Knowing what to get someone for a gift is half the battle; not being able to get it due to supply shortages is the other half. Unfortunately, this is the case for Nintendo, which expects to have continued supply issues with its Switch console in 2022.
Stock in consoles, new and old, are low everywhere, with companies being hit hard by the pandemic.
Nintendo is no stranger to the struggle as their console will continue to be hard to get next year, despite it being the top console sold in November 2021, selling more than 1 million units.
According to Shuntaro Furukawa, the President of Nintendo of Japan, the supply struggles come with a limited supply of semiconductor chips available to make the consoles, GameRant reported.
The chips are also used to make vehicles and other electronics, causing supply issues for numerous companies over the past year due to their shortages.
Furukawa also noted that there is an issue with logistics as shipping has been impacted by the pandemic, even more so with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
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The Switch supply will now reportedly be "stagnant after the beginning of 2022," GameRant reported.
Investors have been warned by Nintendo previously that shortages would possibly play a part in sales, going so far as to lower its forecast for switch production to 24 million units through March, according to a financial report from early November.
Even still, the demand for the console is high and grew after the release of the Switch OLED model earlier this year. Although the model wasn't the upgrade some expected, many have seen it as a reason to upgrade or purchase.
The console has sold well since its release in 2017, despite the issues it has had with supply. It is even on track to outsell the Wii next year, taking the title of Nintendo's best-selling console.
Other consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have also been hard-to-get, despite electronics seeing a 16.2% jump in sales this holiday season compared to last.
