Nintendo UK Reiterates That Switch Demand Has "Surpassed" Global Estimates

In other breaking news the sky is up and water is wet.

Artificial scarcity!!!

I'm not struggling because I'm not looking for one yet.

To anyone looking to buy a Switch, make a visit to southern upper Bavaria! We've got tons* of em here! (*around a dozen of them as far as I know)

@SLIGEACH_EIRE "HEY EVERYBODY, I'M INTERESTING BECAUSE I'M OVERLY PESSIMISTIC"

Come to the UK there loads!!!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Congratulations.

There are a lot of them in Mexico too. Basically in any game store there are at least 30 or more.

I work for Argos, and I believe I read this afternoon that the warehouse is scheduled to receive a large shipment at the end of the month.

So when is Nintendo going to finally blame Apple for the Switch shortages?

@ImagineerNik Oh snap really? That'd be great if so... It's out of stock in about every London Argos I can see at the moment!

@ballistic90 How's what I said negative? AND WHAT'S WITH THE CAPS?

"It takes time to procure parts" Nintendo should have been more prepared and had more confidence in their system.

@ProfessorToad Can you blame them for not having confidence after the Wii U?

Takes time to produce parts??!

We all know that Nintendo could easily, EASILY sastify all the demand for Switch units and then some!! They just CHOOSE not to, in their silly effort to build more hype! A moronic plan bound for failure which is just making everybody angry!!

/sarcasm

@SLIGEACH_EIRE You're one to talk, Mr. All Caps Username.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I haven't bought a Switch yet either. There's just nothing of value on it. I have a Wii U for Zelda, and.... well that's the only game out at the moment. I loved Spatoon Wii U but I'm not going to buy a Switch solely for Splatoon 2. And, while I'm pleased that Mario is returning to a true 3D style for the first time since 64, New Donk City is entirely off-putting. Besides so few games, hearing about shortages certainly doesn't make me want to jump on.

GUYS IT'S ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY! NINTENDO CLEARLY DOESN'T WANT IT ABLE TO BE BOUGHT SO THAT WE ALL BUY THE PRODUCT THAT'S NOT THERE...so we can't buy it...

How is that supposed to be a strategy?

@Nintendoer Yes.

@teamshortcut It said "on or around 27th July". Considering that's close to Splatoon 2, perhaps it's the bundle?
Just checking online, I've noticed that is still available to pre-order, not sure about your area, but if you were planning on picking up Splatoon, it might be worth having a look.

Also, whilst I'm at it. Remember to check out our offers on product care as they're extremely helpful and you can also spread the cost with one of our Argos cards Jks... Well..... Not really joking....

Well, at least more people wanted to buy it than they thought.

Come to Arkansas. You can find them in the NW part of the state here

The Switch is doing a lot better than expected, so lack of stock isn't surprising.

@Nintendoer I blame them for not having confidence after amiibo and the NES Classic. They've been pretty consistently underestimating demand for a while now.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE got mine day 1

Well, if they plan to ship a maximun of 10 million units by the end of March 2018, then I´m afraid this situation won´t get any better...

They´re clearly underestimating their product.

@Nintendoer Well, part of it is the factor of exclusivity, which leads to luxury: If it isn't available anywhere, it's viewed as an exclusive, yes even luxurious item. Saying 'I have a Switch.' then basically translates to 'I am better than you.', which (standing out from the crowd) is one of man's subconscious goals. It's why we're striving to earn more money than we'd need to survive: To buy products we view as luxury-bringing, making us, in our own world view that is, better than the people around us, raising our self-esteem and ultimately making us feel better about our own meaningless existence.

So when you walk into the store and see a Switch on the shelves or happen to find one online for a good price (good luck!) and view it as an exclusive item due to its rarity, you're more enclined to buy one than without the applied rarity factor. Because without it, you'd be just walking by it or give it a quick glance - and not the 'OMG, there's a Switch!! That's the marketing beauty of supply shortages!

no surprises here. Nintendo doesn't know how to manufacture properly.

It is hard to find them in Portugal as well!

