Couldn't find a NES Mini system this past month? Need one for this holiday season? Don't worry, there is still hope! Retail associates throughout the country are reporting that Nintendo is consistently sending shipments of the NES Mini system to stores, but they are not allowed to be sold. Nintendo themselves has street dated ALL of the NES Mini inventory for release on Tuesday, December 20th. Now to the average person this may sound ridiculous, but here me out. This is nothing new for Nintendo, in fact it is an entirely predictable move by the popular video game hardware manufacturer.

Flashback to November 2006. The Nintendo Wii system released in North America on November 19th, a mere decade ago. It instantly sold out, and those who did not reserve a system or wait in line early in the morning were struggling to find one that holiday season. I know this first hand, because I was one of those people. Luckily, I had a good friend whose Aunt picked up a system, but didn't need it for some reason. I swore after that day that I would never miss out on a piece of Nintendo hardware that I desired ever again.

After the Nintendo Wii released, the buzz immediately began to build about the must have toy next to a stuffed animal called the T.M.X. (Tickle Me Elmo 10th Anniversary Edition) for the holiday season. Rumors started to circulate about a few systems being released here and there to retailers, with no rhyme or reason as to when consumers should expect them to be available.

It's called intentionally shorting supply, and it's a marketing technique that works. Initial supply is sent to retailers to cover only initial preorders and a few for walk-in customers. After that, it's "sold out" everywhere. This causes a demand by the general public because there is a sense of feeling "What do you mean I can't have one?" since most items that are mass produced and easily obtainable via the Internet or local retailer. However, once a buzz starts, especially around the holiday season, it becomes a quest to find the "must have" item to give to a special someone.

One of the reasons the Wii was so much of a success during the holiday of 2006, was when Al Roker of The Today Show fame, introduced the system as one of his must have Christmas items that year. Instantly everyone in America had to have a Wii. Nintendo came through and magically had units shipped in late December 2006 to appease some of the demand. This year it's social media that is driving all of the buzz. The Nintendo Mini is impossible to find anywhere, due to inventory only appearing in stores once a week since launch, and only in small quantities. Rumors of incoming stock, always in small quantities can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and other outlets. There is no reason for being mad at Nintendo not making enough, they have already shipped almost 200,000 units to the United States in November alone.