Image: Nintendo
Nintendo Switch 2 consoles shouldn’t run into the supply issues that plagued PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles at launch.
If you’re worried about Nintendo Switch 2 consoles flying off shelves faster than you can buy them this year, a new Bloomberg report suggests that supply issues won’t be a problem at all. Nintendo’s follow-up to the Switch handheld is rumoured to launch later this year and while modern gaming consoles have run into stock shortages in their launch year, Bloomberg states that the company is planning to produce over 10 million units for its first fiscal year.
That’s a lot of consoles.
10+ million Nintendo Switch 2 units to be produced by 2025
The Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t officially been unveiled by Nintendo, but its existence has become one of the games industry’s worst-kept secrets thanks to numerous widely corroborated reports on its production. After the chaos incited by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S stock shortages in their first year of release, however, one might be understandably wary about getting their hands on the Switch successor.
Bloomberg suggests that Nintendo is planning to manufacture more than 10 million units of the Nintendo Switch 2 by the end of its first fiscal year of release. The company’s current fiscal year ends in March 2025 and the console should launch this year, so that means the console should enjoy a relatively smooth launch worldwide so long as those 10+ million units continue to be pumped out.
Nintendo hasn’t confirmed a release window for the Switch 2, but we know that it will only launch by April this year at earliest. The second half of 2024 is much more likely, and the availability of the console would depend on how wide the gap is between its launch date and the end of the fiscal year. 10 million units would be plentiful between the end of the year and March 2025, for example. However, if the console launched earlier in April, those 10 million units would have to survive almost an entire year (and a holiday season to boot!).
Bloomberg also claims that the Switch 2’s technical specs include a wider 8-inch LCD screen compared to its predecessor’s 6-inch screen, and even the Steam Deck’s 7-inch screen. While the original Nintendo Switch received an OLED upgrade later in its lifespan, the Nintendo Switch 2 will not feature an OLED screen this year - but might receive a similar upgrade later on.
