Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Nintendo will produce 20% fewer Switch consoles due to chip shortages

The chips are down.

Nintendo will produce 20 per cent fewer Switch consoles this fiscal year due to chip shortages.

As reported by Nikkei, Nintendo had planned to produce 30 million units by March next year, but will only be able to hit 24 million.

Nintendo had aimed to increase production for its new OLED model, but with high demand for the console and component shortages this hasn't been possible.

Watch on YouTube

"We are assessing their impact on our production," a Nintendo spokesperson said, acknowledging the chip shortages.

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa had previously admitted the company was unable to produce as many consoles as demand required, with uncertainty over future production.

Chip shortages have caused bottlenecks in production, not just for Nintendo but across all console manufacturers.

As of June, Nintendo has sold 89.04m Switch consoles worldwide, though this was less than a year prior.

The comparison is unfair owing to the boom caused by Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but the chip shortage means Nintendo has been unable to keep up with demand.

Still, the Switch is likely to overtake the Wii as Nintendo's highest selling home console (101.63 million units).