The Switch can hardly stay on shelves for more than a few minutes, goes the common wisdom. Nintendo’s newest system is a bona fide hit, on the back of nothing but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and with the system’s inherent appeal apparently resonating with the masses too.
And according to leading US retailer GameStop (via Forbes), that common wisdom holds true- the Switch is literally selling out within hours, with each new shipment. GameStop senior director of merchandising Eric Bright said, “It’s exceeding our expectations. We knew it would be a high-demand product, but our Switch allocations are selling out not in days, but in hours…the demand is so high that consumers have to react quickly to be able to get their hands on them.”
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s release is unlikely to let the momentum die down any time soon, either, which means that for the foreseeable future, trying to get your hands on the Switch is likely to be a lottery style scavenger hunt. Nintendo has increased manufacturing capacity of the system to be able to meet demand, so let’s hope the situation gets a little better some time soon.