What's up with Nintendo under-supplying their products?

[stroopwafel]

There is likely a rhyme to their reason, because Nintendo has lots of money to pay smart people to advise them.

Nintendo had a rough few years when the WiiU flopped but it hardly made a dent in their huge cash reserves. So obviously their more than conservative approach to supply & demand mitigates their financial losses. With the success of Pokemon Go, Amiboos and the initial strong sales of the Switch and the new Zelda game they definitely turned things around so really there is zero incentive for them to either innovate or change their business practises. Even if the Switch performs poorly in the long term.

 

[Zhukov]

So yeah, people are getting frustrated because they can't get their hands on one of those mini SNES things.

i got my hands on 2 of them. you can buy one if you like. :3

How much?

 

[RaikuFA]

To investors it looks great. Seeing headlines that the company that they invested in is making a product that is flying off shelves makes them happy.

Sure. But they could be having a whole bunch more of them flying off the shelves.

You ain't gonna hear me disagree with you. This whole thing reaffirms my belief that to be an executive you have to have a lobotomy first.

 

[Yoshi178]

So yeah, people are getting frustrated because they can't get their hands on one of those mini SNES things.

i got my hands on 2 of them. you can buy one if you like. :3

How much?

i duno. how much you willing to offer? :3

 

[InsanityRequiem]

If we go by the SNES mini, it's because it's a Limited Time and Limited Quantity product. Which means that yes, it's going to be ?undersupplied". Because that's the point of special one off limited products every company across the planet makes. Same with the NES mini. Limited Time and Limited Quantity.

The Amiibos? Last I checked, the entire world laughed and insulted the Amiibos, with huge uproar and demand to not buy them. Market research would make it seem that Nintendo should not make as many as demand supposedly would be, because everything indicated there would be no demand.

Switch? Well, with the failure of the Wii U, no company will flood the market with a bajillion units of a successor product if the previous one was a well established flop.

All in all, what people are complaining about are General Business Practices. But because it's Nintendo that does them, people get irrationally hateful and should be properly ignored. Grotesque biases and whatnot.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

My guess would be it's because they don't really want people to buy it. Now, I don't mean that in a mean "Nintendo hates their fans" type of attitude. I mean they don't really want people to buy it because they want people to buy their more expensive units, such as the Switch. As a company, which would you rather sell more of? An item that costs less than a hundred dollars, or an item that costs several hundred dollars?
It's the same reason why console makers pretty much refuse to make their systems backward compatible. If people can still play their old games on the new systems, they're not going to be in a rush to buy the new games in order to justify their purchase. So I think Nintendo is releasing these things in the mindset of throwing their fans a bone.

Plus, the average consumer doesn't get mad at Nintendo for not making enough of these things. Oh no, they get made at the RETAILERS. Believe me, we got many angry and frustrated calls at my work over the NES-mini, Switch, and Wii when they were all launched, and it was never Nintendo's fault. No, it was always our fault for not having enough in stock. So it's not like Nintendo is losing much goof will among average, non-informed customers.

 

[gsilver]

I'll just say that if Nintendo doesn't want me to buy SNES games, I'm not going to.

Screw artificial scarcity and whatever other marketing crap they're trying to pull.
Also, if this is to drum up interest in an N64 classic or something, I'm not buying that. Late 2D stuff is still a lot of fun, whereas early 3D will always be rough to go back to.


And as for availability of the SNES Classic, I was watching Nowinstock all day on Wednesday, as well as a few retailers. I loaded up Target's page before it even showed as available in Nowinstock, and it was *still* too late to buy the thing.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

I don't know how much truth is in this, but i've heard that it's possible that those mini consoles were built with spare parts from other Nintendo gear. So it was a good way to clean their warehouses and make some additional buck on the side.

Now, i know fuck all about Nintendo hardware, so again, don't know how much truth is in it.

 

[Yoshi178]

My guess would be it's because they don't really want people to buy it. Now, I don't mean that in a mean "Nintendo hates their fans" type of attitude. I mean they don't really want people to buy it because they want people to buy their more expensive units, such as the Switch. As a company, which would you rather sell more of? An item that costs less than a hundred dollars, or an item that costs several hundred dollars?
It's the same reason why console makers pretty much refuse to make their systems backward compatible. If people can still play their old games on the new systems, they're not going to be in a rush to buy the new games in order to justify their purchase. So I think Nintendo is releasing these things in the mindset of throwing their fans a bone.

actually i'm pretty sure that the reason is similar to what you said but just different.

i'm pretty sure that the reason Nintendo doesn't want you buy the SNES mini is because everyone has known for a long time, that hardware sales doesn't make the majority of profit for the console manufacturers. it's software that does. The SNES is a 27 year old console and Nintendo isn't selling any of software for this thing separately, all of these old games come included with the system. thus, once you buy a SNES there's no reason for you to give Nintendo anymore of your money.

as you said, they want people to buy the Switch instead, because the Switch is their more expensive, newest and in Nintendo's eyes, hottest product on the market that Nintendo is currently making all of their New software for to compete with the other companies.


the NES mini and the SNES mini i believe, were always meant to be a success, but never a huge success. the NES mini and SNES mini were not meant to be a huge success, but rather, Nintendo wants to use the NES mini and SNES mini as marketing tools, to get people talking, and to get all eyes back on Nintendo and gain interest in Nintendo again, that way while looking at SNES mini stuff, the consumers eyes are pointed in the direction of Nintendo's fancy new Switch hardware which has all of their hottest new software on it instead.

