Nintendo President Apologizes for Switch 2 Shortage — Demand Far Surpassed Expectations

Oh man, where to start with this whole Switch 2 craziness? So, at Nintendo’s big annual shareholder shindig, president Shuntaro Furukawa basically had to say “Sorry, guys!” for the Switch 2 selling like hotcakes — way more than they thought it would. Like, the Switch was popular before, but this new one? Boom, nearly a million more sold right out of the gate! U.S. and U.K. folks didn’t really feel the pain, but Japan? They weren’t so lucky. And one shareholder straight-up asked what was up with the shortage, it was that bad.

Furukawa’s like, “Yeah, we kinda underestimated how badly folks wanted this thing.” They tried this whole lottery deal through the My Nintendo Store — like, 2.2 million people jumped in on that. He literally apologized during this meeting, which is both awkward and, I guess, refreshing? They did four rounds of it, still couldn’t keep up, and now there’s a fifth coming in July. Shops are getting in on the lottery act, but also slowly moving towards just selling them in stores. Nintendo’s hustling to figure this production mess out, but it’s a slow roll, apparently.

Oh, and guess what? Nintendo’s putting their chips on the big markets first — the U.S. and Europe. Japan’s third in line revenue-wise, so people there are just kinda waiting it out. Even in places where you’d think everything’s peachy, like the U.S., weird stuff still pops up — like these consoles with receipts stapled to the box, screens getting punctured. Seriously, staples? What’s next, bubble wrap scars?

But hold on, despite all the drama, the Switch 2’s debut isn’t quite like those epic fails with the RTX graphics cards or the PS5. No massive price hikes due to shortages or those pesky scalpers running rampant. If you’re stateside or across the pond, finding one isn’t a Herculean task, just gotta know the right spots — a bit wild, but not impossible.