shell of an existing shittier joystick that met my needs and altered its button layout and purchased new buttons, a new stick, a PCB, and wired it all up. I own a shitload of adapters for a plethora of classic controllers (NES, Genesis, SNES, N64, Dreamcast, Playstation1&2, and all sorts of others I'm forgetting) that I use with emulators. If I wanted to run emulated games on my TV I wouldn't fuck with a Pi...the Pi lacks power to run the shaders I would want. I would fucking build an HTPC of some sort for that.
Hell, I just got a new in box copy of NES Metroid (albeit the yellow box reprinted version), of the Genesis games Revenge of Shinobi, along with a used copy of Castlevania for the NES day before yesterday. And last week I think it was that I received my new in box copy of Super Castlevania IV that I found and ordered. I'm a fucking outlier of outliers.
Given all that I still understand the desire for an NES Classic Edition. Not everyone is me (insane about this shit, and have an OCD desire to own every game I emulate if possible and I prefer to rip said roms myself if there's an easy way to do it)...and not everyone is even most sane people on here...for most people this would be a handy way to relive the games they loved as kids and share them with their kids. And the thing is so damned sexy that I almost want one and will probably buy one on impulse if I run into one in a store here in rural West Virginia...I'll almost certainly pick up some of the controllers to go along with the Wii Classic Super Famicom controllers I have (same plug, but its an SFC controller). I won't throw any shade at someone buying one of these at all.-
The kids angle is the big one, IMO. I know a lot of adults want one for themselves because they DGAF about emulators, HTPCs, or DIY mini consoles. But for me, the fact that I can plop the box in my nephew's hand and just let him open it and go to town is the big draw. Well plus we can play all the things.
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Not if you own the games (and in my case, use a device to extract the games from said cartridge).
http://i.imgur.com/CMYS0Ps.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zyKxaVJ.jpg-
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True (a lot of those games I don't have an interest in tbh)...then again I only play games I own via emulation now and have been slowly picking things up that I loved to rent as a kid. I still have all my games for the NES and SNES that I owned as a kid too (along with every other game I ever owned...I never sell games or throw them away)...so I'm an outlier.
I would add that I'm not one of the people saying this thing sucks...I'm actually tempted to get one. If they gave you the bare roms on the thumb drive in addition to the thing I would have been first in line (hell, I bought that NeoGeo bundle on th Humble Bundle because they came with the actual NeoGeo roms that I could then plug into Retroarch with my preferred shaders and play on my CRT). If nothing else I could take it up to my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving and let the little ones play it if they like. It would also be a handy way to get some more Nintendo made NES controllers for far cheaper than I would normally pay for a new in box NES controller.-
I'm also the nut who just got a new in box sealed copy of Metroid for the NES in the mail a couple days ago (going to post pics of the unboxing either today or tomorrow), along with Revenge of Shinobi (again new and sealed in box) and Castlevania for the NES (that one was used and just the cart...wasn't willing to pay insane money to get the original boxed and would feal bad opening it...Metroid was the yellow box reprint from '92 so I didn't feel bad about that and Shinobi was the reprint from '95...which is why I got both of them for not too much...though I won't admit to how much I paid for Metroid because it was still between 100 and 200 bucks).
Hell, I paid 165 bucks for a new in box Super Castlevania IV recently.
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Games on this I don't own (with the ones I really really want in red):
Dr. Mario (but I own the SNES version with Tetris on the same cart)
Excite Bike (in fact I think I'll hunt that down today...I love Excite Bike!)
Kirby's Adventure (damn I regret not buying this at Walmart for 2 bucks or whatever off the discount bin back in '96)
Simon's Quest
Pac-Man
Donkey Kong Jr.
Ice Climber (I sort of want this, but I have it on the Wii VC)
Super Contra
Kid Icarus
Balloon Fight
Double Dragon II
Tecmo Bowl
Star Tropics
Galaga
Ghosts 'n Goblins (the arcade and Genesis versions are better tbh)
Ninja Gaiden
Gradius
Donkey Kong (I prefer the arcade version...though if I found it cheap I might buy)
Mario Bros. (tempting but I have this on other platforms)
Punch Out (though if I was buying on the NES I'd probably want to get the Mike Tyson version)
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Or maybe they know exactly how to handle it. I can add other random bullshit to my cart like there's nothing even going on. http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=35649629#item_35649629
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Looks like some people on twitter were able to snag some, all sold out now
https://twitter.com/amazongames/status/797200591260971009-
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NCL isn't good at this thing. They don't want inventory in channel for any length of time but they're terrible at getting an accurate idea of demand via pre-orders when they go into physical production. They're always super conservative, which is great for sitting on a Fort Knox pile of money but really bad for situations where they have a blockbuster product.
It helps in situations like Wii U where they made a certain number of units and then scaled back production because demand was low. Its terrible in situations like the Wii or Amiibo where demand is beyond their projections.
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Ok but this is a silly $60 box with a few dozen games made for casual Nintendo fans, not a $700 phone that you will be connected to every waking moment.
Nintendo's just trying to build a little hype for it now, so they can knock it out of the park for christmas. Additionally, it builds their brand awareness back up just in time for the Switch.
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