Nintendo says the coronavirus is delaying Switch production
Nintendo has informed consumers in its home market of Japan that production and shipments of the Switch console and accessories will experience delays due to the effect of the new coronavirus. The Animal Crossing-themed variant of the Switch, which was only announced last week, has had its preorder availability pushed back from Saturday to an unspecified date. The company apologizes for the trouble and says it’ll keep on monitoring the situation.
It’s not clear whether the delays will affect shipments elsewhere. Nintendo specifically references hardware produced in China and sold in Japan, but last year the company started diversifying its supply chain and building some units in Southeast Asia specifically for the US market to avoid US tariffs. Most Switch consoles are said to be built by Foxconn, which is keeping its Chinese factories shuttered for at least another week.
[任天堂HP]「新型コロナウイルス感染症による、Nintendo Switchなどの生産および出荷への影響について（お詫び）」を掲載しました。 https://t.co/bC3ffOPXZ8
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) February 6, 2020
Nintendo also warns that Ring Fit Adventure will experience further delays in Japan. The popular new fitness RPG, which makes use of a pilates ring-style controller, had already been selling well domestically to the point that Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa apologized to investors for the lack of supply to East Asia last week.
Nintendo has informed consumers in its home market of Japan that production and shipments of the Switch console and accessories will experience delays due to the effect of the new coronavirus. The Animal Crossing-themed variant of the Switch, which was only announced last week, has had its preorder availability pushed…
