The Switch is selling at an unprecedented rate for Nintendo, but one of the things that are holding back its full sales potential are the constant and severe shortages that plague the system. While the supply situation has improved dramatically in the last few months, it’s still not possible for someone to count on being able to walk into a store and pick up a Switch.
This has spawned a conspiracy theory often leveled at popular Nintendo products- that obviously, Nintendo is withholding stock to create ‘artificial scarcity’ and generate hype around their system. Because obviously, it’s not possible that it might actually be doing that well.
However, now, no less than the largest retailer for video games in the UK has come out and confirmed that Nintendo is supplying a steady stream of stock to them, and that they have been since launch. Artifical scarcity is a lie.
“We’ve got enough Switch coming in on a week-by-week basis, Nintendo needs to take some real credit operationally for how they’ve managed to work this through,” CEO of GAME in the UK, Martyn Gibbs, said to MCV. “We’ve now got a constant supply of stock coming into the business on a weekly basis, Don’t get me wrong I don’t have [Distribution Centre] stuffed full of 100,000 units, but we do have a good, regular supply from Nintendo.”
Of course, this bodes well for Nintendo- this means there is actual, real demand for the console, which is, in the long run, far more sustainable and healthy for your product’s time on the market. It will be interesting to see if Nintendo can manage to have the supply for the system stabilized any time soon.
