Nintendo Sees Overwhelming Demand for Switch 2 in Japan

Nintendo said it sees overwhelming demand for its upcoming Switch 2 game console in Japan, in a sign the gadget may still be on track for the biggest hardware launch in the industry's history.

The Kyoto-based company introduced a lottery system to deal with high demand in its domestic market, putting a priority on customers who played frequently and made online subscription purchases on the original Switch.

“We have received 2.2 million applications for the lottery sale at our official online store for customers in Japan alone, which is far larger than what we had anticipated,” Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa posted on X Wednesday. “As such, we apologise that a significant number of the applicants won't be selected.”

The $450 (roughly Rs. 38,407) Switch 2 will be key to the company's future, succeeding the blockbuster success of the eight-year-old Switch. In Japan, the console will sell for 49,980 yen ($350 or roughly Rs. 29,870) in an edition exclusively in Japanese language — almost a quarter cheaper, which helped buoy demand at home. Pre-orders in the US, which had been delayed to better gauge the impact of tariffs, begin on Thursday.

Nintendo's Tokyo-traded shares rose as much as 5.5 percent on Thursday, its biggest intraday gain in two weeks.

“As Japan accounts for a third of the global Switch installation base, it implies 6.6 million pre-orders globally,” said Pelham Smithers of Japan-focused equity research house Pelham Smithers Associates.

Analysts had earlier forecast that Nintendo will be able to produce between six million and eight million consoles by the time the Switch 2 hits shelves on June 5. Sony Group's PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 are tied for the best launch to date, with each selling 4.5 million units in their first two months on the market.

Furukawa said Nintendo is taking various measures to ramp up production.

The Switch 2's debut has been marred by President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policy. About a third of the new console's units are assembled in Vietnam, which was hit with a 46 percent tariff before the US gave it a 90-day reprieve at the lower rate of 10 percent. Last week, the company said it was raising prices for Switch 2 accessories in the US and that “other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future.”

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