The Nintendo Switch is still popular and in short supply, a combination that has led to a line of 1,000+ South Koreans who wanted to get their hands on the console. On May 1, over a thousand people lined up in Suwon just to enter a lottery for the Switch.
The Suwon lottery only released three hundred tickets for 45 consoles, but that didn’t stop the lines from growing. Similarly, five hundred people lined up in Daegu in the hunt for a Switch. Long lines outside of game stores isn’t an unknown phenomenon; last monthJapanese customers lined up out the doorsof stores sellingRing Fit Adventureand of course,Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
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With the recent release ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsand its new place as thefastest-selling Switch game, many people are clamoring to get their hands on the console and a copy of the game. And because of the proactive and strict measures South Korea has taken to combat the spread of coronavirus, many more people are stuck at home with an abundance of extra time. The combination of cabin fever and more free time has led to a major increase in video gaming.
The shortage and high demand are common to multiple countries around the world. It’s led to a group of people nicknamed “Switch Scalpers”, who bought the Switch in bulk and attempt to sell it at a premium mark-up. This has been a problem online in South Korea, which has no doubt contributed to the influx of people willing to risk congregating in large groups so they can get their hands on a Switch.
The Switch has sold incredibly well, and Nintendo is projecting thatalmost 20 million more Switch units will be soldby the end of the fiscal year. Although the pandemic has slowed the rate of production, demand is high and people are even willing to risk exposure to the virus to get a coveted console. It looks like Nintendo has been fortunate enough to not be too negatively impacted by recent events, something that is uncommon for many struggling businesses at this time.
Still, it remains to be seen what exactly the full impact the virus will have on Nintendo, and the video games industry as a whole.Gamescom will not be held physicallythis year, and nor will E3. These events cancellations have been disappointing to many people, who are probably feeling similarly to the hundreds of South Koreans who waited in line and didn’t get a Switch. Thankfully, there are a ton of free games available online periodically, and people should be on the lookout for future deals and offers.
