• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Kotaku: Japan's Nintendo Switch Lines Are Hell

Zedark

Member
Crazy talk. Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Smash, Dragon Quest, multiplayer Mario and Monster Hunter are coming for this platform. This is only the beginning.

Sure, but by that time the Switch has had quite some time to breathe already, meaning supply will have caught up to demand before the holiday of next year, and therefore we aren't getting craziness like this where people are lining up for a number of Switches that is a 12th of the number of people lining up.

Also, Monster Hunter XX really isn't that big of a deal, especially compared to Splatoon 2. It's preorders seem to be around 25k only from anecdotal evidence, even if it is probably a bit higher due to the bundles for it. It's not going to be worse than it is right now imo.
Unless they're able to satisfy total demand (they won't) for Splatoon on the 21st, these lines won't stop. The continued demand for Splatoon, Zelda, Mario Kart, Arms, etc are only going to compound supply issues when these other titles come out.

As for this being the zenith? Nah. Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Mario Maker are likely coming within the next 18-24 months.
They absolutely won't be able to fulfill demand, but demand will gradually fall as they continue to meet bits of it over the next couple of weeks: Splatoon 2 demand is highest right now, it won't be higher in later weeks. As such, I think this week is where the lines will be longest compared to supply.

As I mention above, once those other big hitters land, supply will very likely be much better than it is now, and as such we won't see a craze like we are seeing right now imo.
 

PSFan

Member
Are we sure these lines aren't for DQ XI? lol

All this revenue Nintendo is missing out on. Sucks for them. I know it's not intentional but some people might get so frustrated with the buying experience that they may just give up by the time stock shortages are addressed.

Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.
 
Crazy talk. Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Smash, Dragon Quest, multiplayer Mario and Monster Hunter are coming for this platform. This is only the beginning.

He's probably talking about the zenith regarding crazy lines and lotteries. By the time those games are out, production should be a much better place.

Hopefully.
 

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Still hilarious to me how most of us considered the Switch 2017 lineup a joke not even a couple of months ago. MK8D selling freaking well was the wake-up call.
 

Litri

Member
I can only see this getting worst with Splatoon 2 launch next weekend. Nintendo needs to get their act together in the run up for xmas.
 

LotusHD

Banned
Are we sure these lines aren't for DQ XI? lol



Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.

Sigh...
 
Where are these areas? Proof?

http://www.istocknow.com/live/#devi...on=37.661913730236, -92.02563329302598&zoom=4

Its unfortunately walmarts and targets and they do disappear sometimes after a bit but I have had friends in Dallas and Minnesota tell me there are still switches for sale in some targets in those areas. You may be able to use brickseek to pinpoint it, if you know the Switch SKUs, but the two stores are really finicky when it comes to inventory of an item when it drops below 3 available iirc. Like 0-3 is all equivalent to 0.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.

Yeah, Nintendo really undershipped the Wii U.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
I mean they should have built their shipments sizes around the hype for the console. Instead of seemingly not producing anywhere close to enough.

It's clear that you don't really grasp how manufacturing works.

Nintendo order the number in advance long before they have any details on whether the system will do well in sales or not, so it makes good business sense to start with a small number first and then order more if the products sells well.

The problem that Nintendo is facing is that they aren't the only company competing for NAND parts thus there are only so many parts that Nintendo is allocated.

Honestly I personally would have been fine with a Holiday 2017 release since then they'd have a huge list of games that would be coming out at launch. But well can't change that now.

Again that would have been a bad move for Nintendo and investors wouldn't have been happy with that as it meant Nintendo would only be making money on the 3DS till holiday 2017.
 

MightyKAC

Member
This thread is especially funny to me since I live in Japan and just recently received my Switch in mail via Amazon this afternoon.
 

Renna Hazel

Member
I mean they should have built their shipments sizes around the hype for the console. Instead of seemingly not producing anywhere close to enough.



Yeah I went and did a quick google search before I mentioned this, and they started buying them back when all the scalpers started returning all of the extra systems they had. But it was for the first week or so that they had shortages.



Honestly I personally would have been fine with a Holiday 2017 release since then they'd have a huge list of games that would be coming out at launch. But well can't change that now.

