Coronavirus: Nintendo Switch Stopping Shipment To Japan; US, Europe Unaffected

Fans waiting for the Nintendo Switch restocks in Japan will be disappointed.

According to a report by Nikkei, Nintendo has suspended shipment of its Switch consoles to Japan amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The report cited that the entertainment and tech giant couldn’t keep up with the massive demand due to the logistical problems caused by the global health crisis.

Fortunately for fans in the U.S. and Europe, shipment will continue as Nintendo still has inventory in the said areas.

However, it is worth noting that the demand for Switch in the U.S. has been increasing due to the coronavirus. As more people practice social distancing and stay at home instead, gaming is also seeing a massive increase.

Last March, Nintendo acknowledged that the console has sold old, both online and in partner stores. While there are some who still have their product, it was really hard to find and people would be lucky to buy one in physical stores.

Moreover, due to the surge in demand, there are third-party resellers who are exploiting it selling the console for a much higher price – some for almost double the original price.

As of writing, the Nintendo store is remains sold out despite offering three colors of Nintendo Switch Lite and a refurbished version.

Nintendo Switch Games Coming

Amid the ongoing pandemic, it has been recently revealed that several popular titles are getting Switch ports.

First among the upcoming games in Nintendo’s lineup are renowned 2K Games titles such as BioShock, Borderlands and XCOM. In their reveal, the Japanese company said that Switch ports for the said games will arrive this May 29, 2020.

Aside from those, several remastered version of “Mario” games have been rumored to be coming to Switch as part of the 35^th anniversary of the game. However, no further details have been revealed.

Lastly, as reported recently, the award-winning indie game “Disco Elysium” is also launching on the console. According to the game’s execs, they are already working on the project and that it should arrive sooner rather than later.

“Disco Elysium” bagged three awards in the recent BAFTA Games Awards, including Best Debut Game, Best Music and Best Narrative.

Coronavirus Crisis

As of writing, there are over 1.5 million positive coronavirus cases all over the world. The U.S. has the most number of infected with 430,000 – including more than 14,000 deaths.

Government and health officials all over the world are advising people to stay at home, with several even strictly implementing a total lockdown and stay-at-home orders in order to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.