Nintendo Switch Has Sold 4.7 Million Units; Supply Remains Constrained

Nintendo is having little difficulty convincing consumers to buy the Switch so far, but it’s having a harder time meeting all that demand.

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Since the Nintendo Switch launched on March 3, 2017, it has been a difficult system to find on store shelves and there has been speculation about how that shortage would impact the hardware’s chances of reaching consumers in meaningful numbers. This week, Nintendo released its second quarterly financial report since the launch, and while sales are brisk, the numbers suggest that supply constraints are indeed preventing the sort of breakout success investors might like to see.

Nintendo reported total Switch sales of 1.97 million units during the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2017, which brings the hardware’s cumulative total to 4.7 million systems sold worldwide. Out of that total, 1.12 million have sold in Japan, 1.95 million have sold in North America, and 1.63 million have sold in various other regions. Software for the platform, meanwhile, has reached 13.6 million units sold, an average attach rate of 2.89.

Throughout the remaining fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2018, Nintendo forecasts the sale of 10 million units of hardware worldwide, and 35 million units of software.

Though Nintendo’s forecasted numbers are promising and signal the company anticipates continued growth for the platform, the Switch has been an uncommon sight on store shelves throughout much of the world. Consumers line up for the chance to have their name placed in a drawing for a chance to buy the hardware, due to a supply shortage that fails to meet the demand produced by big titles such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Super Mario Odyssey, due in October, should also keep demand high if it begins to wane by that point.

Nintendo has also been working to increase production, which should eventually help with constraint issues, though company executives no longer appear to believe they can have 18 to 20 million units in consumer homes by the end of this coming March as once predicted.

You can view the quarterly report yourself if you would like additional information about software sales and performance of Nintendo’s other devices, including the 3DS family of hardware. Maybe it will even help you out with your holiday shopping plans.

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