Beware: Nintendo warns buyers about Switch scammers online

techradar.com:

Nintendo has warned gamers about fake websites that are supposedly selling Switch consoles at a heavily discounted price.

The company issued a statement via their Japanese site (thanks, Siliconera) and said that one nefarious website, in particular, is purporting to be an official retailer, using the company’s name and logo, in order to shift “significantly discounted” hot ticket items, such as the Nintendo Switch OLED model.

“If you purchase a product on a fake site, you may be scammed by fraudulent acquisition of personal information,” the statement reads (auto-translated from the original Japanese.) “Please be careful not to mistake it for our website, and do not purchase products from fake websites.”

Nintendo didn’t name or link to the site in question, but it’s striking that it felt the need to issue a direct rebuke. 

It’s a strongly-worded statement, linking to the Japanese consumer rights agency, and the cybercrime department of the Japanese police. 

The Switch continues to be the best-selling console on the market and is edging its way towards the 100m units sold mark. Due to its success, it means there’s next-to-no-chance of an official retailer selling any of its models for a discount. In fact, keeping the consoles in stock has been an issue for nearly two years, given the continued supply issues that have plagued the industry since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The result: a hardware market often run by scalpers, bulk buyers who mark up prices substantially above retail value, and scammers. The PS5 remains in short supply, so much so that Sony is ramping up production of PS4s, while the GPU market is a mess too.

As long as supply is constrained, there will always be a chance of undesirables preying on