Nintendo is doubling production of the Switch to meet unprecedented demand

If you're at all interested in gaming, you probably know by now: The Nintendo Switch is extremely difficult to get your hands on. The new games console is the hottest gadget around right now, and is sold out just about everywhere.And now it looks like Nintendo has taken note of this unexpectedly high demand. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Japanese games company has decided to "at least double" production of the Nintendo Switch over the next financial year ' it will build 16 million rather than the 8 million originally planned.One of the WSJ's sources told it that Nintendocould sell as many as 2.5 million units in March, ahead of public estimates of 2million.A Nintendo spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.The Switch has radically reinterpreted the idea of what it means to be a games console. You can play it on a TV, like a traditional console ' but you can also pull the device out of its dock and take it on the go, like a Gameboy-esque handheld gaming unit. It's controlled by two detachable controllers (called "joycon") that snap onto the side of the console when it is being used as a handheld.Much of the buzz around the console comes as a result of flagship title "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," which has received rave reviews, and is currently one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic of all time.Nintendo has already sold an estimated 1.5 million Switches since its early March launch, though it has yet to release any official data on sales. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that early sales of the devices were the fastest (in America) of any console Nintendo has ever launched ' even outselling the Wii.Launched in 2006, the motion-controlled Nintendo Wii was wildly popular, ultimately selling more than 100 million units globally over its lifetime. Its successor, the Wii U, was regarded as a disappointment ' so if Nintendo has managed to recapture the original Wii's magic, it has a lot to be excited about.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: This animation shows how terrifyingly powerful nuclear weapons have become
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