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There is pent-up demand for more powerful gaming device

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Company has pledged to strengthen production capacity

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Switch 2 sales to pass 100 million in 2030 - research firm

(Updates with closing share price in paragraph 17)

By Sam Nussey and Tom Bateman

TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - Gaming fans queued up for the

launch of Nintendo's ( NTDOF ) Switch 2 on Thursday amid pent-up

demand for the more powerful next-generation gaming device.

"The level of demand seems to be sky-high," said Serkan

Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.

In the Ikebukuro shopping district of Tokyo, dozens of

successful applicants to a sales lottery by electronics retailer

Bic Camera ( BICMF ) lined up before the store opened to collect

their devices.

"I feel like I'm going to cry," Yumi Ohi, a 30-year-old

delivery contractor, told Reuters.

Ohi had missed out in other lotteries and had come from

Saitama prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, to receive her Switch 2.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) has sold 152 million Switch home-portable devices

since launching in 2017. It became a games juggernaut with

titles including two "The Legend of Zelda" titles and COVID-19

pandemic breakout hit "Animal Crossing: New Horizons".

The Switch 2 bears many similarities with its predecessor

but offers a larger screen and improved graphics and debuts with

titles including "Mario Kart World".

"The much larger audience of Switch users should translate

to stronger adoption in the opening part of its lifecycle," said

Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Ampere Analysis.

"Nintendo ( NTDOF ) is better prepared this time around" to deal with

the high demand, he said.

The launch of the $499.99 Switch 2 is a test of Nintendo's ( NTDOF )

supply chain management during U.S. President Donald Trump's

trade war.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) last month forecast sales of 15 million Switch 2

units during the current financial year, as well as 4.5 million

Switch units.

President Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo ( NTDOF ) will strengthen

production capacity to respond to strong demand and focus on

sales promotion in an effort to exceed the forecast.

"Given it's a special occasion, I wanted to buy (the Switch

2) right away on its release date," said Shinichi Sekiguchi, a

hotel receptionist in his thirties.

Nintendo ( NTDOF ) said it received 2.2 million applications for its

Switch 2 sales lottery on its My Nintendo Store in Japan.

Pre-orders at Target ( TGT ) sold out in less than two hours.

"You are looking at weeks or months until you can walk into

a store and buy a Switch 2," said Toto of Kantan Games.

Investor expectations for the new device are similarly

lofty.

Nintendo's ( NTDOF ) shares, which closed down 2% in Tokyo, have

gained 28% this year.

Concerns include whether momentum for the Switch 2 will be

sustained after hardcore gamers have upgraded.

"The volume of first-party games on offer at launch isn't as

strong as it could be, so some more casual users may wait and

see how the games available build over the next one to two years

before making the leap," said Ampere's Harding-Rolls.

Ampere forecasts Switch 2 sales to exceed 100 million units

in 2030.

"Mario Kart World" has a U.S. sticker price of $79.99,

generating debate over the price of games. Nintendo ( NTDOF ) is also

attracting third-party titles to the system.

"I've been around since the era of the Super Nintendo

Entertainment System and games from (that period) were expensive

too so I think it's somewhat within the acceptable range," said

Akitomo Takahashi, a salesman in his forties.

Takahashi said he was keen to play action role-playing game

"Elden Ring" on his Switch 2.