Speculation Runs Rampant On Why Nintendo Is Discontinuing The NES Classic Edition

Last summer, Nintendo won the Internet for a day when it announced that it was going to release a mini Nintendo Entertainment System with 30 built-in games. The hype was incredible, and really hasn’t died down much since the device’s launch this past November.

Even today, months after the initial release, people wanting the device are finding it impossible. As soon as fresh stock comes in, it’s sold out immediately – sometimes to enterprising eBayers hoping to make a quick buck.

So it was with massive surprise, then, that Nintendo yesterday revealed that it would cease production on the NES Classic Edition at the end of this month, despite its incredible popularity. How could a company simply halt a money-maker like this? That’s a good question, and it’s one only Nintendo has the answer to.

That hasn’t stopped the collective Internet from banging heads together, though, with a ton of speculation rising that could either be right on the mark, or way off of it. Forbes’ Paul Tassi rounds-up a bunch of the speculation, and gives a score to highlight the likeliness of the speculation proving true.

Could the NES Classic Edition removal be the cause of Nintendo being furious at hardware hackers? Are margins too slim? Could the big N be having license issues? Or does it want to pull back for now, to release the product again later when stock is actually substantial?

The latter suggestion gets Tassi’s highest vote, but ultimately, it’s really up in the air. I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would remove an enormously successful product from the shelves with plans to release it again later – all without telling its now-enraged customers. Nintendo doesn’t owe use “normies” an explanation, and it could be considered a slap in the face of Nintendo’s most passionate fans.

For all we know, the pulling back could be due to the SNES Classic Edition coming, but in reality, it’d make no sense whatsoever to cease production on an already immensely popular product only to shift the demand to another device people have to fight tooth and nail to acquire.

Nintendo sure is strange sometimes.