Nintendo cuts Switch 2 production amid weakening console sales
Nintendo will produce fewer Switch 2 units than previously planned in response to declining demand for the console in the United States, Bloomberg reports. Four million units of Nintendo’s flagship device are expected to be manufactured this quarter, instead of the six million initially planned, according to anonymous sources cited by the publication, with reduced production expected to continue into April.
Last month, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said during an earnings conference call that “overseas sales were a little weaker than expected.”
The slowdown follows a record launch in June last year, making the Switch 2 Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time after selling 3.5 million units in its first four days. The production cuts are not expected to impact Nintendo’s ability to meet its goal of selling 19 million Switch 2 units this fiscal year, which ends in March, according to Bloombergand the Japanese gaming giant remains confident in the console’s long-term prospects.
Like many technology companies, Nintendo is also facing increased production costs due to rising memory prices and is reportedly considering raising prices for the Switch 2 console, but these production cuts are driven by a slowdown in consumer demand for the console.
Export delays caused by war in the Middle East could lead Nintendo to increase Switch 2 production again, says BloombergNintendo aims to stockpile sufficient quantities of a replaceable battery variant that it plans to sell in Europe in the next fiscal year.
