Gamers hoping to get their hands on Nintendo’s Switch consoles for Christmas may be left disappointed after the company said it was struggling to meet demand amid the ongoing chip shortage.
The Japanese gaming giant is cutting its sales forecast for the popular console by 6 per cent, equating to 24m units.
Semiconductors, the computer chips that power games consoles, smartphones, laptops, cars and many other electronic goods, are currently in short supply across the world.
Pandemic-induced delays to manufacturing and shipments of goods, tighter international restrictions on the movement of supply and a fire at a major chip factory in Japan in March are among the factors affecting chip availability, alongside increased demand for devices for working and learning at home.
“We can’t produce enough to meet the demand we are expecting during the upcoming holiday season,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told a news briefing.
“Currently there is no sign of improvement and the situation continues to be severe so I can’t say how long it will continue,” he added.
Nintendo launched its newest version of the Switch console, the Switch OLED, last month, and it is already out of stock at many of the UK’s major retailers including Argos, Currys and Game.
Nintendo is not the only gaming company struggling to meet consumer demand for its consoles.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 console has been in short supply since it went on sale in November last year, while Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console has been similarly difficult to buy.
Xbox head Phil Spencer said in October that the lack of chips, coupled with supply chain constraints, meant the consoles were likely to remain thin on the ground into 2022.
Chinese manufacturer Lenovo, the world’s biggest computer maker, told Reuters that while it had been fortunate to secure greater numbers of components than its competitors, the shortage was “causing delays in order fulfilment and significant back-log orders across PCs, smartphones, and servers.”
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, told Reuters last month that the company had been forced to endure “larger than expected supply constraints” between June and September and that the chip shortage was now affecting “most of our products”.Ch
“We’re doing everything we can do to get more [chips] and also everything we can do operationally to make sure we’re moving just as fast as possible,” he said.