mood Posted May 14, 2021 Share Posted May 14, 2021 Switch Console Shortages To Continue As Nintendo Struggles To Keep Up With Demand Nintendo is expecting to ship over 25 million Nintendo Switch units this fiscal year but admits that it struggles to keep up with demand. Nintendo Switch consoles have been flying off store shelves since the very beginning of the global pandemic, making them difficult to find. And the shortages show no signs of stopping according to Nintendo itself. During a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo confirmed that the demand for Nintendo Switch consoles still exceeds the company's ability to produce consoles. Nintendo is trying to get production to a level that can keep up with the demand for Switch consoles, but there's a continuous semiconductor shortage that remains a roadblock for the company. The ongoing semiconductor shortage isn't just affecting the gaming industry as car companies, phone manufacturers, PC component manufacturers, etc. are all feeling the impact of the lack of available semiconductors. Semiconductors are used in nearly all computing devices and these shortages have slowed manufacturing since last year. Nintendo's production plans for Nintendo Switch this fiscal year are more uncertain than they were when the semiconductor shortage began which is making executives more skeptical that Nintendo will be able to keep up with the Switch demand. Nintendo is also looking at consumption patterns that may change as the restrictions implemented by the ongoing pandemic subside. Nintendo made reference to the first half of the previous fiscal year in which sales Switch scales increased to an unprecedented scale, mainly thanks to the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While demand for Nintendo Switch consoles lessened after the release of New Horizons, Nintendo saw an increase in sales during the Holiday season of last year, which reached the highest number of active users since the console's release. According to Nintendo today's shortages are just as serious as the shortages during the last fiscal year and the demand shows no signs of slowing down. "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 remains hopeful that it can reach a set goal to ship 25.5 million Nintendo Switch consoles in the new financial year as the Nintendo Switch enters its fifth year in the market. This sales forecast is based on Nintendo's steady hardware production through the end of the last calendar year despite the chip shortages, but the company admits that the production of consoles fails to reach the demand for them. Nintendo isn't the only gaming company struggling to keep up with hardware sales as Xbox and PlayStation both released next-gen consoles at the beginning of the semiconductor shortage and both companies struggle to keep store shelves stocked. Many rumors about a Nintendo Switch Pro have been circulating, but Nintendo may not have factored a new unit into its new fiscal year projections. Source: Switch Console Shortages To Continue As Nintendo Struggles To Keep Up With Demand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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