Hello, Nintendo.



We’ve been friends for a long time, haven’t we? Well, maybe “friends” is the wrong way to put it. We’re more like associates at this point. You’re like my cool uncle that I meet every once in a while who has cool news about projects he’s doing. We laugh and share a great time together.



But you do something stupid every once in a while.



I understand that you’re concerned about your brand. Who wouldn’t be? You sell items in limited quantities to generate hype and increase your value. But it’s hard to justify that to myself in times like this. Can you blame me? After years of waiting for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3DS, I came home after a long day of work to find out there was a limited edition of the rerelease of my favorite game of all time. I was so excited. I had already put money aside for it and I was ready to buy.



But I was eight hours late. It had sold out within an hour.



I get the limited edition only adds a ten dollar figure, but it's still upsetting. This isn’t the first time this has happened either. A year ago, I went to purchase the limited edition of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker to get that Ganondorf statue (who is the best version of Ganondorf, fight me), but that was sold out too! Fortunately this time around, one of Destructoid’s glorious community members, seejamsrun, hinted that Gamestop would still have some preorders available in store. I put my hat, gloves and thickest coat on and made the unholy pilgrimage down to the outlet I had personally swore never to purchase merchandise from again.

I waddled in, all bundled up in my winter gear. The worker seemed to recognize me immediately. I was that Zelda fangirl on the phone concerned about the availability of that limited edition that came out just the day before. As I stared awkwardly at him in brief silence, I had a moment of clarity. There was snow in my shoes that sank down to my socks. My cheeks hurt terribly and I could barely breathe. It was zero degrees outside. I put myself in literal pain just to get a videogame.



The employee revealed there were still copies left to be sold and I immediately forgot about the frost outside and the sour realization that I treat the Zelda franchise like a religion. I was so thrilled, though I wouldn’t have been mad at them had they been sold out. It’s not their fault that there were so few copies of the limited edition. No, I’m putting that one on you, Nintendo. I realize that it was my own fanatical devotion to Majora’s Mask that made me go out into the blistering cold, but it was your fault that it the only thing I could do.



This artificial scarcity thing is driving me insane. I encountered this same issue on another frigid night when my sister and I went to go pick up a copy of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. We browsed some Amiibos and determined which one we wanted. We figured that Peach’s design was the best of them and we’d come back for Villager if our experience was good. Sure enough, we would never have that chance. There were so few of the Villager Amiibos made that the store didn’t have them anymore when we came back a few days later. In light of news of further Amiibo issues in later production waves, you can’t blame us for ordering two Toon Link Amiibos from two different locations in the fear that one of them might cancel on us if they ran out.



You see, Nintendo, I’m not what you’d call a collector. Sure, I go out and get new Zelda titles on the day they release, but I’m only a fan. I’m not looking to collect every single Amiibo. I’m just getting the ones that my sister and I want. You’ve twisted my experience into a hunt, rather than a simple purchase. I like games, but I don’t want to play an unfair one just to get the content I want.

And you know what makes me even more upset about this? It’s the fact that the only consumers you’re benefiting are scalpers.



If you go to Ebay right now, you can see users reselling your limited edition of Majora’s Mask 3DS for twice its value. The only people who artificial scarcity truly rewards are these guys. I’ve seen comments in the deepest bowels of the Internet claiming that it’s “just capitalism” and “not illegal,” but there are plenty of things that are legal but still immoral. This is one of them. I understand that this is a minuscule problem compared to actual crimes and issues in the real world, but for every scalper that is reselling one of these limited editions, there is a fan that was too late or uninformed to purchase one.



That is the terrible reality of this situation, Nintendo. There are fans out there that have followed you for years. There are some like me who have known you our entire lives. We’re dedicated customers and we want to buy your merchandise. I only wish that you would make it available to us and not punish regular consumers for the sake of your brand. The hype generated around scarcity only creates dissonance between you and loyal fans.



I want to continue buying your products, but you’re making it very hard. I bought the limited edition of Majora’s Mask 3DS this time around, but who knows if I’ll be able to even have a choice the next time. I’ve liked you for the longest time because I thought you were a company that put your fans first. Please stop rewarding scalpers and start paying attention to the customers who are putting in the money that truly want to help you in the long run.

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