The global chip shortage is making itself felt loud and clear. In these days, in fact, Nikkei Asia has revealed that the production of Nintendo Switch dropped by 20% compared to the forecasts of the company. Apparently, although the chip crisis did not cause the Switch OLED to lose 4K video support, the situation still affected production. Let’s find out how.
Nintendo Switch: production drops due to a lack of chips
Nikkei Asia reports that instead of producing the initially planned 30 million Nintendo Switches, the company it will only launch 24 million units by the end of March. The original forecast was at least 25.5 million, so quite far from reality. In this regard, a spokesperson for Nintendo has already stated that the company is well aware of the chip crisis, and is evaluating the impact that this shortage is having on production. On the other hand, the console has seen a 37% drop in sales in September, compared to the same period last year.
A fact that is not a little striking. Especially considering that demand for the Switch has increased dramatically over the course of the pandemic, when people started playing because they were locked in. Not surprisingly, the console has established itself as the best-selling console in the United States from 2019 to early 2021. Then overtaken by the PS5, which sold fewer units than the Nintendo Switch but earned more. In recent months, however, the success of the console seems to have been undermined.
It doesn’t help that Nintendo just released the Switch OLED model in October, an updated version with a better screen and more storage. Especially considering that the launch of a new device means facing the widest demand from the public. A condition that perhaps the company is not ready to support.