Highlights
- Nintendo aims to prevent scalping by producing enough Switch successor consoles to meet demand.
- The company is also considering laws and regulations to combat scalping, depending on the region.
- Nintendo believes component shortages won’t significantly impact Switch 2 production.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has recently spoken about the best way to prevent the Nintendo Switch successor console from being scalped, which is to make enough consoles to meet the demand. The Nintendo Switch has become one of the most popular consoles produced by the company ever since its launch in 2017. Following several years of rumors about a successor, Furukawa confirmed that the company would make an announcement regarding the Nintendo Switch 2 by 2025. With the console currently in development, there are some concerns about how Nintendo will handle the eventual high demand from both gamers and possible scalpers.
Scalping video games and consoles have been a consistent problem for gamers. Back when the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, its low supply was picked up by various scalpers, who then resold the console at inflated prices. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a major effect on the Switch’s production, as the shortage of components kept it in short supply as well. While the component shortage issue has mostly been recovering, scalping is still a recurring problem. Furukawa states how the company will address these scalping issues regarding the Switch’s successor.
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In a recent Nintendo investor Q&A (translated courtesy of IGN), Furukawa details the countermeasures that will be taken against scalpers, stating that the most important thing is to ensure there is a sufficient number of Nintendo Switch successor consoles to meet the demand. “As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year,” says Furukawa. He also states that the company is taking into consideration any countermeasures against scalping through laws and regulations, depending on the region.
Nintendo President Says Shortages Will Not Affect Switch 2 Production
Furukawa also addresses how the company was unable to produce the Nintendo Switch due to semiconductor shortages throughout 2022 and 2023. The president says that this situation has since been resolved, and that Nintendo believes that the shortage of components will not have a “significant” effect on the production of the Switch’s successor.
As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year.
There have been a number of leaks regarding the Nintendo Switch 2 in the past year, which have been reported on by a number of gaming insiders. This information ranges from alleged leaked specifications and games to even its codename. Insiders have even claimed the console was delayed from 2024 to 2025, but none of this information has been confirmed yet. Gamers will just need to wait for Nintendo’s official announcement on the successor model, which will be made at some point within the current fiscal year, meaning sometime before March 31, 2025.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.
