There's shortages of the Switch because demand is so high and Nintendo in their wildest dreams never anticipated it selling as well as it has been since launch.

i think what really happened is that scalpers have taken over the supply. a lot of people who really wanted to buy the Switch got it during the first month, but i think after that the scalpers just came in take everything after that. im sure theyre putting out as many as they can, but something more seems to be at play here besides artificial demand.

It is possible that they purposely fell short of demand at launch. That creates lots of buzz. It is also possible that they're still affected by that intended shortage at launch. At this point though, they are certainly trying to get as many units as possible into retail channels. There is no hype to build right now, just sales to lose.

There is a reasonable chance that they will purposely be short at the beginning of the holiday season. I think it would be smart to sell out early on Black Friday weekend in the US. That gets you lots of mentions in the news. But, you need to stock all retailers back up by the next weekend, so that you don't lose many sales to XB or PS. Maybe keep it tight for one more week, but have enough supply that parents figure they'll be able to find one before xmas. Then, make sure there is plenty of supply for the last 3 weekends before xmas, so everyone that wants one can get it.

No, so don't believe it. I highly suspect they're limiting supply for Amiibos, though.

Which is true.  However, it's happened so often with Nintendo--from consoles, to cartridges, to Amiibo, to mini consoles--that the perception has grown.  And I'm not entirely convinced that Nintendo could not have done more in some cases to either prepare for or meet unexpected demand.

It's also completely possible that Nintendo's incompetence leads them to underestimate sales of their desirable items. Incompetence happens often.

Or, they get scared because of their massive failures and don't want a repeat, much like you said about them caring about their bottom line.

No it isn't. Every buyer that has to resort to a scalper or loses interest cos they couldn't find one is a lost sale for Nintendo.

It has happened fairly recently, though I don't think it's deliberate. I didn't think the NES mini would do what well either, until I started hearing even kids wanted the system. I figured only old school diehard fans would want it. I think it's a case of sales exceeding Nintendo's low expectations.

They got thier money for that system.

They don't get any money when someone goes home empty handed or buys something else instead because the store doesn't have any Switch stock. You can't rely on demand that's here today still being here months from now, you have to strike while the iron is hot. A lot of prospecive buyers will lose interest or choose an alternative, and those potential sales will be lost.