Slugfest! Nintendo Fights Apple in the Factories
Looks like you Black Friday maniacs aren’t the only ruthless ones. Nintendo fights Apple over increased production of the Nintendo Switch in time for the holiday season. If she look like a cell phone, chances are she uses cell phone parts, and that is exactly what the head-butting is all about.
Nintendo shares a big component production line with the tech giant Apple, so much so that the two must balance out their production output so as not to disturb the other. A new report suggests that because of its desire to increase production of the Switch, Nintendo is having to compete with companies like Apple (as well as other smartphone makers) for production parts. But Apple has a much bigger bankroll than Nintendo, and it is very apparent.
Analysts point out that “rivals for the sought-after parts can often offer better terms than Nintendo.” Those who make servers and high-end electronics “tend to use new and higher-margin components,” and those in the smartphone game have “larger orders” than Nintendo and with bigger names: Samsung, LG, and HTC. Most of these companies share production parts with other products they manufacture, such as in Samsung’s case. Nintendo’s only got the Switch and a limited window in which to make them.
But NIntendo is well-aware of the demand and doesn’t want history to repeat itself: the Wii U missed its sales targets by a wide margin and left a surplus of last-gen consoles on the shelf. Nintendo has the reverse problem right now, with an anticipated high demand and no way of satisfying that demand. Historically, Nintendo has not been good about keeping that balance with its NES emulator that instantly sold out, was on hold, then eventually discontinued. The same can be said for the SNES emulator that Nintendo currently has no supply for.
Feels like Nintendo is floundering again, this time on the other side of the spectrum.