Walmart Cancels every SNES Classic Preorder

Gamers are no strangers to heartbreaks, upsets, and unmet expectations.

In a stirring turn of events, Walmart has canceled every pre-order of the SNES Classic claiming that the item launched too early.

So how will they explain the week it took them to figure out their mistake?

Walmart Pre-Order Hype! …Or Not?

Imagine it: you’re casually waiting for the moment when you can pre-order that fabled game system from your childhood. No, not the Sega Genesis–the Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES. VR is super cool and high-tech, but sometimes you just want to bop Koopas.

That chance came for many people–some of whom were game industry journalists–when Walmart launched pre-orders for the classic system. Hundreds of people were close to dusting off old cartridges and taking a 2D walk down memory lane . . . almost.

North American customers jumped at the chance to pre-purchase the classic SNES when they thought it went live. Due to some kind of technical hiccup, Walmart mistakenly launched the pre-order page. Customers who placed orders, such as Kotaku’s Feature Editor Chris Kohler, received a disheartening and cryptic message. As you can read in the image from Kohler’s Twitter, a customer care representative stated:

“Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch, our page for the Super Nintendo Classic Edition mistakenly launched on Friday evening ahead of the official release date.” All orders will be canceled or refunded.

But the damage is already done, Walmart.

More Plot Holes Than A Doctor Who Episode

This statement leaves a little to be desired and not just for those who pre-ordered. The page launched on Friday, July 21st and, once you placed an order, you received confirmation that it would arrive on October 6th–the official date. As a result of interest, the product became listed as “out of stock” in only 30 minutes and the web page crashed, too. While some customers received cancellation notifications the next day, many customers remained in the dark. Walmart’s first “official” statement came the morning of July 24th, but only confirmed these saddening speculations on July 26th.

Could it really take them a week to identify the problem and inform customers of their unfortunate fate? Regardless of Walmart’s reasons for the “technical glitch” and the subsequent PR scramble, gamers in North America will just have to wait. You could bide your time with a Nintendo Switch…if you can find one, that is.

What Are You Playing Right Now?

None of us can boot up Final Fantasy III, Castlevania IV, or a Super Mario game on a new SNES yet. But I can still steal from the shopkeeper or aggravate chickens on the Gameboy game Link’s Awakening. I can also play co-op on a new multiplayer game from the creators of Bastion and Transistor called “Pyre“. Or I could just spend another 100 hours in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

What video games are you enjoying most right now?