In what has become a very common practice for Nintendo hardware, the NES Classic Edition is sold out. In fact it sold out its first day on the market.
The demand for the all-in-one console modeled after the original Nintendo Entertainment System got a good amount of buzz when it was announced. But I don’t think anyone expected this response. There were long lines outside lots of the brick and mortar stores, and the rush to buy also seemed to cause problems with Amazon. That’s not something that’s easily accomplished.
However, it’s hard to say what caused this craziness. Maybe hordes of people really did want one. But it’s also a possibility that Nintendo gave retailers a limited amount of consoles to fuel the hype and get even more people interested.
This isn’t the first time Nintendo has limited the availability of their products. Many of the amiibo characters sold at a lightining pace, fueling that frenzy that still continues in part today. Further into the past, there were also lots of shortages of the original Wii when it was first released.
Nintendo of America is trying calm the craziness by posting a few status updates on Twitter.
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
