--- description: Nintendo of America says it will receive its final NES Classic Edition shipments in April. title: Nintendo Just Unexpectedly Canceled the NES Classic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88a354cbb108d89d/6988cbafbc6cfc4c023e12dc/nes_classic_2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nintendo Just Unexpectedly Canceled the NES Classic ## Video: Level Up Your Savings on Video Games Money [Watch (HLS stream): Level Up Your Savings on Video Games Money](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oRpvsA6S.m3u8) (2:07)  _Published 2017-03-23. Being an avid gamer can be an expensive hobby. Here are a few ways to save some cash._ by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2017 7:27 PM CUT  Nintendo by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2017 7:27 PM CUT Nintendo of America said Thursday it will discontinue the [NES Classic Edition](http://time.com/4405946/nintendo-nes-classic-edition/ "undefined") for the remainder of the year, effective immediately. In a statement, NOA said it expects to receive the last shipments of the system for the North American region in April. After that, the only way to get one will likely involve paying exorbitant scalper prices. The pint-sized Nintendo Entertainment System emulator, which comes with 30 classic NES games for $59, has been all but impossible to find. It sold out immediately upon arrival last November, and has been driving a thriving secondary scalper market, where it typically goes for two to three times its suggested retail price. With word of Nintendo’s imminent and ostensibly permanent discontinuation, it only stands to reason those prices are going to soar. Though the statement stipulates “for this year,” technically leaving open a post-2017 door, it’s hard to imagine the NES Classic Edition returning post-holidays in 2018. Update: In a statement to TIME, Nintendo adds “At this time, we have no plans to produce more NES Classic Edition systems for NOA regions.” Here’s Nintendo’s statement in full: --- > “” --- It wouldn’t take all of the sting out of this announcement, but Nintendo explaining more about its plans for legacy emulation on its just-as-hard-to-find [Nintendo Switch](http://time.com/4538479/nintendo-switch/ "undefined") might quell some of the pushback sure to come from this decision. We know the company plans to sell both NES and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) games when it launches its paid online service for the Switch later this year, but little else. But for now, as they say, it’s “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good night.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4739019/nintendo-nes-classic-discontinued-canceled/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4739019/nintendo-nes-classic-discontinued-canceled/"},"headline":"Nintendo Just Unexpectedly Canceled the NES Classic","datePublished":"2017-04-13T19:27:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:51:05.666Z","description":"Even though it was a big hit with gamers","url":"https://time.com/4739019/nintendo-nes-classic-discontinued-canceled/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Game consoles","Nintendo"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88a354cbb108d89d/6988cbafbc6cfc4c023e12dc/nes_classic_2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88a354cbb108d89d/6988cbafbc6cfc4c023e12dc/nes_classic_2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nes_classic_2","caption":"","creditText":"Nintendo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4739019/nintendo-nes-classic-discontinued-canceled/","name":"Nintendo Just Unexpectedly Canceled the NES Classic"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Level Up Your Savings on Video Games Money","description":"Being an avid gamer can be an expensive hobby. 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