Nintendohas good news for fans hoping to get their hands on whatever console comes after the Switch, colloquially referred to as the Switch 2. Early adopters may not have to worry about low stock ifNintendohas anything to say about it. Video game console availability has been a big topic of conversation in recent years, due to a variety of reasons beyond the control of the manufacturers. But Nintendo executives hope to directly address at least one of those issues.
When the Nintendo Switch was released in March 2017, it immediately became one of the gaming industry’s elusive pieces of hardware. They were so rare, in fact, and in such high demand that Nintendo deflected claimsthat it had artificially created a false scarcityby intentionally manufacturing fewer consoles than the market demanded. The idea was that with fewer consoles on the market, Nintendo could generate more headlines about the console’s fervent demand to make it seem like more of a desirable item than it was. Nintendo’s executives quickly dismissed these claims. Shortages continued, however, and were made more difficult by scalpers who bought out stock at retailers and resold the consoles elsewhere at exorbitant prices.
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While fielding questions from shareholders, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that for future console releases, Nintendo plans to have more than enough stock available to any and all gamers hoping to get their hands on a console. Furukawa did not offer specifics on exactly how many consoles the company plans on making available at any given time, especially upon release, when demand is at a fever pitch. There arecurrently no plans for an announcement of a Switch 2.
Furukawa went on to say that the company would also decide “whether there are any other possible measures” Nintendo could take to ensure constant availability. This statement, while vague, suggests Nintendo is planning strategies to avoid the various market demand roadblocks the company has faced in recent years such asNintendo Switch chip shortagesand scalpers.
The COVID-19 pandemic limited the supply of the chipsets required to build Nintendo Switch consoles. The shortage led to an enormous uptick in the console scalping scene. The ramifications of the chip deficit werestill being felt as recently as early 2023when Nintendo reported a 22-percent decline in Switch sales due to the global semiconductor shortage. Only time will tell if Nintendo’s plans of having more than enough supply on hand will cut into the schemes of Nintendo scalpers.
