So how bad is the Switch stock situation?

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Alex_Mexico said:
That's not en excuse. It's not that they had more time to prepare. Is that they chose to be better prepared. Nintendo fucked up.
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They're shipping roughly the same amount the PS4 did and also without ignoring Japan for two whole months.

This is called fucking up to some people.
 
Minecraft should have been a release day title. Full minecraft mobile like this is going to sell a retarded amount of Switches, IF they are available. Kinda makes me wish I had kept mine.
 
I dont blame Nintendo for being a bit gun shy after the Wii U. If this is still a problem in June though i will start to question their competency. They better have a ton of switch's ready for Splatoon 2 launch.
 
ocean said:
New iPhones generally sell about 10 million in their launch weekend - and you can find them in stores the next week. Selling a million Switches in a month is great but let's refrain from believing it's impossible to produce more than that.

If you're getting good sales, congrats! But not keeping up with demand just means you're not doing your job well.


That's the point. If you keep restocking and there's still never any stock it means you're under shipping. Seriously no other major electronic faces this despite many selling more.
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I had to wait 2 months for my preordered iphone SE...
 
Alex_Mexico said:
That's not en excuse. It's not that they had more time to prepare. Is that they chose to be better prepared. Nintendo fucked up.
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Wait, so they're breaking record sales, and somehow they were supposed to know this would happen and overstock early? Especially after the 2nd worst flop in their history. You folks need to step back from the keyboard and think before you post.
 
Snagged one last weekend. Noticed on the EB Games website they had the "in stock" logo for my store on their map, so I called and asked them to hold it for me, which they did.

Qwark said:
I'm a bit out of the loop, does anybody know if there will be a new model with an improved dock to avoid scratching (I assume, eventually)? And if so, when we can expect to start to see these models? I'm guessing that they have quite a few units to clear out of the channel first, so it could be a while.
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Nah bro. Do you really think Nintendo would announce a new iteration of their console 6 weeks after release?
 
Echelon079 said:
Minecraft should have been a release day title. Full minecraft mobile like this is going to sell a retarded amount of Switches, IF they are available. Kinda makes me wish I had kept mine.
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Not that I think Minecraft won't help, but this point was also parroted by a lot of Vita owners. Minecraft is huge, but I'm not convinced it's a system seller.
 
Kazoo said:
You guys might wanna check Best Buy on Friday when MK8 launches, Also check in on Monday for NES Classics FYI.

Giving you guys a heads up (Don't waste your time calling cause the phone system is shit now).
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Quoting for a new page, hope you guys get one!
 
Cyanity said:
I have a feeling Ninty's hoarding Switches in anticipation of the massive holiday rush they're inevitably going to get.
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This makes no sense, when that's in the second half of the year(7 months away) and this would also mean the newest ones on shelves would still have launch design flaws and would be eating money storing them.
 
atr0cious said:
This makes no sense, when that's in the second half of the year(7 months away) and this would also mean the newest ones on shelves would still have launch design flaws and would be eating money storing them.
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Hey, it's just a theory (a GAME theory). I do think they're holding some consoles back though. Like, NO ONE can get their hands on this thing. Stores are getting Switches 5 or 6 units at a time. There's no way production is actually this low, unless those small deliveries are somehow constituting millions of Switch sales worldwide.
 
atr0cious said:
Wait, so they're breaking record sales, and somehow they were supposed to know this would happen and overstock early? Especially after the 2nd worst flop in their history. You folks need to step back from the keyboard and think before you post.
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Here's the problem with their train of thought. Nintendo, presumably, should have shipped 5+ million to meet a demand that no one in the industry (probably Nintendo as well) saw coming. Considering that this is unprecedented as far as initial units shipped, if these were not sold out (say 4 million instead), the goal post would be moved to: "bad launch is bad. PS4 sold out, the Switch did not."

It's like clockwork.
 
It's difficult to buy into the artificial shortage, or even Nintendo incompetence, when it comes to Switch.

This is especially true when have data that shows sales records being broken in the U.S and beyond.
 
How long should this issue last before it becomes a real problem? It's one thing for it to be sold out about a month and a half after launch, it will be a different situation if it's still like this in say July or August.
 