Nintendo purposely spaces out their releases. If it launched this holiday, they wouldn't be launching with Zelda, Mario, Kart, Splatoon, Arms etc. You'd probably get 2 of those games and then the rest next year.
 

AdanVC

Member
This, rather than being exciting, is actually starting to get scary! We can conclude that the Switch is the new 2006 Wii in terms of sales, right?? The problem now is the demand is simply way too high with not enough stock. Well, same as Wii in 2006 but my god, Nintendo needs to get their shit together ASAP. Splatoon 2 is coming this week and Japan is absolutely gonna explode with that game and people is gonna get crazy and pissed there if they cannot find either the console or the game!
 

Ogodei

Member
Just saw 2 in a Wal-Mart near here, as well as classic controllers and docks, and wondered if supply had finally started to really flow. But I guess not?

I think Nintendo's doling out supply evenly by region. Supply situation's completely normal in Europe, Nintendo's weak region, so they could be diverting some of that.
 
Yeah, fewer European shipments might have been smart while they iron out the supply issues, but I imagine that's set far in advanced and they did say they hoped to have a lot more in July and August (likely near Splatoon launch)
 

Spirited

Mine is pretty and pink
Are we sure these lines aren't for DQ XI? lol



Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.

the fuck are you on dude? Do you really believe in artificial scarcity when they have so much to lose by not having the supply there?
 

Renna Hazel

Member
This, rather than being exciting, is actually starting to get scary! We can conclude that the Switch is the new 2006 Wii in terms of sales, right?? The problem now is the demand is simply way too high with not enough stock. Well, same as Wii in 2006 but my god, Nintendo needs to get their shit together ASAP. Splatoon 2 is coming this week and Japan is absolutely gonna explode with that game and people is gonna get crazy and pissed there if they cannot find either the console or the game!

I assume you mean Wii in 2007? In that case, no, Nintendo was selling way more Wii units per month than they are Switch. Switch stock has to improve before we can determine if it's success is on level with the Wii or not.
 
http://www.istocknow.com/live/#devi...on=37.661913730236, -92.02563329302598&zoom=4

Its unfortunately walmarts and targets and they do disappear sometimes after a bit but I have had friends in Dallas and Minnesota tell me there are still switches for sale in some targets in those areas. You may be able to use brickseek to pinpoint it, if you know the Switch SKUs, but the two stores are really finicky when it comes to inventory of an item when it drops below 3 available iirc. Like 0-3 is all equivalent to 0.

Oh, I already have one but my wife doesn't :p
Maybe next christmas then ^^
 

10k

Banned
Are we sure these lines aren't for DQ XI? lol



Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.
You honestly think Nintendo would cripple their own sales on purpose to create false demand? That would wreck their bottom line. They don't make money off of demand. They make money off of supply being sold. Nintendo is the most frustrated and has the most to lose with these shortages.

There's even articles out there proving they are in a component war with Apple to get Switch's made.
 

Ceallach

Smells like fresh rosebuds
This, rather than being exciting, is actually starting to get scary! We can conclude that the Switch is the new 2006 Wii in terms of sales, right?? The problem now is the demand is simply way too high with not enough stock. Well, same as Wii in 2006 but my god, Nintendo needs to get their shit together ASAP. Splatoon 2 is coming this week and Japan is absolutely gonna explode with that game and people is gonna get crazy and pissed there if they cannot find either the console or the game!

IIRC this actually isn't Nintendo's fault this time. It's a matter of the raw materials and components being in high demand from giants like Apple and Samsung as well. Nintendo are pumping out as many as they can, but they just don't have the supply lines others do.
 
250 consoles for 3000 people that are waiting... And whether or not they can buy a console depends on a lottery. That's crazy.

Where's the 'social experiment' video of a person getting in line only to whip out a Switch to play while waiting?. Oh man.
 

ethomaz

Banned
They know they won't produce enough consoles (vide Switch forecasts)... so why not do separated launches like usual? Japan first, US few months after and EU late.

How many posts will it take to spin huge demand into a negative? Place your bets now!
Huge demand without enough production to supply it is negative... it shows the company doesn't has power to supply big demands... it is a pretty big fault.
 

mindatlarge

Member
Splatoon 2 seems to be highly anticipated in Japan, hopefully Nintendo can up the Switch supply to keep up with the demand a bit better.
 

witness

Member
Got mine today thanks to istock at a Target this morning in Orlando. I ran out of work to get it and luckily they still had two. Should not be this difficult though 4 months later.
 
