The Nintendo Switch 2 was officially announced on April 2nd. Nintendo was kind enough to reveal its design with unexpected precision, presented its games and also lifted the veil on its controversial price. For a few weeks now, pre-orders have also been open, in France at least, since the United States has only been able to reserve it since yesterday.
Despite the good news, a shadow still hangs over the Nintendo Switch 2: that of the shortage. The same one that hit the PS5, the Xbox Series, and also the very first Switch in 2017. Are the conditions in place for all players to be able to have their copy of the Nintendo Switch 2 on launch day if they wish? The answer is less encouraging than we thought.
Learning from past mistakes
Over the past 8 years, we imagine that Nintendo has learned from the difficulties encountered during the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Until now, we thought there was little chance that the company would repeat the same mistakes and allow a shortage to occur. due to scalpers or a lack of chips.
Several months ago, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa assured that the current supply chain would be robust enough to meet the expected demand. But how high will it be? That's an answer we don't have at the moment, but we can start to guess. Nintendo plans to produce enough consoles to sell 20 million units in a year, which is considered a reassuring volume for its immediate availability.
Already Pre-order chaos
But these projections don't seem to match the real demand. More than 2.2 million requests have already been registered in Japan on Nintendo's official website alone (not counting retailers), and in the United States, Nintendo has already warned: no guarantee of delivery for launch day, and some invitations will not be sent until after June 5.
As soon as pre-orders opened in the United States at midnight on April 24, the dream turned into a nightmare for thousands of players. Invisible queues, endless anti-bot verification loops, overloaded e-commerce sites: Partner platforms like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy all faltered under the weight of demand. Some orders were canceled without explanation, and those who had managed to place the console in their cart sometimes never completed the purchase.
Just a few hours after sales opened, hundreds of consoles were already resold on eBay for more than $700, an increase of more than 50% compared to the base price.
The equivalent of the sales of a Switch Pro
Despite the promises, the figures speak for themselves: demand already exceeds supply, scalpers are prowling, servers are failing and players are getting impatient. Unless there is a last-minute turnaround in production or distribution, the Nintendo Switch 2 looks set to experience a shortage at its launch.
Finally, it must be taken into account that the manufacturer's next console is not a revolution unlike the Switch 1, but it contains all the ingredients that made its predecessor a success. A large number of players currently on Nintendo Switch will be tempted by the next generation only once their device becomes obsolete or the need for an upgrade is felt, which should not happen for several months – or even years.
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