Resistance100
Member
I'd imagine once demand drops off and they can't shift them at all.
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So how bad is the Switch stock situation?
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I'd imagine once demand drops off and they can't shift them at all.
Glen Tennis
Neo Member
The fever got into me and I decided to go and buy a Switch today. Verkkokauppa had plenty of them in stock. Zelda was trickier, it seems that it's basically sold out everywhere but after snooping around a bit I was able to find a store that had a few copies of it. Joycons seem to work fine and the system seems super nice so I'm happy.
Not even that, but the real money to be made is from software. Games Nintendo publishes, and licenses for third parties. By the time someone gets a Switch two months from now, they'll get Mario Kart. They might not bother with Zelda, or Blaster Master, or King of Fighters, Bomberman, Shovel Knight, Snake Pass, etc. Two months of sales gone.
If four million people want your platform, you give it to them as fast as possible. Nintendo might be striving to deliver exactly to demand and not much over it, but they certainly aren't going to deliver two million and then sit there gloating "two million consoles times two months of sales down the drain, were so popular and devious, lulllzzzz".
ichigo kurosaki
Member
Euro-GAF, Amazon.es is getting stock every few days it seems... I ordered a Neon system yesterday while it still was out of stock and it'll likely be shipped tomorrow. Neon is out of stock again but they do have the grey one in stock.
Interfectum
Member
Nintendo can't win either way.
Switch out of stock: lul under-shipping creating artificial demand
Switch in-stock: wow, didn't expect to see it in stores like this. seems like another wii u.
They shipped the exact same amount Sony did for the PS4 launch. This sounds more like what average capacity looks like for a console launch than artificial scarcity.
BeforeU
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
Its true though, take a look at Sony. I wouldn't say they undershipped, the demand was too high, sold through over a million on first day and they were kept shipping more and within 2 weeks everything was under control. Feel like Nintendo not only undershipped during launch but they still not shipping many.
We need actual sold through numbers to know exactly. Because i cant imagine they were this off in their prediction.
Friend of Sonic
Member
Yeah they're definitely peppering this in way more than the NES Classic
Altered Juice
Member
Norwalk, CT Walmart has two switches behind the glass containers. Asked the guy if the box in the back was neon but nope!
Maybe you should actually read the numerous posts here that have given tips every week on how to find one more successfully. Calling random stores in the middle of the day accomplishes nothing.
Yeah, a junior who has made several more informative posts in this thread than you have. I live in the middle of a metropolis known as Minneapolis btw.
Brickseek Walmart: http://brickseek.com/walmart-inventory-checker/
Nintendo Switch Grey: 55449983
Nintendo Switch Neon: 55449981
Current quantities are off. Some are pre-orders, some are on layaway, sometimes they are just missing, stolen, or being held.
But you can go and buy one at the store if you see any increase in quanities during hourly refreshes of this page.
Nintendo Switch Grey: 55449983
Nintendo Switch Neon: 55449981
Current quantities are off. Some are pre-orders, some are on layaway, sometimes they are just missing, stolen, or being held.
But you can go and buy one at the store if you see any increase in quanities during hourly refreshes of this page.
Steve Youngblood
Member
I think the main mistake you are making right now is that these types of situations are always a YMMV scenario.
phantasmic_glaive
Member
No. Follow the discussion. I quoted Steve's response to the other guy explaining why someone would feel like the scarcity is artificial. Regardless to what you believe is going on.. people are questioning it's logistics cause there is no f'n units! 5 here.. 3 there.. a few on amazon.
People want it and despite their claim for doubling units, we haven't even seen a quarter of what they promised in the first place! And I even said they basically get a pass for playing it safe because of the wiiu. While I do NOT think they are doing on purpose, per se.. they definitely under shipped, hard.
What? How do you get from under production to over!?!
Steve Youngblood
Member
My position in general is that I don't think it's unfair to suggest that Nintendo doesn't react quickly enough at times to heavy demand, but also I generally put no stock into theories that they deliberately undership constantly in an attempt to trick people into perceiving their products to be more in-demand than they actually are.
I'm following the discussion just fine. You implied that Nintendo ramping up shipments prior to MK8D's launch would be evidence that the Switch stock situation was deliberate on Nintendo's part. That's what I responded to.
PSFan
Member
Wanting things to be the way they are supposed to be is entitled now? Buying something from a store should not involve any kind of "strategy".
The saddest part is, that before the Wii, it wasn't like this. It was always easy to walk into a store on launch day or even a day or two after, and pick up a new console. And even then Nintendo would announce limited launch quantities but it was never really a big factor. At least not where I was living.
Hmmm I remember the 64 being very hard to find.
So because if they happen to have production start catching up with demand in time for a big release it was a conspiracy but if it doesn't then what? They were just building up demand for Splatoon 2? Or Mario Odyssey for the holidays?True.. but to be fair, that is the situation right now and they are losing money. I am one of the consumers you described in your top paragraph. I want to play Zelda, bad! But I refuse to play it on Wii U, and the only thing I want to play more than Zelda is Persona 5. P5 comes out next week.. after I get that, I'm gonna wait on the switch.
I know the PS4 had shortages when it came out, but it didn't seem this bad. The Switch situation is borderline ridiculous. If we start seeing units by the time MK8comes out... can't help but to scream Ninty did it deliberately.
Only because gaming is all they do or have to worry about. I still love em tho
Gamestop says they expect shortages through the year and it's not just Nintendo that loses out from this alleged manufactured scarcity. Retailers lose out on opportunities to sell accessories and games, accessory makers are missing out on sales, and third parties are missing out on game sales. No one actually really wins besides scalpers.
