Gaming fans lined up on Thursday to await the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, which is widely expected to be in short supply globally due to pent-up demand for more powerful next-generation gaming devices.
“The level of demand seems to be very high,” said Serkan Toto, founder of consultancy Kantan Games.
In Tokyo’s Ikebukuro shopping district, dozens of successful applicants for electronics retailer Bic Camera’s sales lottery lined up to collect their devices before the store opened.
“I feel like I’m going to cry,” Yumi Ohi, a 30-year-old delivery contractor, told Reuters.
Oi missed other lottery tickets and came here from Saitama Prefecture, which borders Tokyo, to pick up the Switch 2.
Since its launch in 2017, Nintendo has sold 152 million Switch home portable devices. It has become a gaming giant with titles including two “Legend of Zelda” games and “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” a hit due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Switch 2 shares many similarities with its predecessor, but offers a larger screen, improved graphics, and the debut of games like Mario Kart World.
“The expansion of Switch’s user base should translate into broader adoption early in its lifecycle,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Ampere Analysis.
“Nintendo is better prepared this time” to handle high demand, he said.
The launch of the $499.99 (approximately Rs. 42,890) Switch 2 is a test of Nintendo’s supply chain management amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war.
Nintendo last month forecast sales of 15 million Switch 2 units and 4.5 million Switch units this fiscal year.
President Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo will strengthen production capacity to cope with strong demand, focus on promotions, and strive to exceed expectations.
“Given that this is a special occasion, I want to buy the Switch 2 immediately on the day it is released,” said Shinichi Sekiguchi, a hotel receptionist in his thirties.
Nintendo said its My Nintendo Store in Japan received 2.2 million applications for the Switch 2 sales lottery. Pre-orders at Target sold out in less than two hours.
“You’ll have to wait weeks or months before you can walk into a store and buy a Switch 2,” Kantan Games’ Toto said.
Investors’ expectations for the new equipment are equally high.
Nintendo’s stock price is currently near highs, up nearly 30% this year.
Concerns include whether the Switch 2’s momentum can be sustained as hardcore gamers upgrade.
“The number of first-party games available at launch is not as high as it should be, so some casual users may wait and see how the available games develop over the next one to two years before making the leap,” Ampere’s Harding-Rolls said.
Ampere predicts that Switch 2 sales will exceed 100 million units by 2030.
Mario Kart World has a price tag of $79.99 (approximately Rs. 6,860) in the US, sparking a debate over the price of the game. Nintendo is also attracting third-party games to the system.
“I’ve been involved since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System era, and games were very expensive at that time, so I think it’s acceptable,” said Akitomo Takahashi, a salesman in his 40s.
Takahashi said that he would like to play the action role-playing game “Elden Ring” on Switch 2.
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