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Klepek: Don't Reward Nintendo For This SNES Classic Pre-Order Bullshit
- Thread starter LordOfLore
- Start date
You're the man, Patrick.
Patrick Klepek said:
Agreed wholeheartedly. I for one will be using my retropie instead of giving Nintendo money. I tried. Four times.
Selling more of the SNES will net them a one time sale. They can under produce, get tons of free publicity from people who can't find them, them being listed all over Ebay & Craigslist / FB Market place, etc.
Then they can use that publicity this holiday season to bolster the Nintendo Switch, where the opportunity to generate more revenue over time is considerably higher. Especially if they can get news of their subscription based virtual console out before that point in time (getting people to buy a switch on the promise of streamable classic games via a "Netflix" like service).
This is intentional.
axisofweevils
Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
I do think Nintendo's overly-limited limited editions are frustrating as hell. Make it easy for fans to give you their money. I now sigh whenever Nintendo unveil a cool LE instead of being excited. Still haven't found a Bayo amiibo.
I'm just glad I have no interest in this.
I'm just glad I have no interest in this.
Okami Haundo
Member
I definitely understand the anger, but what exactly is he proposing people do about it? Not buy a sold out novelty system?
molnizzle
Member
If you don't think this SNES classic shit is deliberate then I have a bridge to sell you.
...what? That's not the point of his article.
Do not reward Nintendo by attempting to buy their hyper valuable and resellable console that you can't get even though you want it.
Anyway, we knew preorders were going to go in an instant, which is perhaps why they didn't bother to do it last time. It's not about the stock but the perception of the stock. People will buy as many as can be physically produced in the first run. How many more runs is the question.
Anyway, we knew preorders were going to go in an instant, which is perhaps why they didn't bother to do it last time. It's not about the stock but the perception of the stock. People will buy as many as can be physically produced in the first run. How many more runs is the question.
MatrixMan.EXE
Member
It happens more often than it doesn't though. The animal crossing amiibo line is about the only one released in the past 3 years that hasn't been near impossible to find for months if you didn't get a pre-order in. The way they've handled both amiibo and the NES/SNES Classic is woeful.
12+ years Nintendo has been doing this artificial scarcity bullshit. The only console manufacturer that does this. Hell I cannot even think of another electronics manufacturer who consistently drops the ball time and time again. Random limited preorders of console bundles, places like NA being screwed out of things EU ans Japan get or likewise, and now likewise yet again. This is something that has been happening since the Wii.
NES Classic was gone before most even got a chance to see it in stores anywhere. Switch is still having issues. If you cannot make them open the purse strings and bring more manufacturers on board.
NES Classic was gone before most even got a chance to see it in stores anywhere. Switch is still having issues. If you cannot make them open the purse strings and bring more manufacturers on board.
baphomet
Member
There are definitely ways to get more of them out there without leaving stock on shelves. I just assume a toy with such a small revenue isn't worth it to Nintendo.
I have a SNES preorder secured, and I was able to get a NES classic, but I think this situation is shitty and horrible. I'm frustrated for everyone.
Mod and load the ROM on your NES classic or retropie
Until people make a clear message they are tired of their antics or management that pushes this strategy is fired, it will keep happening. Even then I doubt they'd change. A lot of Nintendo fans and customers are a glutton for punishment.
old manatee
Banned
I got one and I'm going to give it to my sister in law and get a raspberry pi instead. I really don't like that they keep making people jump through these hoops.
Stairouais
Member
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
It's nonsense.
Primethius
Banned
I'm actually legitimately interested in the SNES mini and would love to buy one.
I've come to accept that I won't be getting one. I won't even bother.
I've come to accept that I won't be getting one. I won't even bother.
Askherserenity
Member
I think he wants us to just not pay for older Nintendo games to really stick it to Nintendo.
This is true. Reggie would play a good politician.
ShockingAlberto
Member
Doesn't this idea only work if they have surplus Switches that they're trying to get rid of
Okami Haundo
Member
Switch owners can't even do that ;_;
finalflame
Gold Member
Wow, someone who gets it. The money they stand to make by applying this free publicity to the rest of their major product lines far outweighs the profit from selling additional SNES Minis. Period. End of story.
This is a marketing move and it is calculated.
If you don't think they have a plan to produce enough Switches to meet demand for the holiday season then you haven't thought about this for very long.
