The gaming world was shocked when Nintendo recently announced it decided to stop production of the highly in-demand NES Classic Edition, saying it was only meant to be a limited product for the holidays of 2016 and the production was only extended to try to meet consumer demands.
However, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime finally revealed the reason why the console was abruptly Discontinued.
Nintendo’s real reason
In an interview with Fils-Aime, he stated, “From our perspective, it’s important to recognize where our future is and the key areas that we need to drive.” He added, “We’ve got a lot going on right now, and we don’t have a limited resource,” according to a report by Time.
Apparently, Nintendo didn’t anticipate that the retro 8-bit console would have such a profound impact on people. And with the Nintendo Switch also being such a hot console, the company needed to focus on that as the new console itself is also low in supply. Nintendo is putting all production resources behind the hybrid console.
The NES Classic Edition was launched in November of last year for $60. The console came with 30 pre-installed games and became so popular that it sold out almost immediately whenever the item was re-stocked.
The company has sold 2.3 million units of the console.
Nintendo Switch’s success
We now know that the success of the Nintendo Switch is part of the reason why the Classic Edition was discontinued.
Analytics firm SuperData estimated Nintendo sold 2.4 million units of the Switch worldwide in its first month. It exceeded the company’s expectation by 400,000 units, only hoping to sell 2 million during the first month of its launch.
That number would have been significantly higher if there weren’t any stock issues. What’s more interesting is the fact that the hybrid console managed to hit that number without the holiday shopping season.
The best-selling Switch game, “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” the game that came with the console’s launch, had something to do with the Switch’s success according to speculations.
It remains to be seen whether or not Nintendo can keep up with the high demand of the Switch after saying it would now focus its resources on the hybrid console.
Were you able to get your hands on the NES Classic Edition? What do you think of the Nintendo Switch? Write your comments below and don’t forget to like and share this article.
