Game Over? Target And GameStop Already Citing Nintendo Switch Shortages, Some Pre-Orders Cancelled
This might come as a surprise to, well, absolutely no one, Nintendo appears to be dealing with a shortage of its new hybrid Switch console almost a full month before it even releases to retail. Anticipated supply is so far behind demand that reports are surfacing of major retailers cancelling pre-orders. Among them are Target and GameStop, though the latter has since issued a statement denying that's the case.
"GameStop has not, and is not, cancelling any Nintendo Switch pre-orders due to allocation issues. We are working very closely to confirm and validate any and all pre-orders of this innovative gaming system. Should any customer who pre-ordered a Nintendo Switch console from GameStop experience any issue with their order, we encourage them to contact our Guest Care team so we can help resolve the issue," GameStop said in a statement provided to GameRant.
Target has yet to address the report that some Nintendo Switch pre-orders are being cancelled on a random basis due to overwhelming demand. According to one customer account that was shared with My Nintendo News, he received an email from Target saying his pre-order was cancelled so he called customer service to see what happened. He claims Target told him there were too many pre-orders allowed for too little stock, plain and simple.
Regardless of whether stores are starting to cancel pre-orders, it certainly appears that Nintendo has another shortage on its hands. We checked several chains online, including GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Target to see if any were accepting pre-orders, and none were (at the time of this writing). That is even the case for pricier bundles that include extra games and hardware.
It is an unfortunate situation, and one that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said wouldn't happen. He recently stated that he was aware of the concerns over supply because of how things played out over the holidays with the NES Classic Edition, but said that Nintendo was making 2 million Switch consoles available for the first month, a number he felt would meet demand.
"GameStop has not, and is not, cancelling any Nintendo Switch pre-orders due to allocation issues. We are working very closely to confirm and validate any and all pre-orders of this innovative gaming system. Should any customer who pre-ordered a Nintendo Switch console from GameStop experience any issue with their order, we encourage them to contact our Guest Care team so we can help resolve the issue," GameStop said in a statement provided to GameRant.
Target has yet to address the report that some Nintendo Switch pre-orders are being cancelled on a random basis due to overwhelming demand. According to one customer account that was shared with My Nintendo News, he received an email from Target saying his pre-order was cancelled so he called customer service to see what happened. He claims Target told him there were too many pre-orders allowed for too little stock, plain and simple.
Regardless of whether stores are starting to cancel pre-orders, it certainly appears that Nintendo has another shortage on its hands. We checked several chains online, including GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Target to see if any were accepting pre-orders, and none were (at the time of this writing). That is even the case for pricier bundles that include extra games and hardware.
It is an unfortunate situation, and one that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said wouldn't happen. He recently stated that he was aware of the concerns over supply because of how things played out over the holidays with the NES Classic Edition, but said that Nintendo was making 2 million Switch consoles available for the first month, a number he felt would meet demand.
