GameStop has just finished its post-earnings conference call, revealing information about the Nintendo Switch, and how much of a hassle it will be trying to get one moving forward. The company expects there will be inventory problems through the rest of the year.
As noted by GameSpot, the retailer says demand for the Switch is “incredibly strong.” Every time the company gets more Switches in, they have been sold out again within hours. What’s even more crazy is the company says the Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have sold just about evenly, meaning almost every Switch owner also has Zelda.
GameStop is also reporting consumer interest in the Switch and Microsoft’s Project Scorpio are “at PS4 levels or higher.” Seeing as how the PS4 has sold like hotcakes, this paints a nice future for the two consoles. That being said, interest doesn’t equal dollars, so don’t count this as a win for Nintendo or Microsoft just yet.
Speaking of the Scorpio, GameStop is strongly anticipating VR support, given how the PlayStation VR has been a big success for the company. GameStop’s CEO, Tony Bartel, said, "You have to believe others will want to get into that [VR] game. So that's one of the reasons we're bullish [on Scorpio]." PSVR also saw a recent spike in sales, thanks to Resident Evil 7.
As for the rest of the earnings call, the general trend is that sales weren’t as strong for GameStop’s holiday season as the company would have liked. The company did note that a large earner of profits was the growing number of non-gaming items now in stock, and anticipates these items to continue to sell well in 2017. The new hardware should also be a boon to profits as well.
So what do you think? Are you interested in getting a Switch or Scorpio? Are you sad to hear it may be hard to get a Switch for a while? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
