Will SA retailers have enough Nintendo Switch stock for holidays?

More than half a year after its release and the Nintendo Switch is still enjoying chart-topping sales around the world. The hybrid console has also seen a steady stream of quality games and third-party goods.

Now, with the holiday season around the corner, it got us wondering about possible Switch shortages in the country for the Christmas rush.

“It’s our must-have for gamers (and non-gamers alike!) this season; we will have limited stock at the current price, but there should be sufficient stock in South Africa for festive [season – ed],” said Takealot marketing representative Lucie Bartlett in an emailed response to Gearburn.

“The Switch is selling around two million units a month globally and the demand is so great that Takealot.com will probably only get new stock in January, as they can’t manufacture it quick enough to meet demand. Although at Takealot we hope to have enough stock for festive we know for a fact the console will sell quick and might sell out,” Bartlett added in a follow-up email.

The Nintendo Switch has enjoyed steady sales in South Africa, online retailers told Gearburn

The online retailer also dished out a few interesting nuggets regarding its Switch sales.

“At Takealot.com, the Nintendo Switch was the biggest contributor to our gaming department’s growth and revenue for three months after launch.  Right now it is second after the PS4,” the representative noted. In fact, the company said that 350 customers have bought more than one Switch.

What about the online retailer’s most popular titles on the Switch? Bartlett said that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the top-selling title, saying they “sold more copies of the game than we did of the console”. An upcoming title is due to eclipse Zelda though…

“Super Mario Odyssey (currently on pre-order and out this week) is on course to triple Zelda‘s sales by the time of release,” the Takealot representative said.

Raru and BT Games on Switch stock

As for Raru, are they expecting shortages during the holiday season?

“There will be plenty of stock available on Switch hardware, other than the Super Mario Odyssey edition, as these are in limited supply,” Raru head of retail Ramone Pickover told us. So does that mean you can wait for December and there’ll definitely be stock?

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. Super Mario Odyssey has definitely increased interest on the platform, and whilst there are no current shortages, increased demand may have an impact on availability during peak festive period.”

The Raru representative also shed light on the console’s retail performance, saying sales have been “steady” since the March launch, but “nowhere near” the PS4 and Xbox One.

“However, Switch software sales have been excellent… our pre-order allocations always sell out and we continue to sell software regularly after release day.”

Pickover also revealed the top five Switch titles right now on Raru, in the form of Super Mario Odyssey, Skyrim, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Doom and Pokken Tournament DX. It marked the first time since Raru stocked Nintendo consoles that third party games were in the top five sellers, the representative explained.

A BT Games representative told Gearburn it was too early to tell whether they’d have a load of stock for the festive season, saying they were still planning for the period.