Nintendo, the Kyoto-based multinational consumer electronics and video game giant, is boosting its production of Switch consoles in preparation for expected higher demand during the 2017 holiday shopping season, according to a Financial Times report.
The company reported significantly better-than-expected sales following the Switch console launch in March 2017.
Shoppers in most parts of the world have been having difficulties finding them on store shelves – as soon as they are available for sale they are immediately snapped up by eager consumers.
Quote from Ninendo.com/switch: “Nintendo Switch is designed to go wherever you do, transforming from home console to portable system in a snap. So you get more time to play the games you love, however you like.”
Nintendo to produce over 18 million Switch units
The Wall Street Journal reported that in this fiscal year, Nintendo intended to produce more than sixteen million consoles.
The 16-million target has been increased to 18 million units by March next year. The company says it fears a ‘customer tantrum’ deluge when the holiday shopping season arrives if it is unable to meet demand by then.
According to the Financial Times, Nintendo stated that it had no plans to boost production, and that it was not budging from its original target of 10 million units. However, analysts are very doubtful, and insist that the video-game giant is on track to produce considerably more.
Problems linked to very strong demand
Higher-than-expected demand for a new product is always good news for any company. However, it does not come without some problems, which if not faced and dealt with successfully, have the potential to ruin things.
The main menu screen of the Switch console. Within one week of its launch, Nintendo reported that the Switch sold more in that period than any other product in its history. Sales were especially strong in Europe and North America. In March 2017, sales exceeded 906,000 units in the United States alone. (Image: adapted from Wikipedia)
Nintendo has seen considerable shortages of the Switch and its NES Classic (now discontinued). This increase in demand will probably lead to production problems, says the Financial Times, including supply shortages of the LCD screens that Switch uses.
In an article in The Verge, Andrew Liptak writes:
“Hopefully, a production boost will mean that some consumers might reasonably expect to get their hands on one of the devices sometime this year.”
About Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch is the company’s seventh major home video game console. It was unveiled in October in 2016, at the time by its code-name NX, and was released globally on March 3rd, 2017.
According to Nintendo, Switch is a hybrid console. It is designed mainly as a home console, with the main unit inserted into a docking station, which connects to a TV.
However, the unit can be removed from the dock and used like a tablet computer through its LCD touchscreen. It can also be placed in a standalone tabletop mode, which is then visible to a number of different players.
It uses Joy-Con wireless controllers, which have a directional joystick, standard buttons, motion sensing, as well as high-definition tactile feedback.
