It’s been a few weeks since Nintendo and its retail partners totally dropped the ball on the SNES Classic Edition pre-orders. Opening at strange hours of the day, not having enough to go around, selling out after mere seconds, allowing third-party tools to exploit their sites, and ignoring bugs in their systems all led to a lot of justifiably angry Nintendo fans. These people feel that they have been shorted by all parties involved for the second year in a row, and they are correct for feeling that way. War cries have since calmed down, but Nintendo would be foolish to think that its fans weren’t still harboring strong feelings of animosity that are just waiting to explode. Something has to be done. Nintendo is all out of ways to spin doctor its shortcomings like it did last year, and its reputation can only take a hit if nothing gets done. I mean, can you imagine the blowback if Nintendo were to come out and admit that it misread the market again? Even the most faithful of Nintendo fans would have trouble defending the company at that point. Thankfully, at least one party involved in this huge calamity has taken a proactive step in reconciling with the gamer crowd. Walmart has confirmed with Forbes that it will be canceling a large number of pre-orders for the SNES Classic Edition, stating that it will be going after only orders that were able to secure more than one. In its email to customers and in its statement, Walmart assured those that scored multiple consoles that they would be getting only one when they ship on September 29. All consoles after that first one will be canceled. Customers who recently pre-ordered the SNES Classic from Walmart.com will receive the console after it launches later this month. Because we want to make sure as many customers as possible have the chance to purchase this highly-sought after item, there is a one unit per customer limit on SNES pre-orders. We did experience a temporary issue which allowed more than one item per customer to be ordered. We emailed customers who ordered multiple units to let them know we plan to ship them one SNES Classic and that we’ve canceled the extra units they ordered. Those that suffered cancellations, including the dregs of the Internet that cheated the system to selfish ends, will still walk away with a $25 gift card for their trouble.

Walmart is smart in that it realizes this is supposed to be a happy occasion, and it is perhaps even smarter than Nintendo at this point. This SNES Classic Edition serves no purpose other than to bring joy to longtime fans, and the way all parties have gone about making it available has done just the opposite.Just look at Nintendo! once again tapping into our nostalgia when it pitched this device, has since gone silent on the matter, seemingly ignoring it and writing it off as another bum decision in a long history of bum decisions. Just look at Nintendo! It picked at our precious nostalgia with the announcement, making us all excited, but it has since gone silent on the matter, seemingly ignoring it and writing it off as another bum decision in a long history of bum decisions. I doubt we’ll ever get a response to the ocean of criticisms at this point. Keep ostriching, Nintendo. We see you doing it! Walmart at least recognizes that this device serves no practical, long-term model for success. It’s a one-time purchase, limited edition device that won’t even be available after six months. Software will never be developed for it. DLC, warranties, and subscription plans won’t bring in additional bucks. The SNES Class Edition genuinely serves no purpose other than to deliver a little smile and a “Thank you for your loyalty over the years” to fans. And yet, this stupid little emulation device has caused headaches across the board. For what? The profits from this thing can’t be that high, can they?