Console Wars Ceasefire: Nintendo And Others Plagued By Supply Chain Difficulties

The Nintendo Switch recently just outsold the legendary Wii. Sony’s Playstation 5 was the best-selling console of January, according to Business Insider. The Xbox Series S also outsold Nintendo’s hybrid console last month. And yet, all three gaming giants are currently plagued by the consumer supply chain crisis, influencing a wide variety of industries and declaring somewhat of a ceasefire on the console wars of 2022.

According to NPD Group Executive Director Mat Piscatella, chip shortages, along with supply chain issues have been a significant factor in console sales for the last year and a half. Consequently, it has become very difficult to predict what the video game market will look like going forward.

"Supply has played a role in the console sales rankings since around September 2020," Piscatella told Insider. “Market shares are swinging rather dramatically from week to week and month to month, driven entirely by supply of consoles."

The highly anticipated "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" was just released on the Switch on Jan. 28, so it will be interesting to see how it affects the sales for Nintendo's console.

When analyzing console sales, it is also crucial to look at price points, as Nintendo’s Switch family of consoles starts at $200, while the Playstation 5 starts at $400.

Nintendo had a wildly successful 2021, largely driven by its elite lineup of games. You can check out the best ones here.