The Nintendo NES Classic Edition has been officially discontinued, with the last shipment heading to retailers this April.
Despite the existing high demand, Nintendo is about to cease production of the retro console, leaving a ton of fans disappointed.
"Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product," Nintendo told IGN, adding that the NES Classic Edition wasn't planned to be a long-term product and that extra shipments were prepared because of the high demand.
To begin with, it wasn't exactly easy to get ahold of due to unscrupulous hoarders, and this news more or less drives the final nail in the coffin for consumers who have been out of luck.
On top of that, this is arguably a golden opportunity for scalpers to further raise the prices of their supplies since they may very well have the last remaining units, after all.
That said, there's still an inkling of hope to get the NES Classic Edition, so here's a list of where to buy one:
Target
Target is one of the retailers to keep an eye on. At the time of this writing, the listing for the NES Classic Edition is not there, but it may pop up soon enough.
To improve your chances, don't just stop online. Check out the local brick-and-mortar stores too.
Amazon
If money's no object, you can already buy the NES Classic Edition over at Amazon, but it's going to cost you about five times more than the $59.99 MSRP. That boils down to around $300 apiece.
Walmart
Once the supplies come in, you can grab the NES Classic Edition at Walmart with no huge markups involved — that is, if you're lucky.
What you can do here is to click on the Get In-Stock Alert button and just be perpetually ready for the notification.
eBay
eBay is the go-to website for those who hoarded the NES Classic Edition with only huge profits in mind, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's out of the question.
There, you can find listings that start out at $279.99, and you can even try to outbid others too. Still, the prices are way past the $59.99 MSRP.
It should be mentioned that Nintendo didn't say whether the discontinuation of the NES Classic Edition applies worldwide, so for those who couldn't manage to get one this April may try their luck in nabbing the console from other markets outside the United States.
As a short recap, the retro console comes with 30 preloaded classic games, including but not limited to The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., and Donkey Kong. It's also packaged with an old-school NES Classic controller to boot.
Back in December 2016, Nintendo said it sold approximately 200,000 units, which shows how much the console is in demand.
Are you one of the thousands (possibly an understatement) hoping to get your hands on the NES Classic Edition? If so, feel free to let us know in the comments section below.
