The Nintendo Switch has been perennially sold out worldwide, which indicates that demand for the system has far exceeded supply. In turn, that would also indicate that the system’s success has exceeded Nintendo’s expectations for it so far.
This is something that Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime doubled down on. In an interview with Mashable, Reggie stated that Nintendo had delivered stock beyond its promised and projected shipments- but they had still failed to meet the demand for the console.
“We actually sold through almost 2.8 million units, so we dramatically over delivered. And yet, demand outpaces supply. So what do some of the consumers on Reddit say? ‘Gosh, Nintendo, if you would’ve made more you would’ve sold more.’ Well, we did make more! And certainly we’re on a pace to supply in the current fiscal year 10 million units,” Reggie said, noting that Nintendo had originally intended to deliver only 2 million units for launch, but ended up shipping out almost a million more.
As of last count, the Switch was at nearly 5 million units sold worldwide- but that number was only up till June 30, or less than four full months on the market. We don’t have updated numbers for the system’s sales yet (though we should have them some time next month, when Nintendo releases its latest financial statement). One thing is for sure, however- Nintendo is certainly well on pace to meet its shipment target of 10 million for this financial year.