Nintendo is crushing it, I for one hope 2018 can bring as much quality tittles that 2017 will. Also alot more 3rd party would help

@the_beaver
Nintendo plans to ship an additional 10 million Switches this fiscal year, bringing cumulative Switch sales to 12.74 million by the end of March 2018.

While Nintendo waits for parts and production lines, it'd probably be good to fix how they are distributing these Switches. Sold out in some locations, not selling squat in others... Of course if new stock is still selling out it probably doesn't matter that much to them anyways.

Idiotic comment considering it released with a Zelda game we've been waiting to play for 4 years! The sending highest rated game of all time and they didn't expect the demand to be so high 😂 How about actually making some wii u copies available in stores rather than forcing people to buy the switch version.

3 weeks down, 8 days to go before mine arrives. It's been a long and painful wait #nintendolife

Sold out again at my local Smyths. They tell me that every week or so they get 2/3 boxes (around 10/15 Switch). They stay in stock a day or two.

4 months in and still a lot of momentum. Pretty good considering there are "no games worth playing" and the system was "dead on arrival".

Ah yes, artificial scarcity! Nintendo just really doesn't want your money! They prefer the increased profits they don't get from scalpers! It has nothing to do with a parts shortage or Nintendo's own low estimates for sales. We all know Nintendo is just a evil company out to deny their product to all the people who do nothing but whine about how inferior it is.

I placed an order with Tesco in the UK when they had one of their £20 off tech promotions. I had to wait nearly a month for it to arrive, but I'm very pleased. Breath of the Wild is stunning on Switch.

If they hit that target of 10m by the end of this fiscal, that really does hit home how poorly the Wii U sold! I'm hoping to have one sometime before Xmas.

@Nintendoer You got me there.

Not really.
There a some Nintendo Switch at my local gamestore.

10 mill the first year is a very strong number and right now seems totally realistic. Maybe even not enough.

Is the person who estimated Switch demand also the same person who estimated NES Classic Mini demand and have they been fired yet?

If only there was this thing called "pre-orders" where companies could gauge demand for their products before manufacturing and launching them. Freakin' morons.

When was the last time Ntinedo predicted any manufacturing correctly? All of those Animal Crossing amiibo were widely over produced, every other amiibo ever made was under produced, Wii U seems to have been about right, meaning they made 14 mil at launch then just basically stopped making them. Those New 3DS for the holiday in the US, gone in minutes.

The company doesn't keep any stock on shelves for anything. Either they should all be fired for gross incompetence and mismanagement or they should all be fired for screwing over their customers w/ their stupid - "let's make scalpers prosper" false scarcity philosophy.

I'm glad I decided to wait til Xmas to get one. They might actually be available by then!

It's not as easy as "let's make more" though is it?
Nintendo had projections of how many units they'd sell (luckily they don't read this forum or they would have run out on day one) calculated long in advance.

Deals would have been made with suppliers, who can't just magic more stock on shelves.
As for making the Switch - Nintendo can't simply lay on an extra shift, you need workers for that, logistics, the sums to add up for all that. How long will this rate of demand last? What do they do if it drops - lay people off and say to the suppliers "Sorry, we don't need all those components now... what do you mean we still have to pay?" I can understand their caution.

Though I think it's a poor situation personally, as someone now actively looking to buy a Switch and can't.

Guys the scarcity isn't joke. I saw tons of new boxes in GameStop and thought it wasn't selling. It turns out they were all display boxes and they didn't have a single unit. As soon as they get a shipment people line up at the door to buy them all.

There is a lot of them here in south america but they cost more than a PS4 Pro + 2 games, local retailers are clearly ripping people off since there is no official MSRP here.

Gonna wait a year or two, i want a Switch but i'm not willing to pay that much.

@Priceless_Spork :hahahaha!!

@ProfessorToad lol, you are put off by Mario because of your fleeting assessment of New Donk City? Okay.

In Middle East Nintendo switch is everywhere and no one buys it here

Specially with 700$ launch price

People here only play with PlayStation which is a shame

Got my Switch with a preorder day one in the US. Had my wife snap my friend one when Arms launched. Been loving the path Nintendo has laid out for games. Its joy playing BoTW and Mario Kart at home, Shovel Knight during lunch breaks and end of day winddown at the office, and sneaking in an extra fight of Ultra SFII or a level of Mighty Gunvolt Burst right before bed.

