It’s November 11th and the Nintendo NES Classic Edition has been released and it’s in stores now!.. I mean it was in stores. It looks like this instant hit is sold out everywhere.

Last night I went online looking for any signs of pre-orders or where I could buy the NES Classic the next day. I found nothing. When does the Internet ever come up empty? This morning every web site I checked showed the product but none had stock to sell.

At 9:40am EST today I called my local BestBuy and I was told they had 40 NES Classic’s and they were sold out instantly. There was a line-up outside before the store opened. There is no ETA on new stock for BestBuy. However, I was told that the next batch will be eligible to reserve online for in-store pickup.
My wife also spent some time today trying to track down a NES Classic for me. She was checking some of the same big name stores but in different locations and she also came up empty. She still gets full points for trying!

I have exaggerated a bit. I actually did find available stock for the NES Classic for sale. On eBay I found several flippers scalping the NES Classic for about $200 CAD compared to the actual retail price of $80 CAD ($60 USD). For myself personally, those sales aren’t an option.

Here’s my prediction (and recommendation). Nintendo’s production of the NES Classic Edition will catch up to demand. If you want to save a lot of money wait for regular stock to come back. I have not read anywhere that Nintendo is making a limited run of the NES Classic. And for the most part ‘limited’ is just a marketing tactic. Products are only limited to the maximum number of units a company thinks they can sell.

**Update 2017-11-06: It’s been many months with very limited re-stocking of the NES Classic Edition. Re-selling of this gem at greatly inflated prices  has become common place. The NES Classic Edition has been so much harder to get than I first thought it might be. But there is some hope. Nintendo is promising more stock this coming Summer 2018.

“NES Classic Edition will return Summer 2018”

But each to their own. If someone where to pay an inflated price for a NES Classic I cannot say it’s a mistake for them. It’s easy for me to wait. Like many of us retro nuts I already have most of the NES games that I want for my original NES. If you really want to play some great old classic and don’t have any access to the 30 games included in the NES Classic I can understand a heightened desire to dive in right away.

What do you think of Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition? Is it for you? When will you buy?

Courtesy of GameXplain have a listen to the ‘Nintendo Power line’ re-opened for three days only for the launch of the NES Classic Edition. It’s not the same service offered in the 80’s and 90’s but instead you’ll hear a prerecording of game tips for the 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition available to anyone curious enough to call. It will give you a good idea of what this decades old Tips Hot-Line service was all about.

Nintendo Power Line (425) 885-7529 Open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT Nov. 11-13, 2016