Nintendo Switch stock selling far faster than company expected, with production set to double

Retailers are only updating their stock every so often – and the consoles are snapped up as soon as they go on sale

Nintendo is doubling production of the Nintendo Switch, as fans struggle to buy the consoles weeks after it was launched.

The console originally launched at the beginning of this month. But even on that release date, it wasn't really possible to buy it – all the pre-orders had been snapped up in advance and people were left waiting for weeks.

That trend has continued in the weeks since, with consoles occasionally arriving on retailers like Argos and the Nintendo official store but quickly being bought. Even big websites like Amazon don't have much stock, leaving people waiting until the end of the month.

The limited stock has meant that the Switch is selling for far more than its retail price on websites like eBay and Amazon.

Now the company is ratcheting up production in an attempt to meet with the huge demand, which reportedly is far bigger than Nintendo had ever expected.

The company will now produce at least 16 million of the consoles in the financial year that starts in April, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The huge sales put the Switch easily on course to beat its predecessor, the Wii U, and might even mean that it seels more than the hugely successful Wii.

Nintendo is likely to give an update on how many units it has sold and how well it is doing when it reports its earnings on 27 April, and makes forecasts for the next year.

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