New gaming console Nintendo NES Classic sold out at all available retailers Friday morning.
WILMINGTON — All Nicholas Kerner wanted for his 34th birthday was a Nintendo NES Classic. And he’s not kidding.
“My wife asked me what I wanted and I said, ‘I want to go stand in line and get me a Nintendo and I’m not expecting you do it with me or even buy it for me,’” Kerner said Friday morning, fulfilling that wish as the first person in line outside Best Buy.
Staking his place at the head of the line at 7:30 a.m. – two and a half hours before Best Buy opened – guaranteed Kerner the new gaming console, something many of those behind him and across Wilmington couldn’t say. Just minutes after opening Friday, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, GameStop and Toys R Us locations were all sold out of the limited stock they received.
Kerner said Best Buy associates told the line of more than 40 the store only had 21 consoles in stock. At GameStop off Market Street, they only had 17.
For Kerner and those early enough to score one Friday morning, the prize was a blast from the past with Nintendo’s NES Classic edition, a miniaturized re-creation of the original matte gray-colored console, complete with a boxy controller connected by a cord. The system sells for an affordable $59.99.
“I was born in 1982 and Nintendo is just nostalgia for me,” he said. “It will be fun to play it on an HDMI-quality big screen. You can play them on your computer not so legally, but it’s just not the same without the Nintendo controller. It’s going to take me back to my childhood.”
Pre-installed on the system are various versions of the gaming giant’s first big hits – including Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, The Legend of Zelda – and a few of its more niche favorites like Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and Excitebike.
Arriving just 20 minutes after Kerner, Linsey Sipe said she still has fond memories of receiving her first Nintendo.
“I was born in 1978 and Nintendo was my first great Christmas present,” she said. “It was awesome. My parents gave it to me on Christmas Eve and I played it all night. It’s great to bring back your childhood.”
Left in line to wait and giddily reminisce about the memories of sleepless nights in front of the TV, both Kerner and Sipe already knew which games they would cue up first. Sipe said she’s eager to play Super Mario Bros. 3. Kerner went for a more obscure choice.
“Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream,” he said. “It’s so fun.”
On Twitter Friday, Nintendo of America said it understood the high demand for the console and more inventory would be released over the next couple of weeks.
[Source:-Star news]