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

It'south non 1997, only N64 controllers are out of stock until 2022

A closeup view of a Nintendo 64 original controller.

(Paradigm credit: Tonelson Productions | Shutterstock)

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

How did nosotros get 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 bargain-bin games, only instead meridian N64 titles such every bit Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64 and The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. And on Nintendo's online store, you could purchase wireless N64 controllers to connect to the standard Switch, Nintendo Switch Light and the Nintendo Switch OLED, for that even more authentic Clinton-era experience.

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

See you next twelvemonth

This sorry news comes by way of Eurogamer. If you take a gander at Nintendo's online store, it states that N64 controllers, which were already express 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 now being scalped online for more than than double the $fifty list price.

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

That may be why the Genesis controllers haven'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-button Sega Genesis controller stateside.

It's also possible for fans to import units from overseas, although Nintendo does not guarantee that accessories purchased from i region will work in some other.

The controller shortage isn't the only problem

The $fifty Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack hasn't met with the greatest acclaim from fans, who come across it as a inexpensive cash-catch by Nintendo and have made the overview trailer the to the lowest degree liked video on Nintendo's YouTube channel.

The service adds only older titles and doesn't address underlying infrastructure problems that plague online gameplay on the console. Compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series X, Nintendo's online performance is choppy and slow.

For example, Mario Kart 64 includes online play, which should be bang-up, but the operation has been a laggy mess. Some matches are deadline unplayable, if you believe videos posted online. Not only that, merely the N64 game emulation likewise has input latency and other graphical oddities.

Hopefully Nintendo will have addressed these issues by the fourth dimension N64 controllers come back in stock erstwhile next year.

More: The Switch could be an amazing retro console, and so why isn't information technology?

Imad Khan is news editor at Tom's Guide, helping direct the mean solar day's breaking coverage. Prior to working at the site, Imad was a total-time freelancer, with bylines at the New York Times, the Washington Mail service and ESPN. Outside of work, yous can notice him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the starting time pages of a new book.