A year into the pandemic, Nintendo still can’t make enough Switch consoles to keep up with demand
The Nintendo Switch console comes in neon red and blue. (Photo Illustration by Guillaume Payen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Nintendo say they are unable to physically make enough Switch consoles to keep up with demand at the moment due to a global semiconductor shortage.
In a Q&A summary published by Nintendo themselves, they revealed that: “we achieved steady hardware production through the end of last calendar year, and as a result, in the previous fiscal year we set a record for our highest fourth-quarter sales volume”.
However, Representative Director and President Shuntaro Furukawa added: “Meanwhile, demand for hardware continues to exceed our expectations even after the beginning of this calendar year, and production has currently not caught up to this high demand due to the tight supply and demand situation for semiconductor materials worldwide”.
Nintendo
Semiconductors are materials that are used in all gaming and computing devices. The shortage, which has been happening since 2020, has seen Nintendo’s goal of shipping 25.5 million Switches in the new financial year unsuccessful.
“Although we are currently striving to produce as many units as possible, the fact is that our production plans are more uncertain than they were at the beginning of previous fiscal years.
“Our full-year sales plan is based on the premise that we can secure the materials necessary for production, but if we are able to produce more units, we will work hard to meet the strong demand and to be able to ship and sell those units.”
Introduced five years ago, the Nintendo Switch was an instantly-popular addition to the iconic gaming brand, providing single and multiplayer gaming for friends and family. It soared even higher in popularity during the pandemic, as families scrambled to secure a console.
Last month, Nintendo hosted their annual Indie World showcase, announcing all the upcoming titles that soon to be launched this year from Oxenfree II: Lost Signals to Cris Tales. Just last week, they also announced the release of their latest Switch Lite console.
You can find out more about it in the video below.
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