It's not 1997, but N64 controllers are out of stock until 2022

It's not 1997, merely N64 controllers are out of stock until 2022

A closeup view of a Nintendo 64 original controller.

(Image credit: Tonelson Productions | Shutterstock)

No, information technology'south non 1997, and no, GoldenEye 007 isn't the summit game on every kid'due south Christmas list. Only special Nintendo Switch-enabled N64 controllers are sold out until 2022 notwithstanding.

How did we go to this point? During a Nintendo Direct online presentation in September, the company unveiled a new tier to its Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. Titled Expansion Pack, the premium membership would add N64 and Sega Genesis games to the service.

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These weren't deal-bin games, but instead acme N64 titles such as Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64 and The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. And on Nintendo's online shop, you could purchase wireless N64 controllers to connect to the standard Switch, Nintendo Switch Calorie-free and the Nintendo Switch OLED, for that even more authentic Clinton-era experience.

Unfortunately, just like everything else during this pandemic, those N64 controllers are now out of stock.

Encounter you next year

This sad news comes by manner of Eurogamer. If you take a gander at Nintendo'southward online store, information technology states that N64 controllers, which were already limited to four per Nintendo business relationship, are all sold out and won't be restocked until 2022. Exactly when in 2022 is not stated.

Predictably, wireless N64 controllers are at present being scalped online for more than double the $50 list price.

Fortunately for Sega fans, the Sega Genesis controllers are however in stock for the same $50. All the same, Nintendo opted to make merely the standard iii-button Genesis controller available, not the half-dozen-push button variant that was popular for fighting games.

That may be why the Genesis controllers oasis't sold out, or perhaps considering Nintendo plans to release the six-button controller in Japan. Sega fans may be waiting for Nintendo to bring the six-push Sega Genesis controller stateside.

Information technology's besides possible for fans to import units from overseas, although Nintendo does non guarantee that accessories purchased from one region volition piece of work in another.

The controller shortage isn't the only problem

The $50 Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack hasn't met with the greatest acclaim from fans, who encounter it as a cheap cash-grab by Nintendo and have made the overview trailer the least liked video on Nintendo's YouTube channel.

The service adds simply older titles and doesn't accost underlying infrastructure problems that plague online gameplay on the console. Compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series Ten, Nintendo's online functioning is choppy and slow.

For example, Mario Kart 64 includes online play, which should be great, but the performance has been a laggy mess. Some matches are borderline unplayable, if you believe videos posted online. Non just that, but the N64 game emulation also has input latency and other graphical oddities.

Hopefully Nintendo will have addressed these issues by the time N64 controllers come back in stock former next year.

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Imad Khan is news editor at Tom'due south Guide, helping direct the day's breaking coverage. Prior to working at the site, Imad was a full-time freelancer, with bylines at the New York Times, the Washington Postal service and ESPN. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word certificate trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.