Nintendo: Super NES Classic production has been “dramatically increased”

With early pre-orders for the Super NES Classic Edition selling out at record speed and fears of limited supplies already driving up eBay prices for the upcoming plug-and-play system, Nintendo might have a repeat of the retail fiasco surrounding the hard-to-find NES Classic Edition. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé tried to downplay such concerns this week, though, when he told the Financial Times that the company has "dramatically increased" production of the Super NES Classic to try to satisfy demand.

It isn't clear from the context what baseline is being used for the "dramatic increase" in question. Fils-Aimé could simply be comparing Super NES Classic production to that of the NES Classic; the company had already promised it would "produce significantly more units of Super NES Classic Edition than we did of NES Classic Edition." Even so, the new language of a "dramatic increase" over the 2.3 million production run for the NES Classic would be welcome news to those hoping to get their hands on the new hardware.

If that's the case, why were initial pre-orders so hard to come by? Fils-Aimé passes the buck here, telling FT that the instant sellouts were due to unspecified retailer issues "outside our control" rather than any overarching supply issues. "I would strongly urge you not to over-bid on an SNES Classic on any of the auction sites," Fils-Aimé told the paper. "You shouldn't [have to] pay more than $79.99."

Fils-Aimé also reiterated that the demand for the original NES Classic Edition far exceeded the company's expectations, which were based on the performance of similar low-budget plug-and-play systems from other companies. As for the Super NES Classic, the $80 price was set "so as to not exceed Nintendo’s current offerings, such as the 3DS handheld," as FT paraphrased.

Nintendo has previously promised that "a significant amount of additional [Super NES Classic] systems will be shipped to stores for launch day and throughout the balance of the calendar year." Despite the clear signs of high demand, though, the company has not committed to producing the system past the end of the year, much less signaled the kind of indefinite production plan that would ensure demand will eventually be met. The NES Classic Edition was discontinued roughly six months after its debut despite continued quick sellouts at retailers.

Fils-Aime's comments followed an appearance at Variety's Entertainment and Technology Summit in Los Angeles when he said he couldn't guarantee that production of the Nintendo Switch would be able to satisfy demand during the holiday season. "I'm going to make millions of these units to flow into the marketplace," he said during the event. "But what I don't know is what the demand is going to be. And there is a potential that demand is going to outstrip supply."

Following up on those comments with FT, Fils-Aimé said that maintaining a complex global supply chain was a "challenge," and he suggested parts constraints may be to blame for the inability to produce Switch systems more quickly. "There is not one [supply] choke point; there are multiple choke points," he said. "I won't go into any more detail, but it's not just one component."