There may be relief coming soon for those seeking to purchase a Nintendo Switch console. According to a report by Nikkei (and a translation from Japanese Nintendo), Nintendo expects to produce about 10% more Nintendo Switch consoles in 2020 compared to 2019.
For weeks the latest home console produced by Nintendo has become almost as scarce as toilet paper as adults and children alike look for a means to entertain themselves while sequestered in their homes. Sales for the console have skyrocketed over the last three years. In March the Nintendo Switch dethroned the Wii in Japan as it sold an incredible 392,576 units. This is not its first record, as The Verge noted in January that the console outsold the Super Nintendo globally.
According to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group, Nintendo Switch hardware sales “more than doubled when compared to a year ago, while PlayStation 4 and Xbox One each grew by more than 25 percent. First-quarter spending increased by 2 percent, to $773 million.” Data output by Statista shows the top-selling Nintendo Switch games worldwide are Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Pokemon Sword/Shield. The latest game driving console sales is the recent release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is seeing tremendous success since its debut in March. In its first three days alone in Japan, the game sold 1,880,626 copies.
When should we start seeing the Switch back in stores? Nikkei suggests that we should start seeing the consoles back on store shelves around June. In the interim, the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite has shown to have slightly higher availability in comparison to its counterpart.