You must not have gotten a 3DS at launch.
Even the Wii U had less problems for people to find one than the Wii during those first couple months during the holiday and was pretty easy for people to get by the New Year when there were no games to even potentially drive some sort of artificial demand, even if there were such a thing.
PS2 and N64 were both the "hot" items their respective holiday seasons. 360 also was kind of hard for its holiday season.
phantasmic_glaive
Member
Yes, if that happens you can't blame someone for thinking like that. That's what I meant... sorry if I said it a way you didn't understand. 🤗
No I don't have proof that they are trying to build hype, or even looking for it... but you don't have proof that they are not. I am in the same situation as many, many other people looking for a unit, so I feel their pain.
You have a game out there people are claiming to be the best ever of a legendary franchise, and all you can do is watch videos of it. Shits irritating so people conjure up ways to deal with it. That's how I feel
"But you don't have proof that they are not."
That's my cue to exit this conversation.
phantasmic_glaive
Member
Not trolling, but I was just messing with you there man. I didn't think it was that serious.. but ok.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
The 360 was a pain in the ass to find up until spring 2006.
It's more common for consoles to be scarce after launch than not, at least ever since system launch dates were promoted and pre-orders were a thing (roughly since N64).
Version 3.0
Member
Joei
Member
That's how I got mine a few weeks ago. I checked my local Walmarts daily on Brickseek and one morning a Walmart went from 3 Neon's to 4. I called them up and they said they had one sitting in the case. It ended up being a ship-to-store that the person decided on not getting.
PSFan
Member
Had no trouble walking into Electronics Boutique on launch day and buying a N64. They were out of Mario so I had to go upstairs to Software, Etc and grab a copy there.
I got a 3DS at launch, at Target. I was very surprised to get there and find nobody waiting whatsoever.
I remember Wii launch day being very scary looking. I was driving around at like 4:30-5:00am and every store like Best Buy, TRU, Circuit City etc. had tons of people lined up. I had never seen anything like it on a launch day.
Took me three months to get a PS4, under control my ass.
The fact of the matter is your post didn't contribute anything. You live in Minneapolis, not nearly as big a city or with as many people as Chicago. No wonder you were able to find one. Despite trying GameStop the day they said they were going to get more in stock (which was actually a day later than all the stores in my area got stock), checking every retail store 7 days a week calling at opening, and using online stock checkers for all major stores and calling the ones that have supposed stock, AND reaching out to all my friends that work in retail to use their internal stock checking tools to check their stores AND stores in my area, I've had no luck. It's not lack of effort as you so lazily assumed. It's location. So yeah, your post didn't contribute anything.
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
Your personal experience about launch day is irrelevant. Quoting Wikipedia because I went searching for this Spielberg mention which I specifically remember from 1996:
By the way, I was extremely lucky and got one. All major retailers were out of stock (and weren't going to have more stocks until two weeks !), but I found a small indie shop which had one (and the grey model in top of that, the one I wanted).
I'd make a bet that your experience was not like most people's for the 64. GameCube was pretty easy to find though as was the 3ds. I don't think I saw a Wii in the wild until a year after it launched. I'm certain the switch is going to readily available in a few weeks.
backflip10019
Member
Can you only order these in-store? Do you remember when they were supposed to arrive? Might just go out and order one.
Falchion
Member
Not sure, they said 'special in store bundle offer', but that could've just been someone trying to make a sale. The one they mentioned was $450 and included a pro controller, Zelda, and maybe a case. They said guaranteed by April 5th.
I think you have the wrong bundle there. The one I was told about is Zelda+Season Pass, Bomberman and Zelda guide plus Switch for $450. I believe this is the standard GS bundle. I would be much more open to consider the Pro Controller one.
The Hermit
Member
Is there a downside in buying the PAL system, besides the higher price point?
My parents are going to Paris in May
My parents are going to Paris in May
Resistance100
Member
Only downside i guess would be if there was any issues with the console it might be harder to fix. Suspect you can get one in your home country easily by May. We've had restocks every day the last week in the UK
Chill Penguin
Member
N64 was extremely difficult to find from Sept-Dec of 1996. It took me more than a month calling different stores until I found one that had just gotten a shipment in. You got lucky.
backflip10019
Member
NYC people: Best Buy on 86th St has Switches available!
PowerThroughLov
Member
Lived on the UES for 2 years, I picture walking in there and grabbing one down the escalator
zackmorris
Member
They do sell it outside of a bundle, that's how I got mine last week. The store got some in, they sold them off, no bundles.
As far as an online restock, GameStop is a physical retailer first, they want people in their stores because that's how they sell you extra stuff. I'd guess the stock they receive will be allocated to physical stores first, at least until the in store demand dies down.
Because they produced Wii U to what they thought was going to be demand and wound up having to shut down factory production because of how terribly the system sold and they never recovered.
Do you think they can just flip a switch (*WINK WINK* *NUDGE NUDGE*) and magically make more units available worldwide?
Falchion
Member
Fuuuuuuuck I was right by there today but just saw this. I'll call tomorrow afternoon but I'm sure they'll be long gone by then.
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
lol I was just there, didn't bother asking
victreeb3l
Member
Oh dope, thats just a few train rides away from my work. Trying to get one for my friend, I'll let him know.
elrechazado
Banned
I bought mine on Friday from GameStop. No bundle.
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