Like PC components and the other major consoles, the Nintendo Switch has had supply difficulties throughout 2020 and 2021. It doesn't look like this will be changing anytime soon either, as a new report suggests there will be fewer than expected Nintendo Switch consoles for the rest of the current fiscal year.
It has been an uphill battle for the video game industry since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A semiconductor shortage has resulted in limited console production across the industry, with Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft unable to keep up with demand for their products adequately. This scarcity of product has resulted in ravenous behavior from consumers, with the infrequent restocks selling out within seconds, and in many cases, being turned around by scalpers for outrageous prices. Many sources predict the supply shortage to continue into 2022, and in some places, even into 2023, until this semiconductor shortage is resolved.
In a new article from NikkeiAsia, it seems Nintendo will produce fewer Switch consoles than expected. "Nintendo will only be able to produce about 24 million units of its popular Switch game console in the fiscal year through March, 20% below an original plan," Nikkei's staff writes. They explain that the low Switch supply is the result of limited semiconductor supply, which has been the problem from the start. Despite previous assurances that Nintendo would be releasing more consoles to meet demand, it appears that the company could not even meet its own estimate in doing so.
Further into the article, Nikkei's staff references Nintendo's President, Shuntaro Furukawa, who verified that demand for the Switch was still high. This can be seen with the successful launch of the Nintendo Switch OLED this past October, whose preorders were already being resold for ridiculous prices. The base Switch models were already difficult to come by, but the OLED variant joins the PS5 and Xbox Series families in becoming nearly impossible to attain. It is currently unknown just how many of each type of console 24 million Switch units entails.
It is an unfortunate yet expected announcement on Nintendo's part that should be seen as a current normal industry-wide. As long as semiconductors are unavailable, so won't consoles and PC components, which is certainly to the consumer's disadvantage. At least with the Nintendo Switch OLED, consumers may be better off waiting anyways due to its minimal improvements over the other Switch variants. The Nintendo Switch will undoubtedly make it through the fiscal year, though one must wonder what more significant ramifications may happen because of this limited supply.
Source: NikkeiAsia
