Lockdowns in Asia could cause more Switch shortages

We may see shortages again toward the year-end

By Rob Thubron

In a nutshell: Are you finding the Nintendo Switch out of stock at most retailers? Don't expect better availability anytime soon. According to a new report, the Japanese gaming giant is struggling to secure some of the console’s components due to lockdowns in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Back in January, when Covid-19 was mostly limited to mainland China, many of the country’s factories temporarily closed, causing a delay in Switch production and shipments in Japan. High demand and reduced supply started affected other regions—a situation made worse by auto-purchase bots—but Nintendo said it would address the shortages by upping production 10 percent.
“We expect the Covid-19 impact on our production to go away by summer,” said President Shuntaro Furukawa.

It appeared that Nintendo had weathered the Covid-19 storm, but a Bloomberg report suggests its Switch supply problems aren't finished. Nintendo sources its printed circuit boards (PCBs) from the Philippines, while the passive components that attach to those PCBs come from Malaysia. Both nations are limiting business operations and travel right now, which is affecting Switch production.
“The inventory may recover in the summer, but we may see shortages again toward the year-end because Nintendo wouldn’t be able to produce enough units for the shopping season,” said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute.
Nintendo sold 21 million Switch consoles during the last financial year, but the supply issues and lack of stock mean it expects to shift 19 million units during the current financial year, a year-on-year decline of 9.6 percent.

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