Nintendo Ramping Switch Production To Satisfy Crushing Holiday Demand
Nintendo is still not producing enough hybrid Switch consoles to meet demand. We would say this is where you are supposed to feign surprise, but who are kidding, this is hardly shocking. What will be surprising is if Nintendo is able to get a handle on the situation in time for the holiday shopping season. History tells us not to hold our collective breath, though Nintendo says it is kicking up production.
"We're doing everything we can to make sure everyone who wants to buy a Nintendo Switch system can do so," Nintendo said in a statement. "We will ramp up production for the holiday period, which has been factored into our forecast."
Despite rumors to the contrary, this is not a case of Nintendo intentionally limiting production to drive up demand. It does not need to do that with that Switch. The hybrid game system emerged as the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history, outpacing even the beloved Wii, which itself had an incredibly strong launch. Since then, demand has been through the roof. Nintendo's retail partners barely have time to stock their store shelves before they are sold out of Switch consoles with each new shipment.
"We continue to see strong demand for the Switch and sell out our inventory in a matter of days of it being available in our stores and our websites," Tony Bartel, GameStop chief operating officer, said in a quarterly earnings. "We believe that this will continue through the holiday."
Part of the appeal is the $300 price tag. These days, that is a low launch price for a new console. Compare the Switch to Microsoft's Xbox One X, which is available to pre-order for $499. The Switch and Xbox One X are very different beasts, of course, but that has always been the case between Nintendo's flagship consoles and that of the competition (Sony and Microsoft).
Nintendo's aim is to sell a whopping 10 million Switch systems by March 2018, the end of its current fiscal year. The company is on pace to cruise right on past that number, with some in the supply chain predicting as many as 18 million units. It is frustrating that Nintendo is not keeping up with demand—especially after the whole NES Classic fiasco—but with numbers like that, there is no conspiracy theory here.
"We're doing everything we can to make sure everyone who wants to buy a Nintendo Switch system can do so," Nintendo said in a statement. "We will ramp up production for the holiday period, which has been factored into our forecast."
Despite rumors to the contrary, this is not a case of Nintendo intentionally limiting production to drive up demand. It does not need to do that with that Switch. The hybrid game system emerged as the fastest-selling console in Nintendo's history, outpacing even the beloved Wii, which itself had an incredibly strong launch. Since then, demand has been through the roof. Nintendo's retail partners barely have time to stock their store shelves before they are sold out of Switch consoles with each new shipment.
"We continue to see strong demand for the Switch and sell out our inventory in a matter of days of it being available in our stores and our websites," Tony Bartel, GameStop chief operating officer, said in a quarterly earnings. "We believe that this will continue through the holiday."
Part of the appeal is the $300 price tag. These days, that is a low launch price for a new console. Compare the Switch to Microsoft's Xbox One X, which is available to pre-order for $499. The Switch and Xbox One X are very different beasts, of course, but that has always been the case between Nintendo's flagship consoles and that of the competition (Sony and Microsoft).
Nintendo's aim is to sell a whopping 10 million Switch systems by March 2018, the end of its current fiscal year. The company is on pace to cruise right on past that number, with some in the supply chain predicting as many as 18 million units. It is frustrating that Nintendo is not keeping up with demand—especially after the whole NES Classic fiasco—but with numbers like that, there is no conspiracy theory here.
