Kirby be platinum.

This is all great news. I hope the Switch continues to sell really well.

So it looks like the 16 million projection we heard a bit ago is false, but selling 12 million in the first year still sounds optimistic to me despite the strong launch response. Anything's possible of course, and I don't doubt the power of a holiday with a new Mario title.

You know, I kind of get the idea of artificial demand, from a business standpoint. I think it's smart for Nintendo to only ship in controlled doses so that they can weigh the amount of consumer demand. Obviously, there's still a lot of people who want to play Zelda since that's literally the only thing on the system right now and the demand is still very high, but I think the fact that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a port and offers a meager amount of new content (your mileage may vary on battle mode) also allows them to test the waters and see how impacting a high-profile title and a high-profile port generate demand. With ARMS, you have a new IP that tests the waters, again, with artificial demand, you can see how many people are still jumping on the boat for those sorts of releases. Splatoon 2 is a sequel to one of the most impacting Wii U titles- will is be able to maintain the momentum of its predecessor, or will it falter because of a state of artificial demand? Will there be enough market saturation at that point?

Sure, it sucks that some people don't have their hands on the system, but the current install base does have to deal with the growing pains of the OS and technology. Seeing as Switch isn't as revolutionary as Wii and doesn't seem to have the same demand (at least not yet), I still think this a good opportunity for Nintendo to experiment and gather data by creating their own environment via artificial demand- whether they claim that it's the case or not. Let's face it, the video game industry is dwindling and the media is maintaining a niche community, Nintendo may go the way of many distributors of physical content (i.e. toy companies) and creating an environment in which Switch doesn't reach the highs of former consoles but maintains profitability might be a high priority on their list.

Am I making sense, or just babbling?

The Switch isn't generating a media fury, like the Wii did.  That's for sure.  And we still don't know if the demand for Switch is that much higher or if Nintendo is just keeping a better production pace.

That being said, I think Nintendo is holding back some inventory for ARMS and Splatoon.  There seems to be a lot of faith in both, and pushing out more units with games that are meant to move units sounds like a smart idea.  Although, forced artificial scarcity is a relatively effective business practice as well.

Nintendo originally said they were going to ship 2 million consoles in March, they ended up producing almost a million more based on demand.  All retail accounts show the system is constantly sold out worldwide every time a new shipment is released.  There's no artificial shortage going on, they're literally getting them out as fast as they can right now.  After the 3DS and Wii U's launch, there's a reason Nintendo was more conservative this time which is why it'll take some time before they can properly meet demand.

Seriously, this is like Amiibos all over again.  These things aren't being made in Miyamoto's garage where they can just easily increase production if they want.  The factories that are making these products are making other companies products as well.  It takes time for these manufacturers to have the ability to properly product more units, especially if Nintendo want 5 times more then they were originally expecting.

Plus I wouldn't really care too much about not having the type of media attention the Wii did.  The DS was never all over the news like the Wii was and yet the DS ended up selling over 50 million more units.  Even at the height of the Wii's popularity the DS was selling just as well despite the not generating anywhere near the same attention.

Now I'm not saying the Switch will sell better then the Wii but it's already off to a better start then any other Nintendo system in history.  People still can't stop talking about Zelda and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a ton of hype as well.  Just because the nightly news isn't talking about Grandma breaking her TV because she was playing Wii Sports doesn't mean a large amount of the public isn't crazy about the Switch.

The Wii's success got mainstream press because it was selling with people that don't normally play videogames.  The Switch isn't doing that, it's "merely" a success with the typical videogame audience.  But that makes sense.  It's killer app is Breath of the Wild and that has enough complexity and sheer size that only people already into videogames would be interested.  The Wii is probably the only system to get the type of media attention it did (the NES was big but in a "look at what the kids today are playing" way) but there have been lots of a very successful consoles over the years and if the Switch can match those Nintendo will be thrilled.

Is this system sold out in most stores?
or is Amazon just not carrying the product New?

Amazon had a large restock last week (to coincide with MK8 Deluxe) and it sold out in a few hours.

What I understand about sales is it's not impossible to get, but it sales pretty fast. I've never seen a fresh one at wal-mart but have seen some at Gamestop.