The shortage of Nintendo Switch consoles plaguing North America right now is thought to be driven, in part, by an automated bot that snaps up consoles the moment they come back in stock.
As Motherboard reports (thanks, VGC), the new open-source “Bird Bot” has spawned a new community in which users either looking to capitalise on the shortage or just get ahold of a system for their own use are sharing tips and tricks on how to snap up the handheld device the moment they go back on sale.
“I decided to make it as a joke, but I quickly realised just how powerful it could be,” Bird Bot creator, Nate, told Motherboard. “Me and my friends were talking about reselling Nintendo Switches, and at one point my friend, nicknamed Bird, told me I should make a bot. And here we are today.”
While there are many similar bots available, this is reportedly the first such automated bot to specifically target Nintendo’s handheld system, and it’s unusual in that it’s entirely free to use, too. It’s subsequently built up a Discord community of over 1000 users in which many are sharing images proudly showing off their multi-buy successes.