Nintendo is expected to make 6 million fewer Switch consoles as chip shortages continue

• The Nintendo Switch could soon become as scarce as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
• Nintendo is cutting production of the console by 20%, according to a new Nikkei report.

As Nintendo nears the 100 million units sold mark on its wildly popular Nintendo Switch console, the Japanese gaming giant is being forced to decrease production.

Nintendo is expected to decrease production of its flagship gaming console by as much as 20%, according to a new report from Nikkei. The reason, like so many other recent consumer goods shortages, is the ongoing global microchip shortage.

"We are assessing their impact on our production," a Nintendo spokesperson told Nikkei.

Nintendo was expected to produce 30 million Nintendo Switch consoles between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, but has reduced that expectation to 24 million, the report said.

Even with 6 million fewer consoles produced, Nintendo is still expected to reach and exceed 100 million units sold before the end of its fiscal quarter in March 2022. The company already sold over 89 million units as of June 30, 2021, according to Nintendo's investor information page.

That puts the Switch in a short list of Nintendo's best-selling game consoles of all time, ahead of the Wii (101 million units sold) as the best-selling home game console, but still tens of millions of units behind its handhelds (the Nintendo DS sold over 150 million units).

Despite having launched way back in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch has remained popular and continues to sell well against much more powerful competition from Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series S and Series X. The innovative handheld / home console from Nintendo still regularly outsells both competitors in the United States, according to sales tracking firm The NPD Group.

With a major new Pokemon game still in the works for the Switch expected to launch in January, and a sequel to the last "Legend of Zelda" game still on the horizon, it's unlikely that the console's popularity will wane anytime soon.

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