Nintendo has increased its Switch 2 sales forecasts following solid performance for the device in its latest fiscal quarter.
As announced in its release for its second quarter ending September 30, the Japanese gaming giant has sold 10.36 million Switch consoles since the device launched in early June. This has led Nintendo to raise forecasted Switch 2 sales to 19 million Switch 2 by March 31, 2026, a more than 25 per cent jump from the original 15-million estimate.
Impressively, the 10.36 million units sold figure is well above the 4.7 million Switch units that were moved during the equivalent period following that console’s March 2017 launch. Besides the obviously high level of anticipation for the Switch 2, it should also be noted that Nintendo has had much more stock for the newer console versus its predecessor. This meant that many people could simply walk into a store or shop online for the Switch 2 without issue, while the original Switch was consistently sold out for months after launch.
The Switch 2 isn’t just outpacing its predecessor, either. For context, rival Sony’s PlayStation 5 took eight months to reach 10 million in sales, something that the Switch 2 did in half the time. (Microsoft, for its part, doesn’t disclose sales for its Xbox Series X/S consoles, but they’ve reportedly been well below the PS5 since all of the consoles debuted in November 2020.)
It should also be noted that since Nintendo’s fiscal quarter ended in September, Nintendo’s big holiday games lineup wouldn’t have been factored into these latest sales figures. In particular, the company just launched the highly-anticipated Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Switch 2 and Switch, with the nearly six million copies sold in the first week being nearly evenly split between the two consoles. On top of that, the company has Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (November 6, Switch 2-only), Kirby Air Riders (November 20, Switch 2-only) and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (December 4, Switch and Switch 2). Those titles, plus the usual assortment of third-party titles, will no doubt drive further demand for the Switch 2 in the next quarter.
Other figures revealed in Nintendo’s latest earnings report include Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World selling 9.57 million copies (meaning it has a 92 per cent attach rate), 8.1 million of which were bundled with the Switch 2, and fellow Switch 2-exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza moving 3.49 million copies.
All in all, these are impressive figures, especially considering the Switch 2 is quite expensive at $630 (console-only) and $700 (Mario Kart World bundle). Meanwhile, the games themselves are also pricier this time around, with the likes of Bananza costing $100, while Mario Kart World is priced at $110.
Oh, and one other interesting revelation: the original Switch has sold 154.01 million units, just a hair shy of the Nintendo DS’ 154.02 million. Given that the Switch is still being supported, it will undoubtedly pass the DS soon (if it hasn’t already in the month since Nintendo compiled this data) to become the second best-selling video game system (console or handheld) of all time behind only Sony’s PS2 (160.63 million units). What a comeback after the Wii U.
Source: Nintendo
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