TheCowboyPoet said:
Nah bro. Do you really think Nintendo would announce a new iteration of their console 6 weeks after release?
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It's not like they have to make a big announcement out of it. Just a slight revision that improves the dock (similar to the revision to the joycons to improve connection). I suppose I haven't given them enough time to address that yet though, just curious before I jump in.
 
Neonep said:
How long should this issue last before it becomes a real problem? It's one thing for it to be sold out about a month and a half after launch, it will be a different situation if it's still like this in say July or August.
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I think it's already an issue, MK8D is a system seller, but if there is no system to sell, it's an issue.
 
Neonep said:
How long should this issue last before it becomes a real problem? It's one thing for it to be sold out about a month and a half after launch, it will be a different situation if it's still like this in say July or August.
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For reference, it took Sony about 3 months to catch up to PS4 demand. So as long as this isnt a problem going into June they should be fine.
 
Dynheart said:
Here's the problem with their train of thought. Nintendo, presumably, should have shipped 5+ million to meet a demand that no one in the industry (probably Nintendo as well) saw coming. Considering that this is unprecedented as far as initial units shipped, if these were not sold out (say 4 million instead), the goal post would be moved to: "bad launch is bad. PS4 sold out, the Switch did not."

It's like clockwork.
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And people keeps repeating how Nintendo gets a pass for anything. Lol, people saying that probably haven't visited a Nintendo thread in the last 5 years. Because whether the Switch sold our or not, people will have their posts ready.

Switch sold out: Fuck you Nintendo for undershipping and creating artificial demand!
Switch not sold out, a lot available: Haha, the Wii U flopped hard and you still shipped so much at launch, you never learn, you dumbfucks!
 
Cyanity said:
Hey, it's just a theory (a GAME theory). I do think they're holding some consoles back though. Like, NO ONE can get their hands on this thing. Stores are getting Switches 5 or 6 units at a time. There's no way production is actually this low, unless those small deliveries are somehow constituting millions of Switch sales worldwide.
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It's a theory based on fantasy, when they're a business and would be losing money doing this. You need to actually look up what you're talking about. They're setting records for most sold, how are they holding anything back if they're already doing more than almost any other console? And again, this is after they held back launch and manufactured a ton of wii u's that sold, not only less in the prime holiday time, they sat on the same first run of consoles until it's death. Not only are they being smart about the roll out in March, they're still doing historically better than almost all other console during the time of the year where historically consoles are not launched. Only a time traveler would sign off on 5 million for the first month after the last 4 years.
 
gogogow said:
And people keeps repeating how Nintendo gets a pass for anything. Lol, people saying that probably haven't visited a Nintendo thread in the last 5 years. Because whether the Switch sold our or not, people will have their posts ready.

Switch sold out: Fuck you Nintendo for undershipping and creating artificial demand!
Switch not sold out, a lot available: Haha, the Wii U flopped hard and you still shipped so much at launch, you never learn, you dumbfucks!
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It is interesting that is for sure. Very few seem to walk that invisible line between the two, which is too bad.
 
It's like when the Wii was breaking sales records every month...

"Artificial shortages!"

But... It's selling more than any console ever has...

"Artificial shortages! Undershipping! Incompetence!"

But... That means there are more Wii systems available at retail than any other console in history...

"ARTIFICIAL. SHORTAGES."
 
Kenzodielocke said:
I think it's already an issue, MK8D is a system seller, but if there is no system to sell, it's an issue.
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They'll ship for mario kart I'm pretty sure they've been holding back a bit specificaly for this reason. We'll see in the media-create thread but I'm prety sure you'll see a sharp uptake in sales for the switch the week it releases.
 
Neonep said:
Do you guys think this will still be a problem come the holiday season?
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I think it might be a problem *again* in the Holiday period depending on whether a smash hit like pokémon or Smash joins Super Mario Odyssey in that time period. Between June and the holidays I think stock will be much more readily available, though.
 
Principate said:
They'll ship for mario kart I'm pretty sure they've been holding back a bit specificaly for this reason. We'll see in the media-create thread but I'm prety sure you'll see a sharp uptake in sales for the switch the week it releases.
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Why would they hold back product now when every Switch produced is sold immediately? Holding back is just leaving money on the table.
 
