Nintendo apologizes for Switch 2 shortage: 'demand exceeded our expectations'
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has addressed the ongoing Switch 2 shortage
🙇♂️ Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa apologized for Switch 2 shortages, stating that demand greatly exceeded expectations
🤞 The company has conducted multiple lottery sales to distribute consoles and plans to continue these efforts
🥲 Despite initial confidence in meeting demand, the Switch 2 remains hard to find a month after its launch
💨 Restocks have occurred, but inventory sells out quickly, with in-store availability still limited
Nintendo has spoken about the ongoing shortages that have thousands searching for the latest Nintendo Switch 2 restock news.
Speaking during Nintendo’s 85th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about supply shortages affecting the Nintendo Switch 2.
Furukawa conceded that demand had exceeded the company's expectations, but that it's doing everything to rectify the issue.
In a post by NStyles (thanks, Nintendo Soup) and translated by X, Furukawa said:
"Currently, in many countries, the demand for Switch 2 exceeds the supply, and we are unable to meet it. We understand that some shareholders have also been unable to obtain it.
"We started accepting lottery sales at My Nintendo Store in April. The response far exceeded our expectations, and I announced in my name on X that there were 2.2 million applicants, along with an apology.
"Since then, we have conducted four lottery sales, but some people were not selected. We have announced that the fifth lottery will take place starting in July. Many general retailers have also conducted lottery sales. The number of stores offering in-store sales is gradually increasing.
"As a company, we are working to improve our production system to deliver as many units as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this initial demand, which greatly exceeded our expectations."
Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 sold 3.5 million units in four days, setting a new record for a video game console. However, demand remains incredibly high, with thousands of people still searching for stock each day.
We've seen some Switch 2 restocks take place since June 5, with Walmart the latest retailer to offer more consoles. However, new inventory still sells out quick, and finding a console in-store is still a lottery.
Nintendo previously said it was confident it could meet demand in the lead up to launch. Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser said: “As we look at our plans here in the U.S., we do believe we’ll have production and supply that will allow us to meet consumer demand. We know there’s been strong positive reaction to Nintendo Switch 2 early on and we’ve seen that through our preorders, but we do have a plan to have a continuous flow of product that’ll be available through the holidays.”
While that might still be the case, the Switch 2 is approaching one month on sale and is still incredibly hard to find. Hopefully the situation will improve, and we'll be tracking the latest Switch 2 restocks in the meantime.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.