@GoldenGamer88 True, true. But that's a pretty bad strategy for what will amount to not very many extra sales.

I don't think they'll meet their shipment estimation by March 2018, they simply can't produce that many. Obviously some of the parts they're using are highly sought after by other big companies, and in the grand scheme of things, nintendo is low man on the totem pole.

@Jasspur
I can confirm this, was there early today and they had boxes but no systems. They did have a wait list, just out of curiosity I asked what number I
Would be if I signed up now. (I already have a switch and 8 physical games)
7731! Granted I live in Dallas and the store I go to is in one hell of a populate area with no game stops in 6 miles. They get the switch daily about a 100 give or take. That means the last guy on that list won't get his till September 19th. Production could ramp up though. I think 13 million is a respectable goal for fiscal 17. I also got disgae 5 for 45 their the other day.

I actually found one at Walmart in memphis last friday. I got off work and went to one right down the street from where I live just to see. I asked a lady in electronics and she called a manager and told me they MAY have one but a manager needed to look in the case. After waiting 45 patient minutes... the lady came out, walked by me and whispered, "go stand by the far register." Without hesitation, I power walked. They brought the only one out they had (The grey one)! I was ecstatic! I was looking for one for my son's biryhday on the 4th of July and hit pay dirt.That next day I went to buy some bathroom supplies for the old home and I always go to Target's electronics section to look around... and what do ya know? 2 neon colored Switches just sitting there... waving at me🤔 I bought one for my best friend's nephew because they can't find any in Atlanta, Ga. All in all, I'm good on Switches now. Got a grey one for my son and a Neon one for my besties nephew😏 God is good🙂 lol!

@Nintendoer
No you can't, but sales will change their minds no doubt. If we ever get near full fledged support it will be if it sales 13 plus this fiscal with no signs of slowing down. The pie would be to tempting from a marketing perspective to ignore. At least that would be sound choice, who knows how the BIGS think.

First whingers said Nintendo had too many and we're stupid to be so over optimistic, now the same people are saying Nintendo are stupid for not making enough and clicking their magic fingers.

I'll get one when Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles come out. Right now I'm finishing up some Wii U games, I have a bad habit of playing games up to the final boss then just dropping them for no reason. At least it gives me something to do while I wait 😄.

@Fooligan That what I always do. I don't have motivation to 100% a Game. 🙂

I found one a couple of weeks ago. Ended up spending a lot for all the games and accessories to go with it. Grand total of $700. As I was checking out, I asked the Target clerk about the yellow joy-cons that also came out that day. I told him I was going to cancel the whole transaction if they didn't have them...

Wouldn't you know it? Those shady store clerks were keeping them in the back of the store for themselves. He reluctantly went in the back and got them for me because he didn't want to cancel the transaction already in progress.

Yeah!!! I beat the system for once.

Love those yellow joy-cons!

@ProfessorToad Ironically one of the factors that caused the Wii U to flop was overconfidence from the get-go. Nintendo expected it to be a runaway success from day one. Well that obviously didn't happen. So I really don't blame Nintendo for playing it safe with the Switch launch. They'll get it all worked out. I'm sure right now they're working on getting production ramped up for the holiday season.

@Nintendoer Who says it's a strategy they're WILLINGLY doing? Nintendo already stated that they can't just make more as they compete against Apple for components. HOWEVER, the more I follow this trend, the more I am under the belief that Nintendo is secretly hoarding Switchs somewhere, not necessarily to create the strategy I described, but rather to sell during the holiday season. Not only is that when Odyssey was just released but also to give parents at least a good chance at preordering a Switch online or to grab one at the stores to gift it to their Jimmies and Bobbies for the holidays.

Overall, despite all the moaning and groaning, these supply shortages are actually a good thing imho! They keep Switch on everybody's minds and in the headlines, games or no games. I just don't think Nintendo is willingly creating supply shortages. But who knows, they might just have learned a thing from Sony for once.

I didn't have trouble finding one back in March so I'm good

@Nintendoer It's a strategy that Apple has perfected for years.

