Earlier this month, the highly anticipated new gaming console from Nintendo has finally been made available to the public, and gamers simply can’t get enough of the Nintendo Switch. As the console continues to sell out in major retail and online shops, the electronics and video game company is reportedly planning to double production of consoles to cope with strong demand.
According to the Wall Street Journal (via The Verge), Nintendo plans to produce at least 16 million Switch consoles in the financial year starting this April. It was claimed that this represents a doubling of the company’s initial plans with regards to the number of consoles it aims to produce.
If the 16 million figure is accurate, then this means that the Switch is on its way to outselling its predecessor, the Wii U. Only 13.5 million units were sold since the Wii U was launched back in 2012, while the original Wii was snapped by over 101 million gaming fanatics.
Nintendo has yet to comment on the reports, but it is likely that a statement will be released by the company before April 27, when it’s scheduled to report earnings for the current fiscal year and issue a forecast for next year.
Though the report has yet to be confirmed, more Switch consoles coming out will surely be a welcome development for Nintendo fans, as the Daily Star reports that stocks are flying out of physical and digital shelves on sellers such as Amazon, GameStop, Toys R Us.
Because of the high demand for the gaming system, some sites, such as UK-based retailer 365games.com, has reportedly marked up the cost by £50, or about $61.99 more than its retail price. In the US, some resellers are pricing the console from $430 to $485 on Amazon. The recommended retail price for the Nintendo Switch is $299.99.
For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s update on the Samsung Galaxy S8.
