Nintendo Fumbles with the NES Classic
Yesterday Nintendo released the NES Classic in the United States. Gamers everywhere salivated at the thought of being able to relive their childhood memories by playing NES classics like Super Mario Bros, Punchout and The Legend of Zelda. But in typical Nintendo fashion they bungled the release.
The NES Classic sold out in every store within minutes of opening and some did not even receive any. Stores that were lucky enough to have some were only given a limited supply, some as few as ten. So why did Nintendo fail to anticipate the excitement of the release? simple they didn't.
Nintendo has a history of failing to understand supply and demand. The Wii was one of the hottest systems to own 8 years ago. But Nintendo was never able to keep up with demand. During the holiday season 2009, they doubled their supplies but were still unable to make sure stores across the U.S. were stocked. Similarly the Majora's Mask 3DSXL went out of stock in mere minutes after its release.
Nintendo seems to lack and understanding of just how many of their customers desire certain products. Or do they?
In my opinion I think Nintendo knows exactly what they are doing when it comes to their products being sold out. While it is annoying for a customer to not be able to purchase the product they wanted, the fact that they want it so bad only fuels the anticipation and desire for it.
Nintendo feeds on this by not releasing enough of a product which allows the hunger for the items to grow: in this case the NES Classic.
While Nintendo promises to continue to release more for the holiday season I expect their will continue to be shortages. After all, where is the profit in selling all of your product to a market at once when you can slowly feed them in a more financially sustainable way?
The NES Classic sold out in every store within minutes of opening and some did not even receive any. Stores that were lucky enough to have some were only given a limited supply, some as few as ten. So why did Nintendo fail to anticipate the excitement of the release? simple they didn't.
Nintendo has a history of failing to understand supply and demand. The Wii was one of the hottest systems to own 8 years ago. But Nintendo was never able to keep up with demand. During the holiday season 2009, they doubled their supplies but were still unable to make sure stores across the U.S. were stocked. Similarly the Majora's Mask 3DSXL went out of stock in mere minutes after its release.
Nintendo seems to lack and understanding of just how many of their customers desire certain products. Or do they?
In my opinion I think Nintendo knows exactly what they are doing when it comes to their products being sold out. While it is annoying for a customer to not be able to purchase the product they wanted, the fact that they want it so bad only fuels the anticipation and desire for it.
Nintendo feeds on this by not releasing enough of a product which allows the hunger for the items to grow: in this case the NES Classic.
While Nintendo promises to continue to release more for the holiday season I expect their will continue to be shortages. After all, where is the profit in selling all of your product to a market at once when you can slowly feed them in a more financially sustainable way?
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