Nintendo says it will sell fewer Switch 2 consoles over the next 12 months, following the device’s explosive launch last year.
In a financial results briefing published this morning, the company said this was because Switch 2 sales “were more concentrated in the launch year in comparison to previous hardware systems”, and indeed, Switch 2’s early sales have been remarkable — it is Nintendo’s fastest selling console ever, despite a sales slowdown in the U.S. and some European countries towards the end of 2025..
Nintendo now expects to sell 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles over the coming financial year, down from the 19.86 million it has sold since launch. This would still place cumulative Switch 2 sales after 22 months ahead of those for Switch 1 at the same point in its life cycle. Whether the Switch 2 can then go on to maintain Switch 1’s long-lasting success, however, remains to be seen.
Of course, today’s financial results also included word of Nintendo’s decision to increase the Switch 2’s price by $50, raising the console to $499.99 on September 1. A similar price rise will take place in Europe, while Nintendo’s strongly-discounted region-locked Switch 2 model will get a price hike in Japan as soon as this month.
A report published yesterday by Bloomberg stated that Nintendo was currently selling Switch 2 consoles at a loss (the opposite of the Switch 1 era), and was under pressure to raise the platform’s cost to combat a steadily declining stock price. At the same time, the financial burden of making Switch 2 machines is being impacted by the threat of tarriffs, component shortages, and war in the Middle East.
Moving on to look at Switch 2 software, Mario Kart World has now sold 14.7 million units, including copies bundled with the Switch 2 console. Donkey Kong Bananza, meanwhile, has sold 4.52 million. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has already sold 3.8 million copies in two weeks — an enormous success.
Pokémon Legends Z-A has sold 3.94 million copies on Switch 2, and a further 8.85 million copies on Switch 1. More than 4 million copies (combined) of Nintendo’s Pokémon LeafGreen and FireRed have also been shifted via the eShop. Pokémon Pokopia, meanwhile, has also sold more than 4 million copies, in just over a month. Nintendo’s count of annual playing users was flat year-on-year, at 129 million.
Upcoming Switch 2 games include Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which will launch on May 21, Star Fox on June 25 and Splatoon Raiders on July 23, with Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave currently listed for a vague “2026” date. Rhythm Heaven Groove arrives on July 2 as a Switch 1 game, meanwhile.
While there’s no further word on it today, fans hope FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods also launches this year. And, of course, there’s now an expectation that the leaked Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake will arrive in time for Christmas. Finally, looking to 2027, Pokémon Winds and Waves are already on the schedule.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
