Nostalgia fuels overwhelming demand for Nintendo console

New York

WHEN she heard that Nintendo was planning to reproduce its iconic Nintendo Entertainment System video game console for the holiday season, Emily Bradbury put a note on her calendar and set an alarm on her phone.

She was not interested in buying it for her children. She wanted it for her husband.

"He's 40 years old and grew up with a Nintendo," she said. "It's a nostalgia thing."

Since its release on Nov 11, the NES Classic Edition, a smaller version of the original console introduced to North America in 1985, has become one of the hottest gift items of the year. It has struck a chord especially among older millennials and younger members of Generation X, who m…