Popularity Of Nintendo's New Augmented Reality Game Pokemon Go Drives Company Stock Up (Photo : Getty Images)
Fanatic gamers who want to buy the Nintendo NES classic mini consoles are driving up its price on auction sites. At eBay, the price has jumped up to five times the original price.
The original price tag of a 30-year-old Nintendo console on eBay is $62. However, online sellers have been jacking up their price tags because of high demand for the retro gaming which comes with 30 classic games including Super Mario Brothers, according to The Sun.
On Nov. 11, Friday, Nintendo launched the mini NES Classic Edition, but stocks ran out from store shelves, both virtual and digital, across the U.S. However, Nintendo promised to provide a steady supply of new units in time for the holiday shopping season, Forbes reported.
Among the reasons that Forbes believes are behind why Nintendo failed to anticipate the huge launch day demand when it announced the product in July is the console maker is incompetent or underhanded which were suggested by Polygon. Forbes agreed because the Friday launch felt more like a final marketing push for the NES Classic Edition by creating sales frenzy, driving some headlines and gradual roll out of more stock.
Polygon confirmed that the alleged shortage of the NES Classic Edition made headlines in Wired, Kotaku, Ars Technica, The Verge and Polygon. At a GameStop in Philadelphia, the store only had five units on its shelves, while more than 20 lined up to buy the console.
Forbes believes it more of a marketing strategy than a miscalculation on the part of Nintendo based on consistent pattern with its launches of various gaming products, from the Amiibos to the Wii. It pointed out that “Artificial scarcity feels like an old tactic from an era when the Internet wasn’t so good at generating hype on its own.”
