More at the link: http://asia.nikkei.com/Japan-Update/Nintendo-makes-investors-rich-little-boys-cry
I'll skip most financial figures in the article since we already have threads on that.
____
With Japanese retailers using lotteries/raffles to give people the chance to buy a Switch, this couple brought their 3-year old daughter with them to increase the odds.
People in Japan have been scammed buying a Switch box [empty] for the price of a Switch because they didn't read the description.
One scammer tricked a boy on Twitter by trading a Switch for online gift cards. He lost a year's worth of allowances.
But the boy then received a Switch from a good Samaritan however, he received flak for getting the Switch from a scalper.
Japanese society blames scalpers and their customers for giving the resale market a bad name.
Nintendo apologises for the global shortages.
Nintendo was quoted saying, "Do my best!"
Details of what Nintendo's targets are and how they aim to reach them.
Masahiro Ono, analyst at Morgan Stanley thinks the supply problems have not led to immediate lost sales opportunities because of strong software lineups from Nintendo.
However, he cautioned that Nintendo would still have trouble meeting demand due to the tight supply of NAND flash memory chips.
I'll skip most financial figures in the article since we already have threads on that.
____
With Japanese retailers using lotteries/raffles to give people the chance to buy a Switch, this couple brought their 3-year old daughter with them to increase the odds.
Major electronics retailers in Japan have been managing the shortage by handing out raffle tickets to potential buyers.
"My husband wanted one so badly that he made me line up with him two weekends in a row," said a 28-year-old accounting consultant in Tokyo. "We even brought our 3-year-old daughter [to increase our odds of winning one]."
People in Japan have been scammed buying a Switch box [empty] for the price of a Switch because they didn't read the description.
Fans are so desperate for a Switch that scammers were found using a popular flea market app to play an empty box trick. Their postings make it look as though a buyer can expect a console and multiple game titles for slightly above the Switch's suggested retail price of 29,980 yen, excluding taxes. The listings actually mentioned "box only," but the words could have been easily missed in the long description.
One scammer tricked a boy on Twitter by trading a Switch for online gift cards. He lost a year's worth of allowances.
Scammers are also taking to Twitter, saying they'll trade Switch consoles for online gift cards. A middle school student said he lost almost a year's worth of allowances by falling for this ploy. He tweeted about being victimized, and a soft-hearted tweep responded by offering to give the kid a secondhand Switch.
But the boy then received a Switch from a good Samaritan however, he received flak for getting the Switch from a scalper.
But even this act of kindness opened a can of worms. The student ended up receiving a brand new console, which the good Samaritan later revealed had been bought from an online auction site. Switch consoles are trading for at least 10,000 yen above suggested retail price on these sites. The story's hero ended up taking some online flak.
Japanese society blames scalpers and their customers for giving the resale market a bad name.
Nintendo apologises for the global shortages.
Nintendo was quoted saying, "Do my best!"
In Japan, resale markets have a bad name. Not only are scalpers looked down on for cornering the market for hot items, their customers are blamed for letting these markets flourish.
Put it down to Nintendo's failure to meet demand. In late June, the company issued an apology and a promise to ramp up production. "We are aware that shortages are ongoing globally. We are doing our best" to deliver consoles, a Nintendo spokesman said.
Details of what Nintendo's targets are and how they aim to reach them.
Now buoyed by the Switch, Nintendo is targeting a consolidated operating profit of 65 billion yen for the current fiscal year, a 120% increase over the year earlier figure. Consolidated revenue is expected to rise 53% to 750 billion yen, which would return the company to revenue growth for the first time in nine years.
To meet the target, Nintendo told suppliers and assemblers to increase Switch production to at least 18 million units in the year ending March 2018, the Financial times reported in late May. This goal, the FT said, reflects fears of "customer tantrums."
Masahiro Ono, analyst at Morgan Stanley thinks the supply problems have not led to immediate lost sales opportunities because of strong software lineups from Nintendo.
However, he cautioned that Nintendo would still have trouble meeting demand due to the tight supply of NAND flash memory chips.
Masahiro Ono, an analyst at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, said the supply problems have not led to immediate lost sales opportunities, largely thanks to the company's strategy of offering major blockbuster titles early on.
"Nintendo fans are waiting to get their hands on the major titles," he said. "Even if the console is shipped late, these people are most certainly buying them."
Still, Ono cautioned that Nintendo will have a hard time meeting demand. Supplies of Switch's key components, such as flash memory chips, he said, "remain quite tight."