Japanese gamers who want to buy a Nintendo Switch console now enter a lottery to have a chance of getting one. This could soon become a global trend. The company says it cannot meet holiday demand amid a component shortage. It is an opportunity for Nintendo to reboot its priorities.
Earnings for the quarter to September reflected worsening shortages. Nintendo missed expectations, with operating profits for the quarter just ¥100.2bn ($880m) and the full year outlook only ¥520bn. Switch sales were disappointing.
Nintendo would have done better without supply chain disruption. Demand for the upgraded Switch has been strong. The company reportedly planned to make 30m of the devices. This should have triggered a windfall, with 96 per cent of total revenues coming from consoles and games.