Apparently It’s Really Hard To Find A Nintendo Switch In Japan

We know that it's been tough lately to try and find a Nintendo Switch on store shelves, despite a recently replenishment by some GameStop locations. But if you think it's tough here, you ought to try Japan.

That's just what Nintendo Life did, setting out on a quest to try and track down a Nintendo Switch console in the land of the Rising Sun last week when Splatoon 2 hit shelves. And did it have any luck? Well…

Its first stop was a few stores in the suburbs, with a lot of stores noting that there is no new stock on the system, and, more importantly, they didn't know when they would be getting more in stock.

Then it moves on to another store that reportedly had systems available, only to find a line of about 400 to 500 people, similar to what another chain reported last week when the Nintendo Switch was on sale. A lottery system was put into place, but even that didn't guarantee walking away with the system.

The team then hit the city in an effort to find some Splatoon 2 bundles, with some locations only offering up about 50. Once again, a lottery system was used, and didn't always guarantee success.

So, in short, stock continues to be at quite the low in Japan, and Nintendo, despite efforts to replenish at a record pace, is still trying to keep up the demand with a proper supply. Whether it can do so over the remainder of the year has yet to be seen, but it needs to figure it out, especially with games like Pokken Tournament DX and Super Mario Odyssey on the way.

Meanwhile, some folks have had better luck here in the U.S., once again thanks to GameStop, but that's not always a guarantee either, as most of the units sold out rather quickly. There's always eBay, of course, but not everyone is fond of the scalpers.

We'll see what Nintendo's plan is for keeping Switch systems in stock in the months ahead, but, hopefully, we'll see less people standing in line and more enjoying its great games.