Reasons Behind the Discontinuation of the NES Classic Edition Officially Revealed
When the NES Classic Edition hit stores in November last year, it quickly became a fast-selling item during the holiday season. In fact, it was just a hot seller that it was nearly impossible to find! Earlier this month Nintendo officially announced that they would be discontinuing the console in North America, without much explanation. Now, Reggie Fils-Aimé, President of Nintendo of America, explains why they have chosen to discontinue the device, as he reveals how many have been sold to date!
In an interview with TIME Magazine, Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed that the NES Classic Edition sold 2.3 million units, as he commented on the community’s support of the console. “We had originally planned for this to be a product for last holiday.We just didn’t anticipate how incredible the response would be. Once we saw that response, we added shipments and extended the product for as long as we could to meet more of that consumer demand.”
When he was asked if the NES Classic could possibly resurface in the future, Fils-Aimé stated that Nintendo wants to focus on other “key areas” right not. “Even with that extraordinary level of performance, we understand that people are frustrated about not being able to find the system, and for that we really do apologize. But from our perspective, it’s important to recognize where our future is and the key areas that we need to drive. We’ve got a lot going on right now and we don’t have unlimited resources.”
While he did not confirm what these other key areas are, it can be assumed that these include the popular Nintendo Switch, as well as the recently announced Nintendo 2DS XL.
What do you think about these reasons? Let us know in the comments below!