What Is Going on With the Nintendo Switch Shortage?

Since its introduction on March 3, the Nintendo Switch has sent consumers on tumultuous journey.

As is custom for newly released Nintendo consoles, demand has been high and supply, of course, has been low. In the wake of the short-lived (but almost catastrophic) shortage of the NES Classic Edition, it seems that Nintendo has massively underestimated the appeal of its newest console.

At the release of the Switch, the company promised that it would boost production in order to prevent a repeat of the NES Classic shortage. However, it looks like that may not hold true. According to the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo has decided to double its production of the Switch to meet increasing demand.

News of this increase in production brought hope for many gamers hoping to acquire the new Nintendo release, especially after The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has received impressive reviews throughout the gaming world. Still, for consumers anxious to purchase the console, this may not bring satisfaction soon enough.

On Thursday, March 24, several news sources announced that GameStop Chief Operating Officer, Tony Bartel, hinted that the Nintendo Switch shortage may not be over any time soon.

Several sources around the internet are quoting Bartel by saying that the Switch’s “demand is incredibly strong… As soon as we get any in our stores, it’s out within hours. We anticipate we’re going to be chasing supply this entire year”.

Despite Bartel’s concerns for GameStop’s ability to keep the console in stock, the internet has been buzzing since, on the same day, news broke that Toys “R” Us will be restocking the Switch later this week. The new shipment of units was expected to arrive today, March 25 when stores opened.

It seems that the Toys “R” Us restock is just a temporary patch on an issue that could potentially last for months. However, this is entirely dependent on how quickly Nintendo can increase production and ship out more consoles.