The Nintendo Switch is the hottest freaking thing. You can’t find one anywhere, and you’re not likely to for a long time. We have it bad, but we’re not anywhere near as desperate as Japan for this thing. In Japan, mobile and portable gaming is far more popular than home console gaming. Mobile games make more money over there than console games do, so you can imagine just how appealing the Nintendo Switch is in the East, especially now that Monster Hunter, Splatoon 2, and Dragon Quest are all on the way.
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People are forming lines that wrap around buildings just for the chance, to enter for a chance, to buy a Nintendo Switch. Yes, you read that right. People are lining up in droves for Nintendo Switch lotteries. You don’t win Switches over there, you win the chance to buy one. Obviously Nintendo is aware of what’s happening, and it issued an official apology which we ran through Google translate and brushed up a little bit. Here’s what it had to say:
“Thank you very much for your continued patronage of our products.
The Nintendo Switch console which we released on March 3, 2017 has continued to be in short supply in the entire domestic market since its launch.
We apologize sincerely apologize to our customers and dealers for their inconvenience.
Currently, we continue to ship every week, and we are working to produce more than one product for customers. Also, in July and August we will increase shipment volume, including continued shipment of the Nintendo Switch Splatoon 2 bundle.
For autumn and beyond, we will continue to work to ensure that as many products as possible can be delivered to our customers towards the end of the year by bolstering our production system. Thank you for understanding.”
We’ve already seen that Nintendo is in a tight spot, because the Nintendo Switch relies on components that are produced by other companies like Toshiba. The flash memory that the Switch uses is in high demand not only by Nintendo, but by Apple as well, which will be releasing a new version of the iPhone soon. Because Toshiba is short on product, Nintendo is short on Switch supply.
We don’t really have any other choice but to wait it out at this point. If you’re in the market for a Switch, don’t wait until the holiday season to pull the trigger. By that time everyone will be looking for one, and they’ll be even more scarce. You have been warned.