Don't they actually have to have Switch consoles available to have this pan out as a strategy? As an experiment just now, I went to every major online retailer and could not find a single Switch console in stock (aside from 3rd party scalpers).
hosannainexcelsis
Member
So the logic here is that people will want to buy the SNES Classic because they're rare, and when they can't they'll instead decide to buy other Nintendo products? Of course I can't say that that isn't Nintendo's reasoning here, but if so I can't wrap my head around it. It would make more sense if the Switch had a Virtual Console on which you could play all these SNES games, but it doesn't. I don't know how denying people the SNES Classic is supposed to drive sales of other Nintendo products.
You don't think Nintendo is preparing a lot of units for the Holiday season? Selling them now is great, but selling them Nov-Dec is significantly better because historically attach rates are much higher, and a console leaving then will probably have a game or two and an extra controller attached.
ShockingAlberto
Member
So your argument is that they wouldn't sell these out if not for the SNES Classic functioning as advertising?
Askherserenity
Member
Download an emulator on your phone!
I'm not even going to bother with preorders and just try to steal a couple Classics whenever they show up at stores. Feel free to party up.
I will always think back to when they released Dragon Ball on DVD for the first time in Japan:
It seemed to work just fine, but for some reason you never see this anymore.
Really makes me believe that they're just holding back stock to create hype. The NES Classic hype carried over to this year with the SNES, and will carry over to next year with the N64.
JamesHolden
Banned
I am not a scalper, just a guy in PST who happened to be on the internet last night to snag a Best Buy pre-order. Just because Patrick Klepek couldn't find one does not mean they went solely to scalpers.
Speaking as someone who actually managed to get a preorder in this afternoon, I 100% agree with the sentiment. I saw a lot of heartache last year over the NES classic, and it bums me out knowing there's gonna be a lot more of that. However, I'm pretty excited to replay Secret of Mana with my girlfriend and finally get to play through Final Fantasy 6. So I guess I'm buying in protest.
I don't understand how this product makes Nintendo much money at all to begin with. Factoring in packaging costs, two controllers, the design of the system, securing a (deliberately season-limited!) supply chain, and the devaluing of their virtual console library pricing, with no further DLC, subscription, or other monetizing options, what is Nintendo actually getting out this, and for just four months to boot? I don't like playing armchair analyst but nothing about this product makes any sense to me.
Nintendo are experts at pulling this kind of bullshit, whether the article is click bait or not in its title is irrelevant.
molnizzle
Member
And conditions their fans to defend them for it.
Just look at some of the replies in here. Shit is so gross.
DryvBy
Member
They don't want to. If this wasn't in limited demand, people wouldn't be foaming at the mouth. I was hit up near a dozen times asking how they can get one to flip. $300 on eBay is a nice profit.
nckillthegrimace
Member
Hey, an article by Patrick about the dumb SNES Classic preorder situation. I wonder if he did something useful like seek comment from Nintendo or talk to a source about what's going on.
Oh, it's just sour grapes/venting. I wish he had some sort of insight into the situatiom, like he usually does.
Oh, it's just sour grapes/venting. I wish he had some sort of insight into the situatiom, like he usually does.
HawthorneKitty
Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
They'd never hit demand, the scalping is too powerful.
Audioboxer
Member
Nintendo can indeed piss on an electric fence for knowingly and purposefully exploiting their fan base by under-shipping stock constantly. Not only for mainstream devices, they do it for a fucking release of two low-end pieces of hardware (NES/SNES) that China can probably shit out for 10$ shipped and Nintendo won't even keep them on repeat order for purchase.
I think there's a sensible middle ground somewhere between "infinite amounts" and "deliberate scarcity". Nintendo don't get any money from the resale market, so I don't understand why they'd make so few of these things. They could easily double or triple the number and would still sell out. They obviously don't hate money, so there's only one plausible, yet irrational answer: rarity purely for rarity's sake.
OrbitalBeard
Member
The way some of you defend how Nintendo has handled this situation is genuinely making me ashamed to be labeled a fan of the company.
Your post essentially amounts to a "Fuck You, Got Mine" attitude.
Well doing it online makes it even more obnoxious though. Scalpers do this for a living pretty much. the chances of us beating them is slim to none. I know it's how the times are, but it doesn't make it any less infuriating for those who just want to enjoy a product they truly desire to have.