Nintendo held its 85th Annual Shareholder Meeting today, during which president Shuntaro Furukawa apologized for not being able to meet the initial demand for the Nintendo Switch 2, which greatly exceeded the company’s expectations. This is actually good news for Nintendo.
A Successful Launch
As highlighted by @NStyles on X, a shareholder asked whether there was a specific reason for the shortage of consoles and whether Nintendo had failed to predict the extraordinary consumer response at the time of launch.
Furukawa was understandably vague regarding the details but apologized for not meeting the demand, acknowledging that even some shareholders had not yet been able to get their hands on the new console.
“Currently, in many countries, the demand for the Switch 2 exceeds supply, and we are unable to meet it. We are aware that some shareholders have also been unable to get one. In April, we began accepting sales via lottery on the My Nintendo Store. The response far exceeded our expectations, and I announced on X that there were 2.2 million participants, while also offering my apologies.”
“Since then, we’ve held four lottery sales, but some people were not selected. We have announced that the fifth lottery will begin in July. Many general retailers have also organized lottery sales. The number of stores offering direct sales is gradually increasing.”
“As a company, we are working to improve our production system to deliver as many units as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this initial demand, which has far exceeded our expectations.”
Improving the Lottery System
Discussing the lottery sales system in more detail to respond to a follow-up question, Furukawa stated that the company had received both positive and negative feedback and aims to improve the system for future products.
Furukawa also emphasized the importance of having a Nintendo Account as a prerequisite to participate in the lottery, noting how customer relationships often ended when transitioning to a new hardware generation in the past. He believes the Nintendo Account is crucial for maintaining long and positive relationships with customers.