Principate said:
That's for two months in Christmas. Switch is a predicted 2.4 million for 1 month in March.
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We are at the end of April though.
Zedark said:
True, PS4 sold more (and was still supply constrained), but then again it didn't follow a flop like the Wii U, which I think would make any reasonable person wary with their predictions.
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That I can understand, but then again, there was a lot of pre release hype for the Switch.
 
Kenzodielocke said:
We are at the end of April though.
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But we don't have numbers for the end of April, only for the end of March (alleged numbers, to be precise).
Kenzodielocke said:
That I can understand, but then again, there was a lot of pre release hype for the Switch.
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sure, but that was only obvious less than a 2 month before launch, and ramping up production doesn't go that fast to offset much higher demand than anticipated I would think.
 
Vilix said:
Why would they hold back product now when every Switch produced is sold immediately? Holding back is just leaving money on the table.
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Critical mass it's just two weeks and you'll get a large devulge of people buying the system and at least one piece of software probably more this improves visibility of the product and system. Even if they're not they'll be gearing they're shipping waves at that period and any increases will be down by that time.
 
Textbook Gaf armchair CEOing:

ocean said:
This is less about "it takes time to build things" and more "Nintendo is horribly incompetent at supply chain management".

Plenty of sophisticated electronics with high demand manage to be stocked on shelves within a week or two of release. See: cell phones, other consoles, tablets.
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Actual reality:

xch1n said:
So a couple of points here:

1.) Apple has a regular cadence and volume to make them THE thing a lot of assembly lines make. The Switch will never do the volume that an iPhone does.
2.) There are *some* iPhones available in the next week. In the case of the 6S Plus and 7 Plus, they took MONTHS to be available on store shelves, especially in the case of the hard-to-produce Jet Black variant.
3.) These factories don't sit idle waiting for another order of Switches to come in. And since Nintendo isn't a high-clout producer, they have to wait in line - any stock that's coming through now was probably part of the originally planned manufacturing run. Increased production would have to bump some other customer ($$$$$$$$$) or be squeezed in via overtime, etc. (also $$$$$). Unless you're Apple/Samsung/et al, you can't ramp production up quickly. I'm not really familiar with the exact timeline, but it's on the order of months, not days or weeks.
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Dynheart said:
To elaborate on point three, which I think escapes people, there are contracts involved. As stated, Nintendo is s small fry in the grand scheme of things. These facilities have a finite amount of real estate, with multiple contracts to honor (a lot of facilities will have several companies under one roof). If Nintendo manages to squeeze in, they are not going to have enough real estate to run a full scale operation.

Where ever they are producing these Switch's, it's the best care scenario for them atm. Like I said earlier, they are most likely looking into expanding...which does not happen over night.
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Principate said:
Critical mass it's just two weeks and you'll get a large devulge of people buying the system and at least one piece of software probably more this improves visibility of the product and system. Even if they're not they'll be gearing they're shipping waves at that period and any increases will be down by that time.
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Yup. I hear Best Buy, for instance, has been holding stock for the 28th. Those units will sell either way, but there will be more hype around a "2nd" launch with Mario Kart 8 than there would be around selling a few at a time. Not only will there be a big influx of customers on the 28th with visibility on the hype, but on the internet as well.
 
mstevens said:
Yup. I hear Best Buy, for instance, has been holding stock for the 28th. Those units will sell either way, but there will be more hype around a "2nd" launch with Mario Kart 8 than there would be around selling a few at a time. Not only will there be a big influx of customers on the 28th with visibility on the hype, but on the internet as well.
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Yup better for retailers too loads of people through theirs wanting to buy shit.
 
Was at Target in Whittier, CA this morning and saw 3 of them on the shelf. I was surprised as that's the first time I've seen any on the shelf at all.
 
