Since the beginning of the quarantine and the isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Nintendo It has experienced difficulties in responding to the enormous demand for the Nintendo Switch that the current world context has created. And it seems that the problems of the Japanese company in this regard are still far from over: it seems that closures at factories in the Philippines and Malaysia They would also be hampering the production of the hybrid platform components.
Nintendo, Switch and the COVID-19 pandemic
As reported from Bloomberg, the closings in Malaysia and the Philippines would be slowing down the production of Nintendo Switch, one of the most demanded platforms of this pandemic that has even led to the organization of lotteries in Japan to circumvent their purchase. Nintendo, for its part, has placed its trust in a Malaysian factory to produce the circuit boards (PCB) while another in the Philippines would take care of the connection of the different components to the plates.
While Nintendo has enjoyed certain advantages by not centralizing all of its production in China, In the face of a global pandemic, this strategy has caused the Great N to suffer the impact of the coronavirus at different points in its production chain.. Although China has reopened its factories, many parts of Asia are still mired in severe isolation.
Nintendo continues juggling to produce the Switch console
"Stock can be recovered during the summerbut we can foresee again phases of scarcity towards the end of the year, because Nintendo will not be able to produce enough units for the shopping season, "is what the analyst Hideki Yasuda of the firm Ace Research Institute has expressed to the medium. Current restrictions on production will hinder Nintendo from exceeding its forecast of 19 million Switch unit sales in the current fiscal year; part of the shortage is motivated by the launch of games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which debuted in full confinement and has become one of the quintessential entertainment of this pandemic.
"We hope that the impact of COVID-19 on our production will disappear by the summer"said the president of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa, at the company's financial meeting last Thursday. Sales forecasts for Nintendo are below the 21 million sales that managed to reach last fiscal year; How to overcome this situation will depend on how the progress of the fight against the coronavirus develops. in the coming months.
"We hope that the impact of COVID-19 on our production will disappear by the summer"
Last week, Nintendo noted that production and shipping delays are making up "gradually." However, they admit that this is a difficult situation to predict, despite their intentions to increase Switch production to meet demand. Not enough with that, these circumstances would also have an impact on your release schedule: "There is a widespread warning that we will not be able to proceed with the launch of Nintendo's products and services as planned."
