Notice how hard it’s been to buy new consoles lately? Both last year’s Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 as well as this year’s new Nintendo Switch OLED model have been in short supply, selling out almost the instant they go on sale. There’s a reason for that (well, besides scalpers) — there’s currently a global shortage for supplies like semiconductors and microcomputers that are essential for electronics. As such, Nintendo is making only ⅘ of the Switches they planned to, 24 million out of 30 million, as reported by Nikkei.
The supply crunch has led to a 37% fall in YTD sales of the Switch in September compared to last year, in spite of rising demand. While the console is expected to fall short of the already conservative 25.5 million unit sales estimate Nintendo has had for the year, it’s still on track to surpass the Wii’s 102 million unit lifetime sales soon, entering the year with 89 million units sold. The Switch is still doing exceedingly well; just not so well that Nintendo executives can buy a third yacht in addition to their first two. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if Nintendo executives buy yachts.)
Leave a Comment
Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
