Amid pent-up desire for the more potent next-generation gaming device, gamers lined up for Nintendo’s (7974.T) new fangled Switch 2 debut on Thursday.
According to Serkan Toto, the creator of the Kantan Games consultancy, “the level of demand seems to be sky-high.”
Dozens of winners of a sales lottery held by electronics retailer Bic Camera (3048.T) in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro shopping district waited in line before the store opened to pick up their gadgets.
Yumi Ohi, a 30-year-old delivery contractor, told Reuters, “I feel like I’m going to cry,”
Ohi traveled from Saitama prefecture, which is close to Tokyo, to pick up her Switch 2 after missing out on other lotteries.
Since its 2017 introduction, Nintendo has sold 152 million Switch home-portables. With its COVID-19 pandemic smash hit “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” and two “The Legend of Zelda” titles, it became a gaming powerhouse.
Though it has a bigger screen, better graphics, and titles like “Mario Kart World” at launch, the Switch 2 is very identical to its predecessor.
“The much larger audience of Switch users should translate into stronger adoption in the opening part of its lifecycle,” Ampere Analysis analyst Piers Harding-Rolls stated. He claimed that “Nintendo is better prepared this time around” to handle the overwhelming demand.
Nintendo’s supply chain management is being tested with the release of the $499.99 Switch 2 amid the trade war led by US President Donald Trump.
Last month, Nintendo predicted that it will sell 15 million Switch 2s and 4.5 million Switches during the current fiscal year.
Item 1 of 10 On June 5, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, people browse an electronics store as Nintendo begins selling the new consoles worldwide.
