Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has issued a public apology as the company faces mounting frustration over ongoing shortages of its new Switch 2 console.
The launch of Nintendo’s latest video game platform has been an undeniable hit so far, with early sales shattering internal projections. According to the Japanese giant, the Switch 2 sold an impressive 3.5 million units in just four days, setting a new record and underlining just how eager fans have been to get their hands on the next-generation system.
Despite the strong start, supply issues have cast a shadow over the rollout. Leading up to release, Nintendo had assured players that stock shortages wouldn’t be a repeat of the rocky PS5 and Xbox Series X/S debuts. With semiconductor supply chains stabilizing in recent years, the company was confident it could sidestep the pitfalls that left gamers scrambling for the previous consoles.
As it turns out, they underestimated just how popular the Switch 2 would be. Speaking at a recent shareholder meeting, Furukawa admitted that demand has “far exceeded Nintendo’s expectations,” especially in Japan, where over 2 million people signed up for the initial lottery sales.
“Currently, in many countries, the demand for Switch 2 surpasses the supply, and we are unable to meet it. We understand that some shareholders have also been unable to obtain it,” he said. “As a company, we are working to improve our production system to deliver as many units as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this initial demand, which greatly exceeded our expectations.”
Furukawa also addressed feedback on the lottery system, acknowledging that the company has received both positive and negative responses. He added that Nintendo plans to refine the process for future product launches.
This probably does not come as a shock to Nintendo fans, who have already noticed stores selling out almost as soon as new stocks arrive.