Nintendo President Apologizes for Switch 2 Shortage — Demand Far Surpasses Expectations

Okay, so picture this: Nintendo’s top guy, Shuntaro Furukawa—imagine him all formal and serious—stands up in front of a bunch of fancy-looking people at their big yearly meeting. It’s like the 85th one, which, wow, that’s a lot of meetings. Anyway, he’s there saying sorry because everyone just went bonkers over their new Switch 2. Yeah, this thing flew off the shelves faster than a kid hyped up on sugar. Absolute chaos in Japan, apparently. Folks are like, “Where’s mine?” Meanwhile, over in the U.S. and U.K., people are chilling with their new consoles. Feels a bit unfair if you ask me?

Furukawa’s telling everyone they tried to do this lottery thing. You know, like when you put your name in a big bowl and hope lady luck smiles your way. They got millions of entries. Imagine that! 2.2 million people, dreaming of getting their hands on a Switch 2. This guy had to stand there and be like, “Sorry, folks, please don’t be mad.” I bet some of those people in the room were the unlucky ones. Oof, awkward.

So they’re running more of these lottery sales. And now, somehow, stores are beginning to sell them regularly. Like, can you imagine the scene? People walking into shops like it’s a normal grocery run but for gaming consoles. Nintendo’s hustling to make more of these things ’cause, wow, did they misjudge how many people wanted one.

Apparently, Nintendo focused more on where the money’s at—yep, the U.S. and Europe. Japan’s third in line for the cash they bring in, so you sorta get why they didn’t put as many there. Though, still feels a bit… meh? Like, Japanese fans missing out on their homegrown stuff? That’s gotta sting. Oh, and then there were a few hiccups—like, boxes being tampered with and screens getting jabbed by staples. Who even does that, right?

Even with all this hullabaloo, the Switch 2 launch is killing it globally. Remember the whole fuss with Nvidia’s cards and the PS5? Now that was a circus! Scalpers making bank, and gamers just gnashing teeth. But this time, at least if you’re in certain places, it’s mostly smooth sailing. Just gotta know where to look if you’re Stateside or across the pond in the UK.

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