Nintendo Explains NES Classic Shortage, Says it Won't Happen with Switch

Like it or hate it, one thing is for sure: people are going to start pre-ordering the Nintendo Switch, now that we know more about it and pre-orders are open. I would argue that’s premature, as I’m sure many others would, but far be it from me to tell anyone how to spend their money… especially if pre-ordering is the only way you can be sure you’ll get a copy.

Nintendo, you see, has a thing when it comes to the artificial sacristy, in that they do it pretty frequently. There weren’t enough Wiis to go around when that first game out, not enough Amiibo’s when those things were dropped onto the market, and certainly not enough NES Classics on the shelves. Why wouldn’t people worry the Switch would find itself in a similar position?

Talking with GameSpot, Nintendo of American president Reggie Fils-Aime explained why people shouldn’t worry, or at least, explained why the NES Classic was such a crap-act:

"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]. As we thought about that, that led us to a certain level of supply."

So it’s not that Nintendo was trying to create artificial scarcity: it’s that they’re idiots! Yes, this is much better Reggie, nice save.

But will the same happen with the Switch? Reggie says Nintendo is ready this time:

“We're working to make sure that the supply chain [for Switch] is robust and there is a steady flow of hardware. The one piece we can't anticipate is the demand side of the equation but certainly from a supply, we feel like we're going to be well-positioned."

I guess given the Wii U I can see why they might hesitate, but… still, better to be over-prepared than the other way around.