Summary
Nintendo is turning to Samsung to increase itsSwitch 2production amid skyrocketing demand. After the first Switch experienced widespread shortages for the first few months of its lifecycle, Nintendo has adjusted its approach to prevent a similar situation this time around. The latest move in that endeavor is pegging Samsung for someNintendo Switch 2components to maximize manufacturing output.
Those who’ve attempted to pre-order Nintendo’s latest console can likely attest to how difficult obtaining one has been. The first round of pre-orders was full of outages and confusion, andsome Switch 2 pre-order restocks sold out in minutes, painting an all-too-familiar picture of the system’s initial stock falling below demand. Despite the pre-order chaos, Nintendo remains confident that it can meet people’s availability expectations, and its deal with Samsung could help.
According toa Bloomberg report, Nintendo has tapped Samsung to manufacture processors for the Switch 2 in hopes of increasing its production. With Samsung’s support, the company says it should be able to produce 20 million consoles through March 2026. Originally, Nintendo said it wasaiming to make 15 million Switch 2 unitsfor the system’s first fiscal year, so the new 20 million figure suggests the company may have encountered more demand than it was initially expecting. Alternatively, it could just be citing a higher number just to be safe, but in either case, it hopes Samsung will allow it to avoid the same kinds of shortages the original Switch experienced.
Samsung Could Help Nintendo Produce 20 Million Switch 2 Units Through March 2026
Nintendo already sources some parts from Samsung, including screens and memory units, so this is far from the first collaboration between the two companies. However, choosing Samsung over Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited for Switch 2 processors is a big decision, as TSMC has been the go-to source for chips across the electronics industry for years. Apparently, Nintendo did consider TSMC to produce the Nvidia-designed chipset thatgives the Switch 2 10 times the power of the original, but it ultimately went with Samsung.
Whatever the reasoning behind the decision, Nintendo seems hopeful that the Samsung deal will let it scale production as needed. As long as console assembly can ramp up alongside chip production, the partnership could reportedly push Switch 2 output beyond the 20 million mark if necessary. Even if it doesn’t reach that point, Nintendo’s projections are in line with the original system’s sales, which is significant, considering how theSwitch toppled the PS2 as the best-selling consoleof all time in the U.S. Whether that’ll be enough to meet demand remains to be seen.
