Nintendo Exec Explains NES Classic Scarcity

[Steven Bogos]

Nintendo Exec Explains NES Classic Scarcity

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1366/1366279.jpg
Nintendo of American president Reggie Fils-Aime says that an unexpected demographic was interested in the NES Classic, leading to a supply and demand issue.

I think we can all agree that the distribution of the to GameSpot [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/nes%20classic%20edition?os=nes+classic+edition].

"When we looked at that proposition what we believed was the adults, 30-40 years old, who grew up playing NES as a kid, 10 years old or so but had stepped away from the gaming category--that was going to be the buyer [of the NES Classic]," Fils-Aime said. "As we thought about that, that led us to a certain level of supply."

What happened in reality though was that alongside these "lapsed gamer," the "more active gamers" also bought the NES Classic, leading to a demand that Nintendo did not anticipate. Who would have thunk that active Nintendo fans would want to buy a cheap Nintendo nostalgia box? Inconceivable!

"That was the maketplace disconnect that happened," Fils-Aime said. He added that Nintendo continues to make more NES Classic systems available. He said the supply issues for NES Classic have been "largely addressed," although the console still remains out-of-stock at many retailers.

Fils-Aime is determined to not make the same mistake with the Switch, ensuring it will have 2 million units in the wild, worldwide, for its March launch.

Source: GameSpot [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-exec-on-nes-classic-shortages-nintendo-sw/1100-6446951/]

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[The Enquirer]

And somehow I doubt the Switch will have better luck with the supply department.

 

[JenSeven]

Only 2 million world wide?
That is pathetic.

It will be sold out in a single day across the world and then we'd need to wait another month or so for resupplies.
Yeah, this is another shit-show in the making.

 

[gigastar]

Fils-Aime is determined to not make the same mistake with the Switch, ensuring it will have 2 million units in the wild, worldwide, for its March launch.

Knowing that the PS4 sold over 4m units in its first year, thats pretty fucking shortsighted of them.

 

[fix-the-spade]

It will be sold out in a single day across the world and then we'd need to wait another month or so for resupplies.

We shall see, the PS4 sold around 4 million units it's first two months. Given that was a record breaking performance expecting the Switch to sell half as well as the PS4 at launch might be slightly optimistic.

I'm certainly not seeing much buzz about the Switch compared the clamoring for the PS4/Xbone three and a bit years ago.

 

[Soulrender95]

You know I might have believed Nintendo if this was a one-off event but they pull this stunt far too often for it to be mere coincidence it's just creating artificial demand and making re-sellers rich and we already have reports that there are a limited supply of switch consoles.

I'm just waiting for the "Nintendo didn't expect switch demand" headlines.

 

[Dalisclock]

Jim Sterling did a video about this a couple months back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRicuKHmjZA

Apparently Nintendo was shipping out absurdly small amounts of units to major retailers.

And they wonder why emulation is still a thing.

 

[JenSeven]

It will be sold out in a single day across the world and then we'd need to wait another month or so for resupplies.

We shall see, the PS4 sold around 4 million units it's first two months. Given that was a record breaking performance expecting the Switch to sell half as well as the PS4 at launch might be slightly optimistic.

I'm certainly not seeing much buzz about the Switch compared the clamoring for the PS4/Xbone three and a bit years ago.

Record breaking yes, but the PS4 is more expensive, and more aimed at a more hardcore gamer scene. We all know that the Switch is also aiming for the Wii crowd, and the Wii sold like mad when it was launched.
And they are generating a lot of hype around it.
So, from what I can see around me, this thing will outsell the PS4, if Nintendo can manage the supply. Because of course the Switch isn't going to break the PS4s record, because there aren't going to be enough Switches to sell.
And the more I hear about this thing, the more I'm convinced that Nintendo is headed by a bunch of brain damaged baboons.

 

[fix-the-spade]

We all know that the Switch is also aiming for the Wii crowd, and the Wii sold like mad when it was launched.

Nintendo will never get the Wii crowd back.

The Wii somehow managed to jump out of being a games device and become a lifestyle accessory. Wii Sports and Wii Fit hit on a fashion craze that saw Nintendo selling hardware to people who would never have looked at a game console or described themselves as gamers.

Trouble is these people weren't gamers, they didn't buy any software and once Wii Fit had failed to change their lives they left the console to rot next to the TV. Most of the Wii's that were sold are the game console equivalent of the treadmill your Mum* bought to get in shape that she uses as a clothes horse.

Even if the Switch is amazing it won't sell to these people now. The Wii launched before the iPhone, nowadays it would crash and burn in the face of FitBit and MyWellness and all the other live stat tracking fitness apps that sync up to social media. Nor will it sell as a media device since tablets and most TVs sold now can also get the internet, streaming and so on (and Nintendo's online services are a decade behind everyone else).

The casual market now belongs to phones and the army of clickers. Party games? Again smart phones and tablet have that covered. As for real games, most of the Wii's buyers wouldn't know Zelda from Samus, nor would they ever commit the time to learn how actually play a 'real' video game. No matter how good the Switch's library turns out to be it will have no draw for them.

The Wii's success was very much a once and done kind of event, Nintendo trying to chase it again is as doomed as it was with the Wii U.



*No offence to actual Mum's intended, but I'm sure you know the stereotype

 

[Canadamus Prime]

C'mon Reggie, don't insult our intelligence. You knew exactly what the market was going to be. You just wanted to inflate the demand.

