Nintendo has plans to ramp up Switch production in the coming months, according to a new report.
According to a recent report bloomberg (Opens in a new tab)After lowering expected sales of the Switch in November to 19 million units, Nintendo has told suppliers it plans to ramp up production starting in April. While forecasts are that sales of the six-year-old console will start to taper off, Nintendo has claimed that the slump it experienced at the end of 2022 had more to do with supply issues than lack of demand, Bloomberg reports.
Problems with sourcing semiconductors and components have widely affected the electronics industry. While it dampened Switch sales, we’ve also seen this impact on PS5 production, with Sony finally promising more widespread availability for the next-gen console in 2023.
Prepare for doomsday
April marks the beginning of a new fiscal year, so it would make sense for Nintendo to change its tactics in pursuit of new goals around this time. April is also crucial for another reason. A month later, in May, Breath of the Wild 2 (officially The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) is set to be released – with the highly anticipated sequel set to be one of Nintendo’s biggest releases in 2023.
The Switch has always seen impressive sales when it’s lined up with big game releases, whether it’s Splatoon 3 or Animal Crossing: New Horizons. So Nintendo may increase inventory in preparation for the hoped-for sales boost as people prepare to try out the next installment in the Zelda series.
This sales strategy is by no means unique. Ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s release in November 2022, Sony has begun ramping up unit production (Opens in a new tab) in September. Acknowledging that Ragnarok will be its biggest title of the year, this was the best opportunity to encourage sales of the expensive and hard-to-get PS5. There is nothing worse than having a game launched and fans not being able to play it due to lack of a console.
Hopefully, there will be more Switch copies available, and who knows, we might get a special edition of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch like we saw with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.