I wrote about the NES Classic when it was still being called the Mini NES. Since that time we've seen the device launch with too few units produced to artificially drive up demand then get cancelled before it ever could. I once wrote about how this was a brillaint tactic with the launch of the Wii but it's one that you can't use too often. Nintendo has gone from gaining up-sells off a killer app to, with the endless supply blocks the Amiibo line had, a basic part of their business approach.
Nintendo markets itself on being fun for the whole family while surreptitiously appealing to obsessive collectors. As a result, intentionally under-supplying key products has moved from making more appealing products to children to instead giving power to the secondary market. That is, people who grab up the few available stocks then re-sell them at a hefty markup. This makes children sad, parents frustrated, fans despondent and all around it hurts the brand. Nintendo really needs to stop doing this.
It's all the more important they stop doing this as they're releasing another pesudo-console. This time based on the SNES.
