Nintendo promises no supply problems for the Switch console

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Having got our hands on the Nintendo Switch this week, we're looking forward to the console's official on-sale date of March 3 even more. However, there has been concern that supplies of the Switch will be limited, with some pre-order configurations selling out.

Panic not, US Nintendo chief Reggie Fils-Aime has told Wired: the company doesn't want any supply issues, and is going to work hard to make sure that anyone who wants to buy a Nintendo Switch in March can do so.

Fils-Aime says around two million Switches are being prepped for the first few weeks, which should be enough to cover demand, especially as we're not in a time of "peak seasonality" (which we're presuming is the run-up to Christmas).

Switching it up

Some of the concern from gamers has been prompted by the NES Classic launch, where demand has far exceeded supply. According to Fils-Aime, Nintendo was surprised by the popularity of the retro gaming box, but that won't be the case with the Switch.

The Nintendo boss also revealed more details about the Switch's online service, confirming that the one free game a month will only be free for that month. He also said there's more information on the way about backwards compatibility with Wii U games.

With just weeks to go, there are still questions to be answered about the Nintendo Switch, but we're slowly getting the full picture of the 2017 and what it can do. Most recently, Nintendo confirmed that the Switch won't support the StreetPass feature and the Miiverse social network.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.