Gamer Bite: Bye Bye NES Classic

Last week, Nintendo announced that they would be discontinuing the NES Classic. If you didn’t know, the NES Classic is a miniaturized version of the original NES that comes complete with 30 games. The system was so popular that stores have been unable to keep their shelves stocked. Nintendo may be unable to keep up with production, which might indicate why they are discontinuing it. However, I believe there are other reasons at play. 

Theories abound as to why Nintendo discontinued the NES Classic. I wrote a piece outlining my belief that Nintendo increased market demand to maximize profits when shortages were first reported last year. While I cannot prove this, the news of the discontinuation seems to provide additional evidence.

Another idea is that Nintendo realized they could make much more money selling the old NES games individually through the Switch and Nintendo Store, rather than 30 at once in the Classic. This is possible, but I think they will be missing out on a huge niche market of gamers that only wanted the Classic for nostalgia purposes and are not interested in modern gaming.
 
Nintendo is playing a game that is similar to dangling a carrot in front of a horse. They dangle the Classic in front of us until we salivate, and then take it away before many of us can take a bite. They know that by removing it from shelves it increases demand beyond that of the average gamer. For those that grew up playing NES, but have since left gaming, the Classic was a blast of nostalgia. Many want it, and now they are unable to get it. Only hardcore gamers who are willing to pay a premium will get their hands on one.


Today it was reported that Nintendo is releasing a Super Nintendo Classic this year. It may be possible they cut the NES Classic to make room for the SNES Classic. I’m sure they will play the same game with consumers of the SNES that they did with the NES.

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