When the NES Classic was discontinued there many gamers left dissappointed, but a great many were also baffled. Among the disbelievers, there was one very common claim that was thrown around; how could Nintendo discontinue a product after only five months, when it takes far longer than that to get supply chains in order and manufacturing started?
It is an argument they very much want to believe, perhaps because they’d feel better if they thought they were smarter than Nintendo. But at the end of the day, the only people I’ve seen making these claims are random people in comments sections and reddit, who may or may not have anything to do with manufacturing. I’ve yet to see anyone with actual, expert credentials confirm whether or not Nintendo actually cut their nose to spite their face.
What I have seen, however, is something that seemingly disproves the argument; despite being on shelves for only five months, the NES Classic still managed to create a cottage industry of accessories. I’m talking replica controllers and other controller-related accessories.
And this stuff isn’t just being sold by third parties on Amazon. You can buy them at those outdated things known as Brick and Mortar stores, like Best Buy and Target.
At both stores I found this wireless controller, and at Best Buy I found both a [wired controller(http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-wired-controller-for-nes-classic-edition/5709678.p?skuId=5709678) and extension cord being sold under their in-house Insignia line.
The thing about both Target and Best Buy is their shelf space for video game accessories is tiny. I’m not an expert at this stuff, but I imagine a product like this doesn’t get onto the shelf unless someone thinks it is going to sell, and can be manufactured at a sufficient volume to stock all those stores. I also imagine that, unlike smartphone accessories, these products were not created in advance of the Classic’s launch. If the stock controller didn’t have such a short cord - and wasn’t so hard to find - there would be no market for 3rd party alternatives. So we can say that these products got designed, built and shipped in less than five months. If that’s the case, does it disprove the argument that the manufacturing of the NES Classic was too complicated and time consuming for Nintendo to possibly axe it so soon?
On the surface, the existence of these accessories suggests that the are argument is overblown. On the other hand, keep in mind that the NES Classic’s controller are essentially Wii/Wii U peripherals. The technology and specifications for making such products have been around for over a decade. Something like the extension cord may very well have been sitting in a warehouse in China ready to go. As for the controller pad, who’s to say Best Buy didn’t just contract out the same plant that built them for Nintendo? And if they didn’t, the design of the controller is simple, far simpler than something like the Classic itself, with a power supply and a System on a Chip. Perhaps one of the two can be feasibly manufactured in a few months, but the other can’t.
I bring all this up not to try and prove anything. I’m just thinking aloud, trying to look at the situation from different angles, rather than take a number of alleged online experts at their word.
Product Review
I picked up both the Insignia controller and the extension cord. There isn’t much to say about cord itself. It is six feet long, and it stretches from the NES Classic (sitting by the TV) to the couch. I haven’t noticed any cases of lag, though I haven’t tried playing something super twitchy like Punch Out.
The knockoff controller has the same shape and dimensions as the genuine one. Even the plastic feels fairly similar (though the color scheme is not, likely for legal reasons). The two biggest differences are in the weight and the feel. The Insignia controller feels lighter - a trip to the scale measured it at exactly 4 ounces, which is .4 ounces lighter than the stock pad. As for the feel of it, the d-pad rises a bit higher up from the surface of the pad. and feels a bit more stiff. I wonder if that will go away once it is broken in a bit.
In general, however, it works just fine, and you stop noticing the differences once you are under fire in a round of Super C.
Other Observations
- The Insignia product boxes are blue/black in color, with a red top. I don’t think this is a coincidence, as they match the box of the NES Classic fairly well. They would fit perfectly alongside of it in a store shelf - I say “would”, because the Classic wouldn’t sit long enough on a shelf for anyone to notice.
- The Insignia controller is actually more expensive than the stock one, but the comparison seems rather moot when the stock controller is completely sold out everywhere.
- I liked the idea of the wireless controller, especially considering the one I linked to cost only a few bucks more than a wired one. But the shape of that particular pad is a bit too tall for me, and I was worried about how the square buttons might feel.