Nintendo blames coronavirus for delayed Switch shipments and apologizes

Shipments of peripherals such as Joy-Cons and Ring Fit Adventure are also affected

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The Switch has reportedly sold the same number of consoles as Microsoft’s Xbox One but in half the time. (Picture: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg)

Josh Ye

Published: 4:11pm, 6 Feb 2020Updated: 5:49pm, 14 Feb 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Nintendo issued a statement apologizing for delays in shipments of Nintendo Switch hardware, attributing it to the coronavirus outbreak in China, where much of the company’s manufacturing is located. Shipments of Switch peripherals such as Joy-Cons and fitness game Ring Fit Adventure are also affected, the Japanese gaming giant said.

The Nintendo Switch has been extremely popular since it launched in 2017, with the company recently disclosing that it had passed the Super Nintendo in shipments. But this popularity seems to have constrained supplies as complaints about a lack of consoles have been common. Recently fans have been complaining about being unable to find Ring Fit Adventure, Nintendo’s hit new exercise game that’s currently out of stock at many retailers.

The coronavirus epidemic is now affecting many tech companies, which rely heavily on supply chains in China. Apple had to shut down production for 10 days and now projects it will ship 5% to 10% fewer iPhones than before. Disruption of electronics production in China is expected to persist into the near future, according to analysts.

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