Mired by limited supplies followed by an inordinate surfeit of insane markups on eBay, the NES Classic Edition is unarguably one of the most in-demand pieces of technology this holiday season, and it's not even a new console.
Yes, the plaything is Nintendo's '80s nostalgia trip and it's supposed to sell like hotcakes had Nintendo predicted that the NES Classic Edition would be the recipient of such overwhelming demand.
Urban Outfitters and Toys R Us recently opened the console for sale, and now Best Buy is joining the paltry list of available storefronts interested customers may get it from.
NES Classic Edition Will Hit Best Buy Stores Dec. 20
An email from Best Buy confirmed that the retailer will indeed sell the NES Classic Edition very soon. The screenshot was posted by Oscar Muñoz on Twitter. The email, oddly, lists the console's availability as "tomorrow, December 20," suggesting that the email might have been distributed earlier than Best Buy intended.
@Wario64 so i just received this via email, guess someone jump the gun and sent it out early. More NES coming up pic.twitter.com/wNJau5de2q
— Oscar Muñoz (@oscarinmv) December 7, 2016
Nintendo Everything has reached out to Best Buy and the retailer confirmed that the email was in fact sent out too early. It appended the previous email wittingly and confirmed that Best Buy will indeed sell the consoles on the aforementioned date.
NES Classic Edition Units Will Be Limited
Each Best Buy store, according to the email, will only have limited quantities and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Best Buy wasn't able to confirm if it will implement a one-unit-per-person limit similar to what other retailers have done in the past to dissuade ne'er-do-wells in potentially gray-marketing the console for insane markups.
For those still looking to grab a unit themselves, this is probably one of the only opportunities to get the very elusive NES Classic Edition, that is unless Nintendo itself restocks the console, which is a surefire hit especially as the holidays hike nearer.
The NES Classic Edition is a miniature replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System originally released 30 years ago. It comes with 30 preloaded games as a nod to its age, but unfortunately also comes with very short controller cables, but that should be easily fixed by third-party options, such as the Miniboss for NES Classic Edition or the MyArcade Pro.
The NES Classic Edition was released Nov. 11 for $59.99. The console quickly sold out on Amazon and elsewhere, with no official word from Nintendo on when restocks will happen. A superfluous stream of overpriced NES Classic Edition units have littered around the web, and Nintendo must patch its abysmal supply problem if it wants these markups to dissolve.
