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Nintendo Switch production to miss 30m fiscal year target due to chip shortage

Nintendo has allegedly trimmed its expectation of console sales by about 20 percent for fiscal 2021.

TJ Denzer

November 2, 2021 8:15 AM

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When Nintendo began its 2021 fiscal year, the semiconductor shortage loomed overhead on its estimations (much as it has for many video game and further tech companies throughout the world). Even so, Nintendo expected it would be able to get the supplies for the production and sale of 30 million more Switch consoles by the end of its fiscal 2021 year. A couple seasons later, it seems Nintendo has been forced to lower its expectations by about 20 percent as the worldwide chip shortage has presented even more trouble than initially forecast.

Nintendo’s lowered expectation on Switch production and launch in its fiscal 2021 were originally reported by Nikkei Asia on November 2, 2021. According to Nikkei, a spokesperson for Nintendo has confirmed that the company has been affected more heavily by supply shortages than previously estimated. This has resulted in Nintendo reportedly lowering its expectation of production by the end of fiscal 2021 from a previously reported 30 million consoles down to around 24 million. Nintendo is also still investigating the full impact of component shortage on its overall production.

Nintendo is hardly alone its production issues due to the worldwide semiconductor shortage. Component shortages have been a common thread among tech firms across the world, especially in recent quarterly earnings results, as reported by Tesla and Intel. As we get into the homestretch of fiscal 2021 for a lot of companies, the full impact of chip shortage is becoming more concrete and directly disruptive to struggling supplies. Nintendo may have been bold in its original expectations, but the situation has hardly improved overtime.

Nonetheless, demand remains high for the Nintendo Switch, especially with the recent OLED model having launched. Nintendo will no doubt push to continue to meet customer demands, but given the ongoing shortage, it’s also looking like competition to get one’s hands on a new Switch coming into the 2021 holidays will be fierce. Stay tuned to Shacknews to keep an eye on the best places to pick up a Switch this season.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.