NVIDIA apologizes for GeForce RTX 3080 launch fiasco - store got flooded by 10x more traffic

NVIDIA has published a Q&A to address the GeForce RTX 3080 launch fiasco. On the page, the company explains they severely underestimated demand for the RTX 3080. NVIDIA explains the NVIDIA store got hit by over 10x the traffic of the previous-gen launch and that retail partners saw traffic spikes that exceeded Black Friday.

Going forward, NVIDIA says it will move its store to a dedicated environment with more capacity. It will also add extra security, like a CAPTCHA, to prevent resellers from using bots. NVIDIA claims it has cancelled hundreds of orders from individuals who used bots/scripts to purchase multiple RTX 3080 cards.

Why did the NVIDIA Store not have any preventative measures in place to battle bots (i.e. CAPTCHA,etc)?

The NVIDIA Store had many behind-the-scenes security measures in place which proved sufficient for previous launches. This is the first time that we have seen bots at this scale and sophistication. Since launch, we have been quickly working on numerous security upgrades, including CAPTCHA. We will also continue to manually monitor purchases to help ensure cards get in the hands of legitimate consumers.

The GeForce RTX 3080 is in full production and NVIDIA says they're increasing supply weekly.