The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally revealed after multiple leaks last month, and the hybrid console is set to arrive sometime in 2025. Undoubtedly, demand for the successor to the highly successful Switch will be sky-high when it launches. Nintendo is reportedly preparing to meet the high demand for the Switch 2 to prevent resellers from impacting stock at launch.
Nintendo Switch 2 Shipments Will Meet High Demand
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told Nikkei on Tuesday that the company would “prepare enough products to meet demand” for Nintendo Switch 2 at launch (translated from Japanese). The Switch 2 will have sufficient stock ahead of release, so that resellers could be prevented from creating supply shortages for the console with high demand at launch.
In February 2024, Nikkei had reported that the decision to delay the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 to early 2025 was taken in part to prevent scalpers — people who buy products in bulk quantities at launch to resell at a profit — from impacting supplies. Nintendo also reportedly wanted a healthy lineup of launch titles for the Switch 2 by the time the console released.
Console launches are usually marked by resellers buying in bulk, thus creating supply shortages for customers, and later selling the products at a markup under high demand. PS5 and Xbox Series launches were marred with the same problem, in addition to supply chain issues emerging due to COVID-19. It took months before the current-generation consoles were readily available online and on retail shelves. The Nintendo Switch faced stock shortages at launch, too, when the console went on sale in 2017.
This week, Nintendo cut its full-year sales forecast for the original Switch by 12 percent to 11 million units as customers now begin to look to the Switch 2. The Switch, however, reached lifetime sales of 150 million units, after the company shipped 9.54 million units of the console in the April-December period.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was unveiled on January 16 after a string of leaks hinted at the console’s design and specifications. The Switch 2 is bigger than its predecessor, features a new Joy-Con connecting mechanism, and comes in an all-black colourway. Nintendo has not yet shared details about hardware specifications, but will host a Nintendo Direct stream focussed on the Switch 2 on April 2.
