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Nintendo Switch latest news: New console suffers stock shortage

A promotional image for the Nintendo Switch | Nintendo

The announcement and launch of the Nintendo Switch were met by a lot of excitement from gamers, especially considering that the last handheld console offered by the video company was 2015's New Nintendo 3DS. However, it seems that the large number of buyers within the first few days of its launch has led to stock shortage across the world.

MCV reported that UK retailers have already run out of stock of the console, and they have not been given information yet on when this will be replenished. Meanwhile, Daily Star said the company is not accepting pre-orders of the gaming consoles, due to the stock shortage.

The inventory issue came in the light of Nintendo repeatedly saying that buyers do not need to worry about stock problems.

"It's true pre-orders are very strong, but we still expect Nintendo Switch to be available at some retailers on Day One. We do expect shipments to steadily come," said Nintendo UK General Manager Nicolas Wegnez in an interview with MCV last February.

This concern was raised by buyers because of a similar problem with the Nintendo NES Classic Edition. In fact, this seems to a problem that Nintendo is familiar with, having experienced this issue when they also ran out of stock when the Wii and the Wii U were released.

On the other hand, the company also gave 3DS users the assurance that support for the console will not be cut off even with the launch of the Switch.

According to Doug Bowser, Nintendo's vice president of sales, the company is currently increasing its production of the Switch to keep up with the demand. He gave the assurance that while some may have missed out on purchasing the console on its launch date, more are being produced for buyers.

The Nintendo Switch has been widely reported as the best-selling Nintendo console in history in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, outperforming even the Wii.