Nintendo Talks Switch Launch Supply
By Cody Gravelle 16 January 2017
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime discusses launch plans for Nintendo’s Switch, stating the company feels confident about the supply available at launch.
In recent years, the collectibility of gaming products has come under fire from critics who believe that believe even limited and special edition products are being mass-produced while still being described as rare. There’s a compelling amount of evidence to fuel that belief, too, as major players like Square Enix have produced more collector’s edition products to meet fan demand despite part of the company’s sales pitch being that there were an extremely limited number available.
If that’s the current trend in gaming, however, Nintendo is certainly bucking it. The NES Classic sold out near instantly across locations worldwide, and there has been a similar demand for the company’s newest console/handheld hybrid in Nintendo Switch, with many gamers becoming vocally frustrated over being unable to pre-order the new device. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime doesn’t believe that the Switch is being under-produced, however, stating:
“We’re making sure that the supply chain [for Switch] is robust and there’s a steady flow of hardware. The one piece we can’t anticipate is the demand side of the equation but certainly from a supply [side], we feel like we’re going to be well-positioned.”
According to GameSpot, who conducted the interview, Fils-Aime also restated that there will be 2 million Switch units available worldwide for launch in March. Given that most online retailers have already sold out of the Switch, however, it appears that Nintendo might have under-estimated what the demand would be for the Switch at launch.
Fils-Aime defended how many units would be available, however, stating that 2 million was a “huge amount” of volume for any console release, especially when the release date isn’t during the holiday season. It’s possible, though, that Nintendo also under-estimated how the Switch would be received after poor performances from the Wii U both at launch and long-term. If that’s the case, the difference between that console and the Switch could be the Switch’s strong games line-up, which includes a day-one launch of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Even if availability becomes something of an issue for Nintendo, it is a good problem to have – it has been a while since gamers were this excited for a major Nintendo product, and if the Switch lives up to the hype it has managed to generate over the past few days, that excitement will be well-deserved.
Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3, 2017.
