The newly announced Switch 2 could thrive where other hotly anticipated, next-generation consoles like the PS5 and even the original Switch have failed by preparing enough units that scalpers, basically, give up.
Robin Zhu, video game analyst at firm Sanford C. Bernstein, says Nintendo has adjusted its supply chain network to accommodate over 20 million Switch 2 sales in the console's first year on the market, Bloomberg reports. For comparison, both the PS5 and original Switch sold about 15 million units a year after their respective releases.
Both of those consoles were also subject to egregious scalper prices; in 2021, it wasn't uncommon to find a PS5 reseller trying to sweet talk you into buying the $500 Ratchet & Clank machine for double that amount.
But Nintendo has made it clear that it's aware of the video game industry's scalping issue, which has led to frustrating console shortages too many times. The developer's president Shuntaro Furukawa said at a shareholder meeting in 2024 that the semiconductor shortage that initially limited Nintendo Switch stock had "been resolved." In addition, Furukawa said Nintendo had made it its mission to generally produce enough stock to meet consumer demand.
Time will tell how successful Nintendo is at predicting the scope of players' demands for the Switch 2, though. Some fans are already surmising that the developer should "make it 30 million" units instead of 20. After all, they've already been waiting what has felt like 30 million years for the Switch 2 announcement – it would be the least Nintendo could do.
Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons compared: How do the new controllers stack up against the ones we know?
