EB Games restricts sales of Ring Fit Adventure to prevent bulk purchases

EB Games has had to restrict the sales of Ring Fit Adventure after buyers purchased them in bulk to re-sell online. The game, with its expensive peripheral accessories, is sold out at most outlets, with even future shipments sold out due to pre-orders. To address the issue, EB Games has had to begin to cap purchases to two per customer.

Ring Fit Adventure is a recent release for the Nintendo Switch, with an emphasis on motion controls to improve players’ physical fitness. The game includes a ring accessory that you can attach the two joy-cons to, as well as a separate accessory that can be strapped to the player’s leg. It currently retails in Australia for $124.95.

According to anonymous sources within EB Games who spoke to Kotaku Australia, stores were seeing up to 7 copies bought at once from the same buyer. Another source mentioned that stocks were emptied due to orders within 5 minutes of being available for purchase. Many of these bulk purchases found their way onto online storefronts like eBay and Taobao. With even the small amounts of stock arriving in the future already bought by bulk preorders, it will be a long time before they arrive on store shelves for many buyers.

There has been a high demand for Ring Fit Adventure in China due to supply shortages and the recent Coronavirus outbreak. As noted by Abacus News, demand for the exercise game has spiked among Chinese gamers looking for ways to safely exercise while under medical lockdown. Local prices from scalpers could go as much as two or three times as much as the regular Australian retail price. To ensure that it has enough local stock, EB Games has begun to limit sales of Ring Fit Adventure to two per person.

Of course, Nintendo is no stranger to stock shortages. Certain Amiibos, as well as the NES Mini, faced critical stock shortages when they released. This situation, predictably, led to scalpers profiting from re-sales. Even without the Coronavirus driving up demand in China, the game was always likely to see these kinds of problems. With the Coronavirus showing no signs of going away soon, it remains to be seen what impact it will have on the manufacture and sales of video game hardware. EB Games’ move will at least hopefully ensure that Australian consumers are able to access the game at regular prices.