In early 2023, the coronavirus pandemic caught Nintendo by surprise – Chinese factories stopped working, there was a shortage of spare parts, countries closed their borders. All of this quickly led to severe deficits. Nintendo Switch in the largest markets – the demand for the console several times exceeded the supply against the background of the release Animal Crossing: New Horizons – the fastest selling exclusive in history.
In the second half of 2023, Nintendo was able to deal with the shortage and significantly increased orders for key components, so it still has enough spare parts to manufacture the Switch. About this in a recent interview with the publication Nikkei told the president of the company Shuntaro Furukawa…
Sony and Microsoft in this regard, it is more difficult – they just released their new consoles in 2023 and still have not satisfied even the starting demand.
However, considering the strong demand for the Nintendo Switch (the console continues to sell better every year) Furukawa admitted that in a number of regions for a certain time a deficit may form in the future…
For example, in Japan, based on weekly reports Famitsu, now the flagship Switch models are being sold out very quickly – to many newcomers who wanted to play Monster hunter rise at the start, I had to buy Switch Lite (in normal times, it is significantly inferior in popularity to the hybrid Switch).
“We are concerned about the supply of components necessary for the production of the Switch in the near future. However, interest in the console in Japan and several other countries has only increased since the beginning of the year. This means that some retailers may face a shortage of consoles.
It is still difficult to say exactly how we will regulate the situation, but it is possible that in some cases it will not be possible to satisfy demand immediately, “explained Shuntaro Furukawa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWd8fUC71g
According to Bloomberg, Nintendo Prepares New Switch Model and Powerful Game Line for Fiscal 2023-2022… According to journalists, the company expects users to buy 250 million copies of games during this period – more than at the peak of the Wii (205 million).
As for hardware, Nintendo predicts that annual Switch sales will remain at the 2023-2023 fiscal year or even slightly increase in the next, despite the fact that the platform has been on the market for more than four years, writes Bloomberg.
During the pandemic, Nintendo, like other electronics manufacturers, has to contend with some versatile parts, such as Bluetooth modules and driver ICs to drive displays. Component suppliers say that the shortage will remain until at least June, and maybe until December.
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