The gaming world was in complete disbelief when Nintendo announced that it was discontinuing the NES Classic Edition. The news supposedly covered only North America or the territories under Nintendo of America which made the announcement. News coming in today says the same will happen in Japan and Australia. As expected, prices of the remaining NES Classic Edition being sold over at eBay have quadrupled at least.
According to Polygon, the Japanese version of the NES Classic, the FamiCom Classic Edition, will also be killed. Nintendo posted on its Japanese website that the "product has ended production for now. When production is being resumed, we will tell you on our website". This is an interesting turn of events as the post opens up the possibilities that the NES Classic Edition will be back someday.
Reports also came in that the miniature console will also be discontinued in Australia. In the statement made by a representative of Nintendo of Australia to Vooks, the company stressed that the Nintendo Classic Mini is no longer in production but it will provide an update on its website if production does resume.
The move to cease production of the hard-to-find NES Classic Mini came as a surprise simply because the demand for it was still high. There is no word yet from Nintendo as to why they came upon this decision though many are already saying their piece and speculating on the possible reasons for the drastic move.
Whatever the reason or reasons may be, the fact is that the beloved NES Classic Edition will be rarer than ever. Nintendo fans and gaming enthusiasts alike are advised to get their hands on the retro console while they still can. This also means its heyday for third-party sellers. Kotaku reported that the NES Classic Edition consoles sold at eBay have at least quadrupled in price since the announcement. Many of the retro consoles were being offered on eBay for upwards of $250 with some selling the NES Classic Edition for an unbelievable $25,000.
