Nintendo discontinues the NES Classic Edition

If you haven’t managed to get your hands on Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition, you may be out of luck: the company has discontinued the plug-and-play console in North America, as first reported by IGN. The company released the following statement to The Verge:

Throughout April, [Nintendo of America] territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year. We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability. We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologize. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product.

The NES Classic first launched in November, and bundled together 30 classic NES games into a tiny replica of the original Nintendo hardware that could easily connect to modern TVs. However, chronic supply issues meant that it was often difficult to purchase the NES Classic; retailers would announce new shipments only to be sold out almost immediately. As of December, Nintendo said that it had sold nearly 200,000 of miniature consoles in the US.