In recent years, several high profile games have fallen into the hands of players before their official release date thanks to stores who started selling games ahead of time. Nintendo is not fine with this, and it seems like it has taken some countermeasures that may have some unwanted consequences.
Nintendo has recently confirmed to Games Industry that they are consistently reviewing their shopping scheduled to avoid street dates getting broken in Europe. This obviously will impact smaller, independent stores more, as big online stores will still be able to get shipments earlier to ensure that customers receive their orders on release day.
UK indie stores are definitely worried about the matter, as products released by the Japanese company have been doing great this year and this has helped them considerably.
"It's a bit of a worry. Nintendo is doing so well at the moment, and it's been a boost to us in what would have been a difficult year. If I end up getting stock late, then customers will just shop at the supermarket instead."
The Nintendo Switch's global success has definitely helped the industry as a whole, and it looks like things are set to be even better in the next few weeks. Earlier this month, Nintendo reported that their new console may reach Wii levels of sales soon.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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