The NES Mini arrived to great hype and quickly became a nightmare to find. Most of us were hoping that once demand eased, they’d be easier to find, but no such luck. Nintendo, it turns out, is shutting down production of the NES Mini.
According to IGN, Nintendo will send out the last NES Mini shipments by the end of April, and then, it’s in the hands of the eBay gods whether you get one. Oddly, Nintendo noted the high demand in its announcement while simultaneously shutting down the project, which seems a bit contrary to basic financial sense.
That said, perhaps this isn’t terribly surprising. The Nintendo Switch will be getting the Virtual Console at some point, and Nintendo would much rather you buy a $300 Switch than a $100 NES Mini. Especially since it can sell you the games individually on the Switch, instead of one big bulk deal on the Mini. At the same time, however, the Mini’s appeal was largely to people who were casual gamers and fondly remembered the classics, not people interested in buying a new system. So, depending on how the Switch continues to sell, and how the Virtual Console does when it arrives, the NES Mini may yet make a comeback.
(via Waypoint)