The global shortage of processors that has slowed down the manufacture of electronic devices around the world has started to affect the Japanese Nintendo, who has recognized that the production of its Switch console this year is “uncertain”.
In a meeting with investors, the CEO and current president of Nintendo, Shuntaro Furukawa, has announced the company’s plans to manufacture 25.5 million units of its Switch console during this fiscal year 2021 – until March 2022-.
However, Furukawa has recognized that the demand for hardware “continues to exceed the expectations” of the company, and that “currently production is not being able to meet the high demand due to the shortage of supply of semiconductors”, the materials used for make chips.
“Although we are currently striving to produce as many units as possible, the fact is that our production plans are more uncertain than they were at the beginning of the previous fiscal year,” said the Nintendo executive.
The global shortage of processors is a year-round problem affecting the electronics industry and has been denounced by chipmakers such as Qualcomm and IBM. As a result, the manufacture of some vehicles has had to come to a halt, among other electronic products.
The manufacture of video consoles is among the sectors most affected by supply problems, as in addition to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are experiencing significant difficulties in meeting the demand for their next-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S consoles.