Yes. I believe Nintendo is simply too cheap to properly produce enough Switches fast enough. I think they think the shortages make the product look good so they're happy to do it, but mainly I think they simply don't want to buy another factory to produce their parts.

It's probably a major investment that they'd have to hold onto no matter what generation of consoles they're on.

I believe the problem isn't as pronounced with Sony and Microsoft because they have all kinds of tech they need produced every day. Xbox stops selling, switch the production lines over to making PC products. Nintendo however, only makes one product.

I don't really blame Nintendo for any of this. Nor do I believe I've completely described the problem. Just my random guess.

Yes it the same with the Wii

What I'm ultimately saying is a Switch shortage can have more than one cause. Sometimes it's a shortage of a components like what's going on with the Switch (or to a degree, slowing production) or an inability to manufacture units fast enough to satisfy demand because demand is simply so large. Another is scalpers buying up as many units as possible so as to sell them later for a profit. Sometimes it's incompetence whether that be not putting into operation enough assembly lines or not stocking up enough units before launch date arrives.

Sometimes it's a combination of the aforementioned. Just because Nintendo is having trouble putting Switch units on store shelves does not guarantee that it's due to Nintendo employing scarcity marketing. Scarcity marketing is NOT the only potential explanations for empty store shelves.

Let's not affirm the consequent: just because we see empty store shelves does NOT guarantee that it's due to scarcity marketing. There are other potential explanations that have not been eliminated as being potential causes.

Given the well covered parts shortage and Nintendo's resorting to expensive air shipping, the idea that the Switch's stock issues are manufactured by Nintendo simply doesn't hold up.

I think a lot of people just can't believe or don't want to believe that demand for the Switch is as high as it is.

I agree that the switch shortages could have more than one cause or that it's unintentional but then again, the odds that nintendo is using scarcity marketing to help sell the switch is very high considering nintendo's extensive history with  short- *cough scarcity marketing *cough -ages. I'm not looking just at the switch shortages to come up with the idea that nintendo has used and is still using scarcity marketing.

Now I have another question for you: how many of these previous shortages have been confirmed to be instances of scarcity marketing and how were they confirmed to be instances of scarcity marketing?

That's what I'm curious about. People here and there said a few stories in regards to Nintendo pulling off artificial shortages. But what was really going on during the days of the NES? Was it a product of the time when the US Video Game Crash affected how Nintendo operated in NA? Did we, as gamers and fans of Nintendo and their IPs, anticipated the success of amiibo before Nintendo? Did anyone anticipate the Wii's overwhelming success? Or the DS Lite's, especially when the original DS didn't necessarily got off to a good start?

There could've been a lot of factors affecting sales of some of Nintendo's products outside of artificial shortages. Whether true or not, there's usually more to a story right?

Shh. People like to think of the Nintendo as an all-knowing entity of genius greed. If they find out the Big N misreads the market like common goobers, then it will destroy their conspiracy theories.

There are a myriad of factors that affect a product getting from planning table to people's homes. I fear that sometimes, suspicion alone is enough proof to just settle on one potential cause for shortages.

And I for one did not foresee the success of the Wii or DS but then again, I wasn't giving it much thought back then.

Which previous Nintendo consoles had massive shortages?

The only one I can think of would be Wii, which was the fastest selling console in history at the time and was a much larger success than virtually anybody thought it would be.

Nintendo temporarily halted production of Gamecube because it had too much stock and Wii U actually had units sent back at one point due to excess stock.