When it comes to retro consoles, Nintendo has been acting a lot like a Snorlax: sleeping and not paying attention to what is going on around it. But it seems the Japanese company is finally waking up to the potential of its own retro consoles, and that's very good news for gamers.
Yesterday we learned that Nintendo "dramatically increased" production for the SNES Classic launching on September 29 for $80. Today, the level of production has been further clarified. On launch day, there will be more SNES Classic consoles available than NES Classic consoles shipped during 2016. According to Siliconera, global sales of the NES Classic in 2016 topped 1.5 million units.
Nintendo also confirmed that production of the SNES Classic will not cease at the end of 2017 as originally planned. We can expect them to continue being made "into 2018" with no end date set. That backs up Reggie Fils-Aime's comment suggesting nobody should pay more than $80 for the console as it will be readily available for months.
Now for the second bit of good news alluded to in the title of this post. Nintendo also confirmed today its decision to start manufacturing the NES Classic again. A re-launch will happen in Summer 2018, with specific details about timing being revealed at a later date (I suspect not until 2018).
By manufacturing more NES Classic, Nintendo should put an end to the ridiculously high prices being charged on auction sites for the retro console. I think we can also expect there to be plenty of NES Classics made available for re-launch day next year.