Nintendo President Apologizes for Switch 2 Shortage, Cites Unexpectedly High Demand

Whoa, so, picture this: Nintendo’s big boss, Shuntaro Furukawa, kinda had to eat some humble pie at their 85th shareholder bash. Apparently, the Switch 2 flew off the shelves way faster than anyone guessed. Like, it’s wild. They sold almost a million more than the OG Switch, just in June! Over in the U.S. and U.K., folks didn’t have supply headaches, but Japan? Not so lucky. I read somewhere, maybe Nintendo Life, that even a shareholder was like, “Hey, what’s up with the shortage?”

So, Furukawa steps up and says, “Yeah, we’ve got crazy demand everywhere, way more than we can handle right now. Some of you shareholders couldn’t even snag one.” Which, let’s be real, is kinda funny and tragic all at once. He mentioned they opened this lottery thing back in April. Had 2.2 million people throwing in their hats, which, honestly, who saw that coming? And yeah, more apologies followed.

They’ve done four rounds of these lottery sales so far, and he spilled the beans about a fifth one kicking off in July. Plus, big retail names are trying the lottery gig too. Slowly, more stores are doing face-to-face sales. They’re hustling, trying to jazz up production so gamers can finally get their hands on a Switch 2. Can you believe the demand threw them such a curveball?

Oh, and speaking of priorities, they kinda leaned toward the U.S. and Europe since they rake in more cash there. Japan’s third on the moolah list, says Statista or someone. Makes sense, I guess? But here’s the kicker: not even these top markets dodged a few hiccups. Heard some Switch 2s had signs of tampering. And get this—some boxes had receipts stapled right into the screens! Ouch.

Despite those bumps, Switch 2’s launch is super successful. Way less drama than Nvidia’s RTX launches or the PS5 madness. So, U.S. and U.K. folks, don’t sweat it—no scalpers stealing your Nintendo joy. Just need to know the right spots to score one.

That’s it, really. Just another day in gaming paradise, I guess. Follow Tom’s Hardware if you’re into keeping up with this kinda stuff, or not, your call. Anyway, later!