KYOTO: Japan's Nintendo Co. has suspended domestic shipments of its popular Nintendo Switch video game console due to a production delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak, company officials said Wednesday.

Nintendo has yet to decide when to resume shipments.

The company will continue Nintendo Switch shipments for customers who had placed orders and European and US markets, where sufficient inventories are available.

It has also halted domestic shipments of the Switch Lite portable game machine.

Nintendo outsources production of the game consoles to plants in China and Vietnam. The company announced a delay in shipments of the products in February due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Production has yet to fully recover, a public relations official said.

The officials said that the company has been facing a shortage of the products also due to a surge in demand stemming from requests for avoiding nonessential outings and emergency school closures that have been made as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus spread.

JIJI Press