Release day for a new Nintendo game or console is an exciting time. But when that hot new thing suddenly sells out and gets posted for sale at ridiculous prices, the fun gets sucked faster than Kirby can swallow.
Nintendo’s President Shuntaro Furukawa released a followup statement with shareholders that they have a plan in place for combatting future scalpers in the event of launching Switch’s next console successor. And the plan is surprisingly simple: make more units to sell in the first place.
Scalpers are individuals who buy large swaths of merchandise and then resell it at exorbitant prices to desperate customers when it’s sold out in order to make a quick profit. They’ve been a pesky problem ever since Nintendo became a household brand name. The problem was further exacerbated in the pandemic years. Staffing was short, parts to make Nintendo products were short, and demand was high due to a majority of consumers staying at home for safety. Scalpers also stayed home, likely with little else to do except take advantage of the situation behind their screens.
Fortunately, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated to shareholders that the parts shortage is no longer an issue. “Last year and the year before, we were unable to produce sufficient quantities of Nintendo Switch hardware due to a shortage of semiconductor components, but this situation has now been resolved,” he said. “At present, we do not believe that the shortage of components will have a significant impact on the production of the successor model.”
Nintendo execs further explained to shareholders in the meeting that the most important tactic against the scalping would be to produce enough units of the Switch successor to meet consumer demand at retail merchants. In addition, Nintendo is looking into other measures to stop scalping worldwide “taking into account the circumstances in each region.” It is not specified what those measures are, however, it is possible they could be legal avenues. The Big N has recently taken assertive measures against hackers and game pirates in court after major leaks occurred last year.
Nintendo plans to announce more details on Switch’s successor console later this fiscal year, which could be anytime from now until March 2025.
