Amidst supply chain issues that have been present since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said it’s likely not going to get better in 2022 for Switch consoles.
The shortage is due to global supply chains that have been unable to produce semiconductors to make the devices, which is a direct result of the pandemic. Furukawa even said the company had to have Switch consoles airlifted to the U.S. to meet the demand for Black Friday.
The Switch saw an uptick in sales after the Nintendo Switch OLED model was released. But because of the issues that prevent Switch consoles from being made, sales will likely stagnate in the new year.
This isn’t just a Switch issue, either. Console sales for the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 have been constrained by supply chain issues, too. Since the consoles were released, fans who have wanted to purchase them are highly unlikely to find one. Some have bought consoles to later scalp them, resulting in inflated prices on third-party seller pages.
This also isn’t just a video game issue. Cars, phones, refrigerators, and other devices that are now advertised as “smart” have been struggling amid the shortage of semiconductors.
Analysts say that the issue is likely to continue into 2022, but supply shortages can be hard to predict and it’s unclear which devices will start to bounce back once the supply starts to re-emerge. Nintendo Switch consoles, among other video game consoles, will likely be difficult to purchase until well into 2022 at the earliest.