"oh you missed out on a SNES mini little timmy? don't worry, you can buy our hot new system with cool new games for it like Zelda botw and Mario Odyssey on it instead." and so far, this type of strategy is working. Switch is selling shitloads and there are literally always people talking and articles appearing whenever any store has SNES mini's and Switches in stock.

there's lots of buzz for both the SNES mini and the Switch which also coincidentally, mean both systems are selling really well and that's exactly what Nintendo wants right now.

 

[votemarvel]

Well at least the Chinese knockoff makers are going to be making money.

Look at the NES Mini knockoffs that did the rounds after Nintendo couldn't meet demand for the genuine product. Decent build quality (on the controllers at least), a cheaper price and a far greater games selection.

People want to give Nintendo money but the company actively seems to want to stop them.

As to shipping costs being the reason for the limited quantities. If I can buy something from China and have it shipped to me for no more than a couple of quid, I don't think a company as big as Nintendo is going to have trouble getting low shipping rates.

 

[stroopwafel]

As to shipping costs being the reason for the limited quantities. If I can buy something from China and have it shipped to me for no more than a couple of quid, I don't think a company as big as Nintendo is going to have trouble getting low shipping rates.

Cargo shipping and local distribution is different than an express delivery for a consumer. There are a lot more costs involved. Espescially nowadays with freighters being overbooked. Obviously not the only reason but I'm sure for a product like this with a limited run Nintendo will weigh out individual costs. Espescially since effective cost management seems to fit their general strategy.

 

[Pseudonym]

Just hypothesising here: playing corporate hard to get.

There is a southpark episode where Cartman transforms a failing amusement park into a commercial success by denying entrance to everybody on national tv and talking about how only he gets to play in it. When he does start selectively letting more and more people in (he had no plan but has to pay for the cleaners and such somehow) the few people who can get in are waiting in long lines.

I don't know if this would actually work or if this is what Nintendo hopes to accomplish but creating 'haves' and 'have nots' to inflate demand is a thing. It is one of the reasons why day one DLC is still bought. People are worried to be left out.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Spoiler: Reggie is head scalper.

Your desperation only feeds his desire.

 

[Rangaman]

Two reasons:

1) The Wii U - As many have said, they were expecting the Wii U to match the success of the Wii. It didn't and they ended up with a massive oversupply of the sodding things. Oversupply looks bad and is also costly, so limiting the supply of new products is a move to re-establish investor and consumer trust.

2) Supply and Demand - Simply put: the less of a thing there is, the more desirable it becomes. It's the same reason iPhones and supercars are so desirable, exclusivity.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Because there are only so many hours in the day to make a product, especially one that is as niche as the SNES Mini. Priorities and all that

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Spoiler: Reggie is head scalper.

Your desperation only feeds his desire.

Nintendo marketing has instructed me that Reggie is lord of the teddy bears-level of cuddly and the uncle you wish you had as a kid.

No amount of evidence or sinister photography can challenge that.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Spoiler: Reggie is head scalper.

Your desperation only feeds his desire.

Nintendo marketing has instructed me that Reggie is lord of the teddy bears-level of cuddly and the uncle you wish you had as a kid.

No amount of evidence or sinister photography can challenge that.

You shall be granted first place in our deprogramming chamber. It's an amiibo free environment and the staff there are very loving. All booze and narcotics allowed. They're accepted as integral parts of the grieving process.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

You shall be granted first place in our deprogramming chamber. It's an amiibo free environment and the staff there are very loving. All booze and narcotics allowed. They're accepted as integral parts of the grieving process.

Change that from 'allowed' to 'free' and you might have a sale. If not, you'll never take me alive.

 

[kilenem]

Under Supplying Amiibo makes sense because I don't give a fuck where you are in America Amiibos are on clearance. Its a freak supply and Demand thing. A Large amount of Zelda amiibos were on clearance right before BOTW and their price went through the roof. Also Disney Infinity died because they coun't predict demand and over produced items. Ironically the president of Disney Infiity ritized Nintendo on handeling supply when he ran his company into the ground.

I'm guessing Nintendo just does it to make themselves look good. I could understand the mini-NES being an unexpected high seller. What I don't understand is then making a mini-SNES and making a shit supply of it when you now know people want it. Nintendo screws over their consumers more than probably anyone in the industry from the Sonys and Microsofts to the EAs, Ubisofts, and Activisions. Nintendo charges people $15 for a couple bucks worth of DLC, and then purposefully doesn't even make enough. Nintendo fans are on par with Apple fans, they like being taken advantage of, that's the only logical conclusion I can come up with.

I wouldn't say Nintendo screws their consumers the most. The Majority of developers have no problems putting out broken games out. Hell the only broken game by Nintendo at least in Memory is Devil's Third and Nintendo tried to hide that game like a Dead body. Its the one time we can all agree limiting the amount of Physical copies actually created was a great idea. Granted Not publishing it would've been better.

On DLC Nintendo is way better then the majority of company's. In no Nintendo game can you pay to win. Do you remember when Sony, Warner Bros, and EA tried to charge used game buyers with the online pass. They claimed they needed used buyers to pay for server cost but the original purchase of the game should've covered it.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Change that from 'allowed' to 'free' and you might have a sale. If not, you'll never take me alive.

Done and (literally)dusted! Though we would recommend not calling our bluff on accepting a corpse as evidence of successful deprogramming. Our funding is reliant on meeting strict targets.