So, it's a funny thing... I look at this Switch and compare it to my iPad, and I think it's actually more the size of an Amazon Kindle Fire (first generation from 2011), and it has practically no games available for it, and the system costs a fortune but delivers so little for the price... yet despite all that logic, I had a moment of weakness when I saw a couple games on it I might like, so I checked around to a few huge retailers in my very large city, and none had the switch. In fact, they told me they hadn't seen one in months. I was a bit disappointed but then felt a huge relief, because this system really isn't anything fancy, it has such a tiny screen and offers so little for such a big price tag, and can't even be bought anyway - and even if I had got one, I'd only have maybe 2 good games for it! What a waste! So I'm thankful that Nintendo has not kept the stores stocked. Saved me about half a grand $$ and that's fantastic.

@ImagineerNik Ah perhaps, I'm going to get Zelda first so the bundle doesn't help me much. Still useful to know though, thanks!

I see absolutely no U.K shortage, i could walk into any three or four shops in my area and buy one.

@Boxmonkey Are there issues with availability of the Wii U version? I don't think that's the case here in the UK.

I'm sorry Nintendo, why are they trating this system like the Wii U at this point? The Switch is no Wii U in terms of commercial performance.

had to laugh today get email from Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo Switch & Wii U
Whether you’ve already ventured outside the Great Plateau or you’re still finding your bearings in this sprawling world, you can use amiibo (sold separately) to help you on your quest!

When you tap one of the new series of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild amiibo, you can receive a random assortment of useful resources like meat and fish, and maybe even sought-after weapons or items such as shields, arrows, “ancient parts” and much more!

yeah great show me something I cant actually buy what ffffffffffffffffff idiot/muppet/moron thought lets send out a promotional email for something you cant buy & no sign of ever being able to buy. Either make them in card format as well & remake the figures or just piss off & scrap them. ffffffffffffffffffff idiots.

@YANDMAN if you are so inclined, pick them up for resale. The Switch is very hard to find (not necessary sold out but not certainly not readily available).

Amazon are out of stock and CeX are selling second hand units fot £340.

It's funny how they will always throw around the March sales number, but not the number of units sold to date.

It's about time that we started getting some real games on this thing and not just rehashed games from yesteryear that my 9 year old son laughs at. We paid real money for this thing and all we get is neo geo games and "coming soon" news with no release dates. Thinking of getting rid of my switch as there's big demand for them at the moment and I might as well cash in quick as I'm starting to think we've all been conned. Skyrim was in the promo video back in march and still no release date. Absolute joke. Nintendo switch ? All I can say is buyer beware. Fed up of waiting now. !!!!!!!

@JamesR
They can have mine.

@Anguspuss
I agree. Everything they tell you about you can't get. It's a joke. For switch read wii u 2nd

@westman98
Shame there's no decent games with a release date to go with them lol

@Woosh193
????
I'm just stating facts. Please direct your snark elsewhere.

@Anguspuss Yeah got that email too!

We still haven't even received any of the first Breath of the Wild amiibo's over here in Norway, so we will never see these new ones either. /Facepalm

@westman98
Wasn't having a go. Just mentioning lol

"It takes time to procure parts and run production"

It does. That's why you have a logistics team planning production etc so no shortages occur like most other company's.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
"How's what I said negative?"

It's not. Just as an affirmation. People's expectations, I guess (in this case). It might take a while...

@electrolite77 Okay maybe mostly Sligeach, but also at least a few of the NINTENDOOMED crowd went from one position to the other.
Of course plenty would have only had one opinion because of how they felt about the console alone, rather than hating Nintendo.

@Joytendo22 I meant to say how many units they've shipped to retailers, not sold. First thing in the morning etc. So they'd have that instantly not needing to tally up actual sales. They say the demand is there, which it seems to be, but after all their talk of upping production several times and the stories of them failing to secure parts over other companies, I'd be curious to see how many units they've shipped post launch. Or post March.

"Artificial scarcity".

"Nintendo don't know what they are doing".

"No decent games with release dates".

Just a few excerpts of the dumb crap I have read today.

