The launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a bright spot in the past month. The Nintendo Switch exclusive is calming and offers an opportunity to socialize in a clever and fun way. But the novel coronavirus is putting its touch on everything, even gaming. Not only is the Nintendo Switch largely sold out, but there are new reports that Nintendo is shutting down its repair facilities for the duration of the pandemic. Animal Crossing players should take special care of their Switches.
Early Wednesday morning Nintendo posted a notice on its official Nintendo Customer Support website about the closure. "Due to preventive measures put in place for the COVID-19 coronavirus, and in accordance with federal and local guidelines, our repair centers are closed until further notice," reads the core message. Nintendo's message goes on to apologize for the inconvenience and asks for understanding.
In other words, there will be no further repairs through the official Nintendo repair service for the foreseeable future. Those with recently broken Nintendo Switches or Joy Cons won't be able to contact Nintendo. And those who have already sent in their consoles for repair will face one of two scenarios. If the delivery has been sent but not received by Nintendo, the package will likely be returned as undeliverable. If it has been received by Nintendo, it'll sit at the facility until Nintendo returns.
The FAQ on Nintendo's website doesn't provide much in terms of further information. Asked when Nintendo expects repair service to resume, Nintendo's answer offers no specifics. It only refers to Nintendo following governmental guidance, so it will presumably resume when the US government encourages businesses to go back to normal.
One positive, however, is that Nintendo is extending warranties for the duration of the closure. If a Nintendo Switch owner's warranty expires in the weeks ahead, Nintendo will extend that warranty for those weeks following the repair center reopening.
Unfortunately, those with broken Nintendo Switches don't have any other options at hand, now that repairs have been postponed. There's currently a global shortage of Nintendo Switch consoles due to the spread of COVID-19. While no official comment has been made about the shortage, it's presumably due to manufacturing limitations in Asia. There are also, clearly, other problems regarding shipping in top of supply limitations.