Success and limited edition Nintendo offerings go hand in hand. That appears to be the case once again with the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. handheld device. The retro gaming handheld went on sale today at online retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, and judging from the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros listings on those websites, it's very popular. So popular, in fact, that it may already be too late for interested parties to pick one up.
The Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. device is a very small handheld game console. Its screen is just a couple of inches wide and the whole handheld can fit in your hand, a throwback to some of Nintendo's earliest Game & Watch devices. Unlike those handhelds, however, this device holds some whole games. Included on the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. is the full original Super Mario Bros. NES game, as well as its sequel Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, a clock, and a retro Game & Watch: Ball game.
But the key to the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. handheld may have little to do with the actual games being offered. Rather, it very likely has to do with its limited availability. The Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. handheld will only be available up until the end of March 2021. Nintendo will continue to resupply the device up until then, or until supplies run out. Those last words are key, because they could mean that there's no guarantee that availability will last even to March.
That brings everything up to today, the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. handheld's launch day. There was no official time of day that sales could start, so most websites are rolling out stock as they see fit. And, in most cases, stock is selling out just as fast. Waves from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart sold out instantly. But additional waves at Amazon and GameStop have since gone out. More waves will likely continue to be sold, but how many and for how long, nobody knows.
It's also important to note that while today may be the most straightforward opportunity to acquire a Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., that doesn't mean it's the only opportunity. More of Nintendo's devices will go on sale in the weeks and months to come. The total supply may never quench overall demand, but there will still be ample opportunity.
This isn't the first example of Nintendo utilizing limited availability to help drive demand. It was also executed successfully with both the SNES Classic Edition and the NES Classic Edition. Nintendo also does this with software now, as the Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation for Nintendo Switch will only be available through March, too. If it works, why stop.
Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. is available now.