Gaming fans queued up for the launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 on Thursday, which is widely expected to be in short supply globally due to high demand for the next-generation console.
"The level of demand seems to be sky-high," said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.
In the Ikebukuro shopping district of Tokyo, dozens of successful sales lottery applicants lined up before the store opened to collect their devices.
"I feel like I'm going to cry," Yumi Ohi, a 30 year-old delivery contractor, told Reuters.
Nintendo sold 152 million Switch consoles since its launch in 2017. It became a juggernaut with titles including two games from The Legend of Zelda series and the coronavirus pandemic-era hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The Switch 2 bears many similarities with its predecessor but offers a larger screen and improved graphics and debuts with Mario Kart World.
Last month, Nintendo forecast sales of 15 million Switch 2 units during the current financial year, as well as 4.5 million Switch units.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said the company will strengthen production capacity to respond to demand and focus on sales promotion in an effort to exceed the forecast.
Investor expectations for the new console are also lofty. Nintendo's shares are trading near highs and have gained almost 30 per cent this year.
Switch 2 price
The console has different price points in different regions. In the US, the Switch 2 will cost $449.99 for the base model and $499.99 for the Mario Kart World bundle.
In the UK it will retail at £395 ($517.83), or £429 with Mario Kart. In Japan, there are two version of the base model. The first is a Japanese language-only version which will cost 49,980 yen ($339.36) and a normal base model that costs 69,980 yen. TheMario Kart bundle will cost 53,980 yen.