ArkhamFantasy said:
I dont blame Nintendo for being a bit gun shy after the Wii U. If this is still a problem in June though i will start to question their competency. They better have a ton of switch's ready for Splatoon 2 launch.
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I would certainly hope that along with meeting Splatoon demand in June they can properly anticipate demand for whatever they'll show at E3. Something like a holiday Smash port would not do any favors for an already insufficient hardware supply.
 
butterbutt said:
I would certainly hope that along with meeting Splatoon demand in June they can properly anticipate demand for whatever they'll show at E3. Something like a holiday Smash port would not do any favors for an already insufficient hardware supply.
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That makes no sense. You realise Nintendo do the absolute lionshare of there sales during the holidays even in comparison to other companies like sony/microsoft. It'll be stocked by hook or by crook or their shareholders will eviscerate them. They'll want strong holiday titles and to be stocked to be quite frankly the rest of the year pales in comparison.
 
Saw 2 over the span of a week at my walmart. Its near the boonies so like at the edge of the city before stores start becoming more scarce. So most people focus on the busier stores.
 
Kazoo said:
Quoting for a new page, hope you guys get one!
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I've heard about the 28th for Switch systems (I have a friend at BB who let me know some were coming in then, hoping against hope to get a Neon JoyCon set) but I didn't know about the NES Mini being available too. Will that be at BestBuy as well, or is it just retailers in general? I'd resigned to never getting one but with this head's up maybe I'll still have a chance, and I assume this will be one of if not *the* last shipment of them...
 
It's baffling that people would seriously believe in 'artificial shortages'.

More so than some silly abstract "hype" Nintendo would care to create a Switch install base as large as possible as fast as possible. A bigger install base stimulates developer support which will in turn keep the platform more attractive to consumers in the long run.

Artificially stifling the growth of your platform just to create some weird 'desirability due to low supply' is the silliest concept i've ever heard of. - especially when lack of third party support (due to low install base) was one of the nails in the Wii U's coffin

Qwark said:
It's not like they have to make a big announcement out of it. Just a slight revision that improves the dock (similar to the revision to the joycons to improve connection). I suppose I haven't given them enough time to address that yet though, just curious before I jump in.
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The whole 'scratchgate' thing was as overblown as hardware issues get. If you're afraid of scratches, get a screen protector - chances are that even without you'll never have your screen scratched anyways.
Redesigning a dock (even doing so stealthily) would only be admitting there had been a design flaw to begin with - which there really isn't. The joycons were an issue people could easily reproduce, which impeded the functionality of the console, and which couldn't be counteracted by the end user.

Again, the chances Nintendo would change the dock anytime soon, are slim to nonexistant. So don't hold your breath.
 
Jaded Alyx said:
It's like when the Wii was breaking sales records every month...

"Artificial shortages!"

But... It's selling more than any console ever has...

"Artificial shortages! Undershipping! Incompetence!"

But... That means there are more Wii systems available at retail than any other console in history...

"ARTIFICIAL. SHORTAGES."
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Do you have any links to exchanges like this here on gaf?
 
Neonep said:
Nah, I don't think Splatoon is a system seller but definitely arguable. Just from a business perspective it is fucking incredibly irritating to see such a demand for your products yet people can't go out and purchase them. If this were any other company we would shit on them HARD but since it's Nintendo they get a pass. And since gamers have no backbone, they will just continue to buy things and praise Nintendo.
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uhhh. Splatoon aside... this whole thread is about the shitty stock of Nintendo. Nobody is giving them a "pass." People just really want the system, so they aren't going to boycott it because that's directly the opposite of why they are mad about stock.
 
Ninman said:
I was a lurker back then, but I remember a few exchanges like that. Only that I could find tho:
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=10592038
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1280x720-fy1.jpg
 
Fliesen said:
It's baffling that people would seriously believe in 'artificial shortages'.

More so than some silly abstract "hype" Nintendo would care to create a Switch install base as large as possible as fast as possible. A bigger install base stimulates developer support which will in turn keep the platform more attractive to consumers in the long run.

Artificially stifling the growth of your platform just to create some weird 'desirability due to low supply' is the silliest concept i've ever heard of. - especially when lack of third party support (due to low install base) was one of the nails in the Wii U's coffin
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This is what people who scream "ARTIFICIAL SHORTAGES!!!!!" itt and other threads on NeoGaf fail to realize. I've argued with them tons of times about how it doesn't make sense to intentionally hold back for the exact same reasons you listed. Their premise is as flimsy as wet paper, but they don't care.
 
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