Trying to find a god damn Joy Con in Tokyo is nearly impossible... I just want an extra set of Joy Cons and no one has them. No consoles in stock, no Joy Cons either. It is insane. You would think Nintendo would be able to supply the controllers but nope.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
They know they won't produce enough consoles (vide Switch forecasts)... so why not do separated launches like usual? Japan first, US few months after and EU late.

...a bit late for that...lol.
 

ironmang

Member
Just buy from a scalper lol. It's not that much more expensive especially if you value your time at all. I know a lot of people absolutely hate the idea of buying from a scalper judging by how people who get hot items at msrp make a point of mentioning it when nobody asks but is it really worth waiting in line for a lottery chance?
 

KHlover

Banned
Are we sure these lines aren't for DQ XI? lol



Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.

That shady, shady tactic of "Apple is buying all the available chips we need for the Switch"
 

Neonep

Member
What are their projections for sold units in the 1st year and how does it compare to PS4 & Xbox One 1st year sales.
 

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
Yeah seriously this is going to hurt the console in the long run. I seriously don't understand why Nintendo didn't pre-produce the fuck out of this before even releasing it.

They didn't have the NAND shortages before it launched.

Because they were fairly conservative given what happened with Wii U. They were selling initial production run Wii us for almost the entire lifespan of the console.
 

ethomaz

Banned
...a bit late for that...lol.
Yeap but they knew that before launch.

It is not like they are are shipping some monstrous numbers every month... in fact they are even shipping less than consoles with very low demand (aka Wii U... of course this case was because there is no demand at all :p).
 

phanphare

Banned
Yeah sure, that's why this crap happens with practically every hardware product they release. I'd love it if people suddenly told Nintendo to fuck off and there are suddenly tons of Switches available a stores. Nintendo's shady tactics finally coming back to bite them in the ass.

bahahahaha
 

cclittle

Neo Member
It's only going to hurt the console in the long run if Nintendo fails to increase production eventually and stops releasing killer apps.

Like, these stock issues in the summer of 2017 are unlikely to have any affect on demand for the system in a year or two when AC and Pokemon release.

This is wise thinking.
 

Renna Hazel

Member
They know they won't produce enough consoles (vide Switch forecasts)... so why not do separated launches like usual? Japan first, US few months after and EU late.


Huge demand without enough production to supply it is negative... it shows the company doesn't has power to supply big demands... it is a pretty big fault.

I dunno, this happens to companies like Apple quite a bit when they release a new product. Perhaps not to this extent, but iPhones and iPads have had pretty big shortages in the past.

I'm no market expert but I do believe most companies would prefer demand be higher than expectations.
 

ethomaz

Banned
What are their projections for sold units in the 1st year and how does it compare to PS4 & Xbox One 1st year sales.
10 million this fiscal year.

PS4 did 15.7m (?) and XB1 6-7m (?) in the first full fiscal year.

PS. All data didn't include the first month of sales... only the first full fiscal year.
 

AdanVC

Member
I assume you mean Wii in 2007? In that case, no, Nintendo was selling way more Wii units per month than they are Switch. Switch stock has to improve before we can determine if it's success is on level with the Wii or not.

Yup, my bad. 2007 Wii. Yeah I guess we're still pretty early to determine if the Switch is as succesful as the Wii in 2007 but all of this seems to indicate it might be!

IIRC this actually isn't Nintendo's fault this time. It's a matter of the raw materials and components being in high demand from giants like Apple and Samsung as well. Nintendo are pumping out as many as they can, but they just don't have the supply lines others do.

That's true. It's crazy how can other companies can affect the production of your product due to the high demand of components to produce them. Hope Nintendo is hard at work doing something about it.
 

RRockman

Banned
So glad I happened to luck into a launch-day pre-order.

I'm super glad I stayed up till 4 am to order it after the presentation. Feels like I'm a good judge of products. :D

Its a real shame about the NAND shortage. I was hoping that when people heard about it they would drop their stupid "Nintendo is withholding stock fufufufufu" narratives but it seems like some people just love to push their agenda out mindlessly.
 
Top Bottom