Game consoles have become a scarce commodity during the pandemic, first due to increased demand amid self-isolation, and then due to a shortage of components for their production. In the current fiscal year, which has just begun, Nintendo estimates that the situation will not allow it to sell more than 20 million Switch consoles, which is 10% less than the results of the previous year.

Image Source: Nintendo

Overall, as explained by the Nikkei Asian Review , Nintendo’s strongest fiscal year was 2020, with 28.83 million Switch consoles sold. In 2021, the company expected to sell 30 million consoles, but cut the forecast by the fall due to a shortage of components, and now has to report sales of only 23 million consoles, which corresponds to a sequential decrease of 20%.

The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for six years, but continues to be in high demand, last fall a model with a more modern display was added to the range. According to the company’s management, Switch is now about the middle of its life cycle. Nintendo’s ability to manufacture the Switch in sufficient quantities for the time being will be negatively impacted by lockdowns in China and supply chain disruptions caused by rising geopolitical tensions. It is possible that in fact in the current fiscal year the company will be able to sell less than 20 million game consoles.

Nintendo will try to partially compensate for the drop in revenue from the sale of consoles through more active sales of software and expansion of subscriptions. Before the end of this year, new games in the Splatoon and Pokemon family should be released, which will spur interest in the existing platform.