With everyone trying to do their part to stay safe and indoors, many have turned to video games to help distract and entertain themselves, either by using their newfound free time to get through an established backlog of games or by purchasing a new console to jump into the current world of gaming.
For those seeking to purchase a Nintendo Switch, however, things are complicated.
The three-year-old console is sold out nearly everywhere, and Nintendo has even gone on the record to state that production is directly being affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Scalpers — people who purchase sought-after items and then resell them at ridiculously high prices to take advantage of low supply and high demand — are capitalizing on the intense shortage of Switch consoles, in some cases selling the Switch and Switch Lite for hundreds of dollars above their suggested retail prices.
The latest hurdle for would-be Switch owners in Japan came directly from Nintendo themselves, as they recently told CNN Business that they had completely halted all shipments of Nintendo Switch consoles to Japan from production facilities in China and Vietnam.
Fortunately though, that decision appears to have been reversed. Due to the ever-increasing demand for Switch consoles, Nintendo has announced that shipments of both standard Switch and Switch Lite consoles, as well as the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch console, will resume in Japan in the coming days.
The Japanese My Nintendo Store has already resumed accepting pre-orders for standard Switch and Switch Lite consoles as of April 15, 2020. Pre-orders for the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch console are scheduled to reopen on April 27, 2020. The quantity is expected to be limited, but Nintendo seems determined to meet consumer demand.
Nintendo has been characteristically reserved regarding just how much of an impact the pandemic has had on their production and sales. Their next earnings report is planned for release on May 7, at which time we should be able to see what level of impact COVID-19 has had on the entertainment juggernaut.
