The Nintendo Switch is in high demand right now, but stock is hard to come by – and that's causing buyers to turn to other options.
Covering the recent announcement by Nintendo that Switch stock would be limited to those who had placed reservations in Japan this week, Gamesindustry.biz expanded on the situation, stating that sales of the console in Europe and the US have dropped dramatically over the last two weeks according to data from GfK and GSD. The Switch Lite, however, is easier to find.
One UK retailer Gamesindustry.biz that demand for the Lite model isn't as high, because buyers want a system their kids can play on the television. The retailer added that "a lot of people looking for a Switch are instead ordering a PS4 or Xbox One. But even those consoles are in short supply right now."
Stock is in short supply for a range of reasons, the most pressing of which is obviously the recent coronavirus outbreak. A global lockdown means parents are keen to purchase devices which keep their children entertained, but the manufacture and distribution of electronics have been disrupted by the outbreak as well, creating a situation of high demand and low stock – Switch sales jumped by 150% in March, according to Gamesindustry.biz.
With China being the workshop of the world these days, it stands to reason that the recent shutdown has impacted Nintendo's ability to respond to the high demand – but, as the company has said, more stock is coming, thanks largely to the fact that China's factories are slowly beginning to reactivate production.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 59
Sounds like total tosh to me, just so many contradictions in this article.
Which is good. Some more consoles should get some attention too. lol
@johnvboy Like what? Also Gamesindustry.biz are as credible as they come.
Yeah most people would research a new system and decide which games they wanted rather than plump for anything. Also maybe it's time to bring manufacture nearer to home and pay decent wages.
Double you reckon? Hmm people wouldn't like that eh.
@status-204 that wouldn't be a bad thing, it would likely result in contract sales like a phone company, pay £50 a month for console, online sub etc and it lets you upgrade to the next model in two years time.
@status-204 @Samwise7 Status is right. There is a reason why China is THE place for manufacturing products. It's quick, cheap, and low cost. Even with this outbreak, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
@Samwise7 I'm sure that people did research the system first hence them looking for a Switch initially, but when they saw that was out of stock or had horrendous markup pricing they probably looked at what the next best thing to keep their kids occupied was and went for that instead.
Well yeah, those two need all the help they can get.
We have two Switch in our house, my son’s console and my own, but even my daughter is playing so I’m not getting much use of it myself lol 😅 My brother’s kids have a Switch and a Switch lite in their household and they're seeing a lot more use than usual, in fact he told me his youngest now wants a ‘Switchtendo’ of her own 😂
The headline totally makes it sound like PS4 and XBox sales jumped 150 %.🤨
This doesn't make sense. If you want a specific system you just wait. They're not the same, especially the Switch, which offers a different experience. Maybe between PS4 and Xbox One you hesitate and decide depending on the availability, but not with a Switch. I think the sales increase is due to the lockdown and the extra amount of free time people who can't work from home will get.
I was going to buy a microwave the other day but the store was sold out, so I bought an oven instead.
why bother when PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are coming out in November
They should really spread manufacturing to other low-cost contries, Mexico and some states in the US to secure better supplies in north America, Eastern Europe and maybe even Russia to secure supplies in Europe.
All gaming sales are up because people are stuck inside. These claims are purely anecdotal.
@DinnerAndWine Goes in to buy a 10-speed, comes out with a four wheel drive.
Seems legit.
@Moroboshi876 Of course it makes sense if the people are just after a console and not what games they offer.
@WallyWest But how many people just wants "a console"? Anyway, that kind of people... Wouldn't go for the cheapest one? I don't know, I just think that can't be so easy to analyze.
@Moroboshi876 If you’re off work for 12 weeks and the arcade a shut. You want something now rather than a specific console. Of course people have preferences but if they’ve got nothing to do all consoles are likely to have some games that they would want.
That sucks, I'd cry if I had to buy a crappy PS4 or Xbox. They have no good games.
@Ryall Of course, but saying the shortage pushed buyers to the other systems is a little misleading imho. You never know what console did all those people want in the first place when they were told to stay home for weeks.
@WallyWest
" One UK retailer Gamesindustry.biz that demand for the Lite model isn't as high, because buyers want a system their kids can play on the television. The retailer added that "a lot of people looking for a Switch are instead ordering a PS4 or Xbox One. But even those consoles are in short supply right now." "
So people are buying a PS4 or an Xbox One, because there are no Nintendo Switch consoles in stock, but you can't even buy those consoles either, because the issue China has made all the console supply chains dry up, so no real issue in the articles main premise that because of Switch stock shortages customers are rushing out and buying other rival consoles, despite the fact most of the world is on a lock down and you can hardly describe a games console as an essential item.
So basically Gamesindustry.biz stating the bleeding obvious, and as for Nintendo life, this is what happens when Nintendo do not announce directs, and there is really no news to report.
