Consumer demand for Switch has ‘surpassed’ Nintendo’s worldwide estimates

This morning, GAME cited "lower than expected" supply of the Nintendo Switch as a key contributor toward its revised sales outlook, but Nintendo has reassured MCV that the platform holder will continue to ramp up production as it enters the second half of the year.

GAME said today that it had anticipated "an overall positive sales performance in the second half of the year" but warned that "this positive momentum would be highly dependent on stock availability of the Nintendo Switch."

While consumer demand for the Switch has remained "very strong," GAME stated that "the level of supply to the UK market had been lower than expected," which "combined with the continued softness in our core Xbox and PlayStation markets, have impacted sales."

However, a spokesperson from Nintendo UK told MCV that consumer demand has exceeded all expectations around the world, so it’s not just GAME who’s been suffering from constrained supply. Here’s the statement in full:

"For Nintendo Switch, our initial plan for the fiscal year ended March 2017 was to ship two million units by the end of March, but we increased production which resulted in shipping 2.74 million units globally.

"For products like Nintendo Switch, it takes time to procure parts and run production, so we perform demand estimates far in advance of launch. Actual demand following the launch of these products surpassed our estimates globally.

"To take advantage of this favorable momentum, we will continue to bolster our manufacturing facilities and strive to increase production in preparation for the Christmas period, which has been factored into our forecast of shipping 10 million units globally by the end of this fiscal year.”