Nintendo says chip shortage hitting hardware development

FILE PHOTO: The Nintendo logo is displayed at the Nintendo Tokyo store, in Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 19, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd said on Friday that a global chip shortage which forced the firm to scale back expectations for sales of its hit Switch device is also hitting hardware development.

"The semiconductor situation is having some effect on hardware development," Nintendo executive Ko Shiota, who heads the development team, told an analyst briefing.

"We are looking at substituting components and tweaking designs to try and reduce the impact," he added.

The comments come a day after company president Shuntaro Furukawa said there was no sign of chip shortages easing as Nintendo cut its full-year Switch sales forecast.

The Kyoto-based firm is heavily reliant on its console business at a time when deep-pocketed rivals such as Microsoft are expanding subscription and cloud gaming services.

Nintendo on Friday declined to comment on plans for next-generation hardware but refers to an "integrated hardware-software next gaming system" in company slides.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry Doyle)

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