Like virtually every other manufacturer, Nintendo is grappling with production issues stemming from the global semiconductor and component shortage. Strong demand for the Switch, including the new OLED model that launched on October 8, isn’t helping matters.
Nintendo will produce 20 percent fewer Switch handheld consoles compared to its original goal for the fiscal year through March 31, 2022, according to Nikkei Asia.
Nintendo initially planned to produce a record 30 million Switch consoles for the fiscal year to meet pent up demand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson for Nintendo told Reuters that the supply and demand of semiconductor parts is tight, and is affecting Switch production. “We are assessing the impact,” the representative added. More clarification could come later this week as Nintendo is set to release its latest earnings report on November 4.
Nintendo launched the original Switch on March 3, 2017, as the successor to the Wii U. Going with another handheld at a time when rivals Microsoft and Sony where having plenty of success with powerful traditional home consoles was certainly a gamble, but then-president Satoru Iwata believed in mobile gaming and unique hardware.
The risk paid off thanks to Nintendo’s solid hardware and a strong stable of intellectual property, the latter of which continues to drive sales nearly five years into the console’s lifecycle. Many believed Nintendo would have launched a more powerful version of the Switch capable of 4K output by now, but the company as recently as September said it had no plans for such a system.
