Nintendo has plans to increase production of the Switch in the coming months, according to a new report.
According to a recent report by Bloomberg, after lowering the projected sales for the Switch in November to 19 million units, Nintendo has told suppliers that it plans to increase production starting in April. While expectations are for sales of the six-year-old console to start diminishing, Nintendo has claimed that the slump they experienced at the end of 2022 was more to do with supply issues than a lack of demand, Bloomberg reports.
Problems with sourcing semiconductors and components have widely impacted the electronics industry. While it shortened the sales of the Switch, we also saw this impact the production of PS5, with Sony finally promising more widespread availability for the next-gen console in 2023.
Doomsday preppers
April signals the start of a new financial year, so it would make sense for Nintendo to change up its tactics in the pursuit of new targets at this time. April is also crucial for another reason. A month later, in May, Breath of the Wild 2 (officially known as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) is set to release – with the highly-anticipated sequel set to be one of Nintendo’s most significant releases in 2023.
The Switch has always seen great sales when it’s lined up with big game releases, whether that be Splatoon 3 or Animal Crossing: New Horizons. So Nintendo may be increasing stock to prepare for a hopeful surge in sales as people get ready to try out the next installment in the Zelda series.
This sales strategy isn’t unique in any way. Ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s release in November 2022, Sony began to increase the production of units in September. Acknowledging that Ragnarok would be its biggest title of the year, this was the best chance to encourage sales of the pricey and hard-to-come-by PS5. There’s nothing worse than releasing a game and fans being unable to play it due to console shortages.
Here’s hoping there’ll be more copies of the Switch available, and who knows, we may even get a special edition The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch as we’ve seen with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.