Wow! Switch shortages must be bad for people to be buying an Xbox.
@Moroboshi876 You see, you might not have heard this, but there is a virus going around that is killing people so many people are stuck at home without the ability to go out. These people decide they want to keep the kids or themselves entertained, so they look into buying a gaming console. They'e heard good things about this Switch thing, so they look for one online and find that it is sold out or marked up 1000% by capitalist parasites. They might do a little bit of online searching about Nintendo and discover that stock shortages are a persistent issue with Nintendo or read the press release from Nintendo stating that the stock issue isn't going away soon.
They spend a few hours listening to the kids complain about being bored and can't take another round of the "stop touching me game" and decide, "I can't take it anymore, I'm buying a PS4."
This isn't rocket science, but good on you that you live in a place where all the parks haven't been closed and there is absolutely nowhere to go without getting a ticket.
There are great games on all formats my dudes. There is no shame buying something other than Nintendo to play games on, especially if there are no Nintendo consoles available. Games is games.
@mesome713 Spoken like a person that has never played a PS4. I bought a Switch because of the virus and have been looking through all the shovelware on the eshop. Never had that problem on the PS4. The few good games are also much more expensive than their PS4 counterparts. Don't know how you put up with it.
@RasandeRose all those places you listed would still have far higher production costs than they do in China especially any where in North America if you are paying people 10 time more to assemble them than it would cost in China expect a massive price increase too. Unless things in the world change as far as global economy goes things will always be mass produced in Asian countries to make things more affordable.
@Yogsoggoth I usually don't reply to people using that kind of tone, especially when I don't think I've insulted anyone with my comments and opinions. But before you talk you should known that I've been at home for a month now, while the US just started the lockdown.
@Moroboshi876 Apologies for the tone. I've just had a bellyfull of being at home and haven't even had morning coffee yet, so I'm feeling a bit combative. That said, the rational for people picking up a PS4 over a Switch seems pretty obvious and I don't think there is any conspiracy or dishonesty of reporting.
Next time I'll wake up before I comment. Again, I apologize and I hope you are keeping safe and healthy.
@Zenszulu Believe it of not, there is only a 5% difference in the cost of manufacturing between the U.S. and China. The true savings come in the lack of environmental and worker protections in China.
I find this claim very unlikely. I personally can't imagine going into a store to buy one thing that I wanted and then saying, "Ah, what the heck, I'll just settle for this other thing instead." Maybe I'm not typical?
Looks like Trolls are deleting posts again...
One UK retailer Gamesindustry.biz that demand for the Lite model isn't as high, because buyers want a system their kids can play on the television. The retailer added that "a lot of people looking for a Switch are instead ordering a PS4 or Xbox One.
This in itself is a contradiction in itself. They are doing this to sell unsold xbox/ps4 units because their Corporate Heads told them to sell it as it can play ACNH to unsuspecting buyers. This is what I would call a poorly written Article to support a failing company. Maybe if they actually presented facts rather then pseudo marking ploys they would be in better financial straights. The Switch is more Family Friendly then either xbox or ps4 can be at this point. That seller is basically trying to Trash the Switch.
@Yogsoggoth It's easy, I just buy good games made by Nintendo. Can't buy Animal Crossing on PS4, so it's worthless to me. I'd cry if I had to play one.
@Zenszulu
Yes, ofc.
But Id say smaller profit on say 10-20% of the produced systems should still be better than loosing momentum due to this huge shortages.
@Shade_Koopa this outbreak has surfaced glaring problems with everything being made in china. you will most definitely see changes. There’s an article floating around about a US company that makes medical face masks and isn’t running production at 100% because as soon as the crisis is over they’ll run the risk of bankruptcy. Since they’re critical they’re asking for permanent contracts from the US gov since they can’t compete with china on price (due to human rights violations). I don’t look to see a switch made in the US anytime soon but I definitely see china being dethroned as the manufacturing superpower as a result of this and manufacturing to be more spread out in the future.
@SwitchForce there are a lot of people trying to keep their kids busy. if you’ve been on a conference call with someone working from home with kids you know exactly why when the switch is sold out they buy an xbox or ps4. kids, even those as old as 10, don’t seem to understand parents being at home but needing privacy
@RasandeRose while it sounds as simple as just doing that to make a smaller profit on the hardware. You would also have to make a huge investment in all those countries in manufacturing and training people in those areas to have a workforce to do so. It's not just a simple case of saying they will move the manufacturing to different places when none of those places are set up to do so. Also equally many of the other parts that go into producing them are also made in china which makes them faster and cheaper to get in that regard. It is something that doesn't have an instant fix and is something that may change one day as you can't manufacture things when all the parts are in a place you currently have no access to.
