The Nintendo Switch is off to a great start, this much is clear. Sales are off the charts, largely contributed by “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” which is known to many as one of the best games of all time. Of course, its simple hardware platform shouldn’t also be undermined despite the numerous bumps it had earlier this year. Things are going quite well for Nintendo, to the point where it reportedly doubled production to keep up.
Operation: Switch production boost
According to a report by Financial Times, Nintendo chiefs have apparently ordered the company churn out 18 million units by the end of March 2018.
The planned production hike for the “fastest-selling gaming device” is reportedly part of the company’s tactics to meet demand ahead of the Thanksgiving and Holiday sales peak.
To recall, the Nintendo Switch suffered a major shortage following its highly anticipated release in March, which sent dozens to go for informal online markets just to get their hands on the handheld device. Its predecessor, the Wii U, somewhat suffered towards the end of its life. Its sales failed massively, which is why the company had to exert a ton of effort to make things work for the Switch. Nintendo has learned from its previous mistake and is making sure this slip-up won’t come back to haunt its precious handheld device.
The source, who relayed the information to FT, said Nintendo is trying to prevent “customer tantrums” and is making sure shortage won’t be an issue once it releases “Super Mario Odyssey” in November.
What analysts say
While there is no actual confirmation from Nintendo, analysts have begun speaking out, telling various media outlets that it is, in fact, a marketing ploy.
At this point, the official shipment target for the Nintendo Switch this year remains at 10 million. However, the number is supposedly intentional and is meant just so to avoid reports of dwindling sales.
Analyst Hirotoshi Murakami of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley believes Nintendo is capable of shipping up to 20 million units this year alone, but, an issue that would put a halt to this substantial target is the lack of key parts.
Interestingly, FT’s report specifically mentions the Switch’s display screens.
Meanwhile, there are others who think Nintendo couldn’t possibly predict the number of system platform sales, due to the fact that the Nintendo Switch has had a sudden increase in audience, and Nintendo games as a whole have seen a spike, particularly because of “Super Mario Run” and “Pokémon GO.”
“You cannot go into the management’s heads, of course, but I think they just miscalculated demand,” said Serkan Toto, another analyst who spoke with FT. “It’s not as though they need to create a buzz — there already is one.”
