In delivering a simple-but-absolutely-devastating blow to scalpers everywhere, Nintendo has confirmed that they will be actively working to produce “a sufficient number” of their Switch successor console in order to stave off the possible formation of any outrageously priced second-hand markets.
The esteemed video game developer revealed this strategy as part of a larger explanation of their upcoming anti-scalper sales plan given to attendees of their 84th annual general shareholders meeting, as held on June 27th.
Per a transcript of the meeting’s Q&A session, as provided by the company themselves and machine translated by DeepL, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa was at one point pressed by as to just what measures they were taking “to prevent resale of the [Switch] successor model” – particularly as “at last year’s general shareholders’ meeting, you mentioned that you would take measures against resale by ensuring sufficient hardware production.”
In turn, Furukawa asserted, “As a countermeasure against resale, we believe that the most important thing is to produce a sufficient number to meet customer demand, and this idea has not changed since last year.”
“Additionally, we are considering whether there are any other measures that can be taken to the extent allowed by laws and regulations, taking into account the circumstances in each region,” he further detailed of their resale prevention strategies.
To this end, the Nintendo President also explained that the issues responsible for the recent shortage of Switch consoles – namely a world wide shortage of semiconductor components due to COVID-19-related supply chain issues – had since been resolved and would not threaten their production plans for their next piece of hardware.
“Last year and the year before, we were unable to produce sufficient quantities of Nintendo Switch hardware due to a shortage of semiconductor components, but this situation has now been resolved,” said Furukawa. “We do not believe that the shortage of parts and materials will have a significant impact on the production of the successor models at this time.”
Per a previous report by Bloomberg tech journalist Takashi Mochizuki, according to display shipment data, it appears that in service of their goal of ensuring the hardware will be easy to find for any and all who wish to purchase one, Nintendo will be producing at least 10 million units of their next console.
At current, outside of its planned production, no official details regarding the next Nintendo console have yet to be detailed.
Notably, the existence of the console was first revealed by Furukawa himself, who on May 6th nonchalantly tweeted information regarding its existence in order to dissuade fans from expecting its official announcement at the company’s then-upcoming Nintendo Direct.
“We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year,” tweeted the President. “It will have been over nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch back in March 2015. We will be holding a Nintendo Direct this June regarding the Nintendo Switch software lineup for the latter half of 2024, but please be aware that there will be no mention of the Nintendo Switch successor during that presentation.”
All in all, good news for Nintendo fans – and particularly parents of young Nintendo fans.
Now, who do we talk to about getting the console to launch with a new, ship-combat focused Star Fox title?
