New consoles can be tricky to find at launch, especially with the increase in scalping and bot activity over the past few years. So understandably, concerns are swirling around the Nintendo Switch 2 suffering the same fate as the PS5 — becoming more or less impossible to purchase for the first year or 2 of its life.
Thankfully, Nintendo seems to be working to ensure that doesn’t happen, and said as much during a recent shareholder Q&A. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that Nintendo is taking action to ensure customers get consoles rather than scalpers — aided by the fact the global semiconductor shortage is over.
Furukawa said that he isn’t worried about semiconductor shortages, which is part of the reason why the Switch fell victim to scalping during the pandemic years. He also added that “as a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year.”
This makes perfect sense. Flood the market with Switch 2 consoles, and people will be able to pick up a new console for the retail price. Meaning scalpers can’t charge outrageous markups, like we saw with the likes of the PS5.
Nintendo has been accused of exploiting the mechanics of supply and demand in the past. Whether we’re talking about the first wave of amiibo or the NES classic consoles, the conspiracy-inclined have suggested the company deliberately throttles its supply to keep hype (and demand) higher for longer.
Rumored for years, the next generation machine was initially expected to be announced some time in 2024, but it's looking more likely to be unveiled and launched next year. It’s claimed that this has been done to deliberately avoid stock shortages, which suggests Nintendo isn’t just saying what people want to hear.
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