Earlier this month in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro, around 3,000 people lined up at a retailer for a chance to buy one of 105 Switch consoles.




As Game Memo and Science Plus report, the line was recently featured on Japanese morning show Tokudane. As with other Switch sales in Japan, people lined up to get a raffle number. Winners got the chance to buy one of the consoles. The others got nothing.


This isn’t the first time the Switch has drawn a line of 3,000 people or more in Japan. The weekend before did just that. However, those retailers reportedly had more consoles with numbers like 300 or 500 consoles given.

Three thousand people trying to get one of 105 consoles ain’t good odds!

Tokudane also sent one of its reporters to 48 different stores in Tokyo to try to walk right in and buy a Switch.


The console wasn’t available at any of them.


People don’t have a choice but to line up. These two have been lining up nearly every week since May to buy one for their grandchild.

For the time being, expect the Nintendo Switch shortages to continue in Japan.