I am used to scarcity at launch, that is all part of the hype and build up. However, getting close to 4 months after launch (and potentially up to Christmas) and scarcity preventing users from getting their hands on one (and we are even talking Nintendo fans here) is possibly damaging for the console. From a publisher point of view, it makes viability shorted until the stock question is answered.

What's that smell??

Lol, don't know where all the sarcastic comments about manufactured scarcity pertaining to the NS are coming from. They're practicing it with the NES/SNES Mini, not the NS... I guess y'all had to vent that red herring somewhere, right? It's apparent that Nintendo can't manufacture enough NS consoles in the time span they want, but that isn't manufactured scarcity. Some people get the term confused with something it's not.

I've seen a few around here and there here in Nova Scotia. Mostly at Walmart.

Interesting! GAME also blame Nintendo for their financial results. Talk about mediocrity from GAME stores.

@GoldenGamer88 I think it's kind of a given they're hoarding Switches. It takes time to produce and distribute them. If they're going to anticipate a sales bump at the Holidays, they need to have machines made and ready to go for then. They certainly won't be just suddenly making quadruple-sized production runs. So yeah, they're absolutley hoarding Switches. The question is is it actually ENOUGH of them to meet demand then better than the lower demand now? I somehow doubt it...

@Jessica286 GAME and Gamestop have the same bad business plans. "Sales are slow, Sony, Microsoft, give us new hardware!" (new hardware shows up) "Sales are slow, Sony, Microsoft, Give us updated new hardware!" "Sales are Slow, we're counting on new Nintendo hardware, and putting our orders in advance." (new Nintendo hardware shows up and flies off the shelves at near record pace) "Sales are slow, Nintendo didn't make enough hardware to sell!" (as though they didn't know how much they ordered, I don't know, 6 months ago? )

@NEStalgia and ironically both companies suck a lot.

You know how economics as usual is pretty much supply and demand? It's still in tact, but thanks to sites like Amazon, there is a new "demand" out there: Personal retail, or better known as "scalping". See, Nintendo may have counted all the normal people that want a Switch just to play it, but they didn't account for all that would buy the Switch JUST to flip it, and that's a big part of why they cannot keep up with demand. Had they accounted for such an affordable $300 price range which works for consumers and scalpers, then they would've beefed up production even more. LOL, but conversely thinking on that, because the Wii U failed to take off globally, they had no choice but to limit their launch to the relatively low numbers it launched at. Nintendo couldn't really win for losing, but all is not lost. They are simply going to have to hit that 10mil mark and keep their foot squarely on the gas of production while maintaining hype. I'm sure they meet it... time to go get my popcorn

@Jessica286 So true! And yet....Nintendo wants us to go there for our limited edition gear. And we do...

I dont believe it is artificial scarcity. But i do believe that nintendo only have shortages in a couple regions but word there press releases that it wide spread. To make the switch seems i like its strong demand and you need to buy one now or missout.

10million in one year will be a very strong number. Hope it large enough to get third party buy in.

@JamesR shopto has plenty in stock as does the Official nintendo store online as does Argos and Toys R us. people simply aren't looking in the right places. CEX are a totally ripoff anyways, nobody should buy from them. In launch week my friend bought a Switch from them as his daughter really wanted one, The were charging £ 450.

@Priceless_Spork Sadly, that is often the case, but they still manage to price gouge people for tons of money proving they're very popular.

Still plenty in Poland.

The Internet - "The Switch is underpowered and will flop worse than Wii U." Now - "How could Nintendo underestimate Switch demand"?

@NEStalgia thats true, Nintendo have one of the best IPs in the industry. If they do with all their IPs what they did with Zelda and now Mario with Odyssey they will be unstoppable. I wish Star Fox would play like EVE Valkyrie or even what Starlink looks to be and Metroid like Mass Effect/Anthem/Dead Space sort of game. Prime 4 should also have a multiplayer component (it doesn't have to be huge but it should be there). I seriously believe Metroid can be the Halo of Nintendo. I also think that Yoshi and Kirby could benefit a lot from an Odyssey type of approach. Lastly, Fire Emblem and Advance Wars could benefit from an X-com type of approach. My point is, if Nintendo bring all their IPs to the current gen type of development it will be gold for them.