@Zenszulu
I claimed it would be free or simple to invest in a sturdier production line? You read in claims I never made... Nintendo and many other companies now pays the price for taking the easy and in short term cheap route.
Fact is that all the parts made in China can be made with equal parts from western companies like texas instruments, Ericsson and so on. Example, when Huawei cant deliver 5g tech to the US, Ericsson can do instead. It Will be more expansive to produced the parts in India, US, Mexico or eastern Europe. But there will be more secure supplie lines if 2 or 3 companies from 3 different contries delivers the parts.
Yet another reason to open factories in more parts of the world rather than just finding the cheapest labor possible. Do the workers even get days off in China?
@mesome713 You're missing out on some fantastic games though. Animal Crossing is fantastic, but so ate Concrete Genie, Spiderman, Persona 5, and Yakuza.
@Yogsoggoth Just not into those games. I like Fortnite too, and Smash Bros, and Zelda. Spiderman would be fun, but I'll wait till it comes to PC.
@mesome713 I've played every Zelda game except Breath of the Wild. I tried and it just left me cold. I do like Smash a bunch and I want to try the Switch version because Ice Climbers are back. How is Fortnite on Switch? I've never played it and was curious to know how it plays since it needs to be played over wifi. Is the latency okay?
@RasandeRose I am not saying you claimed that but while there is a current shortage due to what is going on. By the time you set up all of the infrastructure to manufacture all of those components and indeed the final product around the world in various locations things will be back to normal as far as supply goes. Right now I don't think any tech companies that produce in China are really going to be setting all of that up under fear of losing sales momentum. Is it something that perhaps can be looked at long term if this happens again? Yes but short term there is no quick solution and could take a long time to set up that kind of production all over the world.
@Yogsoggoth Fortnite plays great, they have amazing servers. And Switch has gyro controls on Fortnite, so can compete with PC plays using mouse and keyboard.
@Samwise7 My friends daughter wanted a switch but didnt know what games she wanted. They got her animal crossing and Mario kart. She just plays Fortnite.
Kids just want things without actually wanting them.
@mesome713 Switch fortnite is the mobile version at 30fps. On iOS it is 60fps. Switch isnt competing at all with PC.
@mesome713 oh, how I understand you. A year ago, I bought that crappy Switch just for playing in Xenoblade 2 and in SMT V in far future. I discovered only a few good games for me on such popular platform and was surprised how bad is ports of modern multiplatform games on it.
Is Switch really sold out in US? In my country you can easily buy it.
Most gamers and Switch owners already have a PS4/XB1 or a gaming PC.
Kind of necessary if you want to play most of the great games of the day.
I can understand a lot of lapsed/casual gamers bunkering down right now and buying convenient consoles.
Obviously, the Switch would be selling a lot more units if they were more available.
@status-204 This is not meant to be a criticism of you. People, even experts, throw around these numbers of things being double or triple the price if they’re moved out of China, but as we are seeing every day projections can be way off. We are seeing companies move to diversify their manufacturing, and though that may not be bringing it home perse, it hasn’t caused price hikes in multiples. I think we are going to see further diversification this year, hopefully it will be permanent.
People have second and 3rd choices. If I wanted to play my Switch, but could not for some reason, I'd play something else instead of sitting there grumbling. (though I might grumble, while playing something else)
Meanwhile back at the Ranch, Xbox drops it’s console line up price by $100.00 to attract buyers.
@Zenszulu
Problem is with the reason "things will go back to normal", is that it can, at any given time, go back again to something like this. China is a further risk with its government model and culture, that at any given time can induce problems in the import/export lines. Nintendo, just like som many other companies, should have realized earlier on the problem with having all the production based in China. Its not a new problem.
@status-204 Yes, I understand. I’m still very skeptical of the idea that prices would double. Apple manufactures its Mac Pro in Texas for example. While that is an expensive product, I don’t believe manufacturing it in China would cut the price in half based on the cost of a similar PC. But regardless, getting manufacturing out of China would be a great first step.
@tekknik i'll believe it when I see it. After this outbreak is over, everything will go back to normal.
I'll take "Things a Nintendo fanboy might say for $1000 Alex".
No one is being pushed to buy PS4's. They have been selling quite well all along. 😁
Well, considering consoles aren't considered essential, many major store chains are being forced to stop selling consoles during this crisis, so I don't see there being a point to any of this.
For those wanting so called American made better be willing to pay the 2-3x price tag for the wages for those making those products. I know when they see the real price tag they will get CV19 sticker shocker. They always talk about bring it back without asking whom will be paying the Sticker Price $$$. When you can do that then we can talk-but otherwise stop talking.
@SwitchForce i will happily spend 4x the amount to avoid situations like this again.
@Shade_Koopa mmmkay.
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