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The Nintendo Switch has now been on the market nearly six months, but demand has led to continually limited stock in various territories. Some parts of Europe have decent availability, but in areas such as Japan and North America units can be tough to find. Nintendo, for its part, has repeatedly stated that it will strive to meet demand but stuck to its 10 million shipped units forecast in its Q1 financial reports.

An article by The Wall Street Journal (paywall) recounts the familiar tale of stock rapidly disappearing after it arrives in the US, and Japanese consumers queuing just to enter a ballot for a chance to buy one. It's a familiar tale, but along with a graph showing how units shipped in July in Japan did increase alongside Splatoon 2, the publication again states that manufacturing is prepped to ramp up beyond that 10 million target, with the suggestion that Nintendo may be making progress in resolving issues around limited parts and components.

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Nintendo’s official target is to ship 10 million Switch units in its current fiscal year ending in March 2018. People involved in the supply chain say they have been told to prepare for 18 million units. One executive in the supply chain said his company was ready to pick up the pace of production if asked.

...People familiar with the supply chain say Nintendo is making progress working through shortages of key components, such as flash-memory chips and batteries. And it has overcome many of the challenges in assembling the machine’s detachable, wireless controllers, which pack sensors and other delicate components into a small space.

We certainly hope this is the case. With such positive momentum behind the Switch it'd be ideal for Nintendo to grow the userbase as rapidly as possible, especially in the Holiday season. Hopefully logistics and the company's level of ambition will make that happen.

With thanks to SLIGEACH_EIRE for the heads up.

[source wsj.com]