Why it matters: Another tech giant is feeling the effects of the coronavirus outbreak. This time, it’s Nintendo that’s been hit. The gaming giant has announced that shipments of Switch consoles bound for Japan are being delayed.
Nintendo writes that the coronavirus has affected production of Switch consoles, Joy-Cons, and other peripherals that are sold in Japan. The Verge reports that the Animal Crossing-themed variant of the console that was announced last week has had its preorder availability delayed from Saturday to an unspecified date. Additionally, shipments of Ring Fit Adventure, the exercising action-RPG that uses Nintendo’s ring-style controller, will also be delayed in Japan. There’s no word on if shipments to the US will also be affected.
“We would like to offer our deepest apology to our customers for any trouble this is causing,” Nintendo wrote.
[任天堂HP]「新型コロナウイルス感染症による、Nintendo Switchなどの生産および出荷への影響について（お詫び）」を掲載しました。 https://t.co/bC3ffOPXZ8
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) February 6, 2020
Most Switches are said to be built by Foxconn, which has stopped “almost all” of its production in China until February 10 at the earliest due to the coronavirus. In addition to hitting Switch production, the closure is affecting iPhone manufacture, which Tim Cook says will be reflected in the company’s revenue projections for the upcoming quarter.
There have been almost 30,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and over 550 deaths so far. Its impact has been felt across the tech industry, from LG pulling out of Mobile World Congress, to Facebook and Razer restricting employees’ travel to China, and Huawei canceling its developer conference. We've also heard reports that NAND and DRAM supplies won’t be hit, though that could always change.
https://www.techspot.com/news/83896-nintendo-coronavirus-delaying-switch-production-shipments.html
