Switch shipments selling out same day - GameStop
Specialty retailer can't keep console stocked nearly two months after launch
Almost two months after launch, the Nintendo Switch remains a rare find on store shelves. GameStop is still seeing same-day sellouts on each new shipment of the system, an exec with the specialty retailer told Forbes.
"It's exceeding our expectations," GameStop senior director of merchandising Eric Bright told the site. "We knew it would be a high-demand product, but our Switch allocations are selling out not in days, but in hours...the demand is so high that consumers have to react quickly to be able to get their hands on them."
Nintendo reportedly began ramping up its Switch production shortly after the system's March 3 launch, but has so far struggled to meet demand. GameStop has been particularly bullish on its potential, with Bright saying that it "could possibly eclipse the Wii" (which sold 101 million systems), and GameStop COO Tony Bartel cautioning investors that the Switch could be in short supply until at least 2018.
Last weekend's launch of the critically acclaimed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe helped the system maintain its momentum and was the first UK physical chart-topper for Nintendo since 2011. Looking ahead, the next big releases for the system would appear to be Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition on May 11, and the original Nintendo fighting game ARMS, due out June 16.