Also only 2 Million world-wide??? Are you nuts? You should plan for 2 million for Japan or the US alone. I see you've learned nothing! And you wonder why Nintendo is now the target of everyone's scorn and derision these days.

 

[Cold Shiny]

I dunno, with all the "urg grafax suck no power" hate from a ton of people, shipping conservative numbers for the Switch might be a good idea.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

This is very Nintendo. They seem to be blissfully unaware of the market at times, in ways that are obvious to almost anyone in the actual market. And yet, even when they fail they manage to succeed somewhere else, somehow. Its like Mr. Magoo as a gaming company. Or Mr. Bean. Same basic character...

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I know all the sheep farmers have moved on from where I am, but I still smell sheep poopy.

This is still very much a Nintendo problem that, for some reason, doesn't quite understand how the market works. I thought it was obvious by now that they are the "family system" and that bringing back the classics is going to grab a lot of attention from a lot of people. While I appreciate that Reggie even bothered to touch it, that explanation sucks.

Also, 2 million units world-wide for the Switch?

Come-on, man.

 

[WeepingAngels]

If they were caught unaware of demand it is because they do not listen to consumers. The internet made no secret of it's excitement for the NES Classic and only Nintendo could miss it.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

For the people complaining about 2 million for March alone, here?s some facts for you. No console (outside the PS4) has sold more than 3 million in a year. So, based off market facts, 2 million in 1 single month, is actually overestimating the demand.

And separately in regards to the scarcity, I correctly called it that NES Classic was specifically for the adults and parents who either haven?t played gamed in a long time, or wanted to share their childhood with their own kids.

 

[JenSeven]

For the people complaining about 2 million for March alone, here?s some facts for you. No console (outside the PS4) has sold more than 3 million in a year. So, based off market facts, 2 million in 1 single month, is actually overestimating the demand.

And separately in regards to the scarcity, I correctly called it that NES Classic was specifically for the adults and parents who either haven?t played gamed in a long time, or wanted to share their childhood with their own kids.

That is America.
World wide is different.
PS4 released in the US on November 13th, in Europe on November 29th.
On December 28th they had sold 4.2 million.

'In its first sales announcement of 2015, Sony confirmed on January 4 that it had sold-through 18.5 million PlayStation 4 units.'
That is 2 and a half months after release.

But yeah, that is the PS4, and they had counted on the demand.

The Xboxes and Nintendo consoles have both had either terrible launches, insufficient supply or just crap press (Xbone) which would have dampened sales. Not to mention that they usually also didn't have much in the terms of launch titles either.

 

[Battenberg]

Nope, don't buy it for one second. Nintendo has done this way too many time in recent years for me to believe it's down to anything other than wanting to drum up artificial scarcity to get free publicity from headlines like "hit console sells out in minutes" (incidentally Nintendo you could get a ton of free publicity by simply not shitting on YouTubers who so much as mention you). It's anti-consumer and it's just as bad as the crap companies like EA pull with micro transactions and pre-order BS in my books.

Makes no odds to me since I haven't bought anything Nintendo has made since the original Wii but it amazes me so many people are still going in for these products. Apart from anything else the NES Classic wasn't even well designed; only getting 1 controller and that controller having such a pathetically small cable are pretty much inexcusable (especially when it's not even compatible with original NES controllers).

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

We all know that the Switch is also aiming for the Wii crowd, and the Wii sold like mad when it was launched.

Nintendo will never get the Wii crowd back.

The Wii somehow managed to jump out of being a games device and become a lifestyle accessory. Wii Sports and Wii Fit hit on a fashion craze that saw Nintendo selling hardware to people who would never have looked at a game console or described themselves as gamers.

Trouble is these people weren't gamers, they didn't buy any software and once Wii Fit had failed to change their lives they left the console to rot next to the TV. Most of the Wii's that were sold are the game console equivalent of the treadmill your Mum* bought to get in shape that she uses as a clothes horse.

Even if the Switch is amazing it won't sell to these people now. The Wii launched before the iPhone, nowadays it would crash and burn in the face of FitBit and MyWellness and all the other live stat tracking fitness apps that sync up to social media. Nor will it sell as a media device since tablets and most TVs sold now can also get the internet, streaming and so on (and Nintendo's online services are a decade behind everyone else).

The casual market now belongs to phones and the army of clickers. Party games? Again smart phones and tablet have that covered. As for real games, most of the Wii's buyers wouldn't know Zelda from Samus, nor would they ever commit the time to learn how actually play a 'real' video game. No matter how good the Switch's library turns out to be it will have no draw for them.

The Wii's success was very much a once and done kind of event, Nintendo trying to chase it again is as doomed as it was with the Wii U.



*No offence to actual Mum's intended, but I'm sure you know the stereotype

But how can you compare Phone Gaming and The Motion Control gaming of the Wii?

Can a Smartphone let me play a game like Bowling like how Wii Sports Bowling does?

 

[Tanis]

Bullshit.

Nintendo is the GOP of gaming.

They know they're full of shit, they know everyone knows they're full of shit, but they keep shitting on everyone because their most outspoken fans are too deep in shit to dig out of their own shit.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Ok, right, whatever. Now explain the rest of the times you pulled this shit, like the 3DS, 2DS, Amiibos, etc etc.

Everyone is on to your tricks Nintendo, and anyone who gives a shit (non fanboys) knows that this is bullcrap anyway.