Copyright videogameschronicle
Nintendo Switch 2’s phenomenal launch momentum continued through September, with 10.36 million consoles sold-in by the end of the month. That’s more than the original Switch (4.7m), PlayStation 4 (7.5m), or PlayStation 5 (7.8m) managed during their first two quarters on sale (though the latter was stock-constrained by COVID), making Switch 2 comfortably the biggest console launch ever. Nintendo shared the sales figures as part of its latest financial results on Tuesday. In response to the numbers, the company raised its hardware forecast for the business year (up to 19m units, from 15m) and its operating profit (up 15% to around $2.4bn). The company said its revised forecast factored in US tariff measures, using the tariff rates in effect as of the end of September 2025. Since it launched on June 5, 35% of Switch 2’s sales (3.68 million) have been in the Americas, and 22.6% in Japan (2.35 million), though the latter has been constrained by stock. If Switch 2 hardware sales hit Nintendo’s first-year target (19 million), the console will be comfortably ahead of where the original Switch (14.87 million), PS4 (13.5 million), and PS5 (13.4 million) were at the same stage. “Selling over 10 million units in just the first half of the fiscal year was a major surprise that far exceeded market expectations,” Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda told Bloomberg. “Since sales in the second half of the year — which includes the Christmas shopping season — almost never fall below those of the first half, there is a strong likelihood that Nintendo will revise upward again.” Dr Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese games industry consultancy firm Kantan Games, reiterated his stance that Nintendo is being overly conservative with its sales predictions for Switch 2. “I am a bit surprised that other analysts are surprised,” he told VGC. “Wasn’t it always very clear that there is incredible pent-up demand for Switch 2? I always said Nintendo will land around 20 million units at the end of their fiscal year and that their initial 15 million forecast is typical lowballing. “Now, the new Pokémon game is more than enough to comfortably carry them through 2026. The only small negative point I see is the quarterly drop in digital sales year-on-year.” Nintendo’s dedicated video game platform sales (which include Switch Online, downloads, amiibo, and accessories) are up 119% year-on-year, thanks to the Switch 2 launch and its higher unit price. In software, Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World sold in another 4 million units, taking its total to 9.57 million. World is selling at twice the rate of its best-selling predecessor, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, launch aligned, and is the Mario Kart series’ biggest ever launch. That means Mario Kart World has a 92% attach rate to the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. However, Nintendo says that around 8.1 million of these sales were with hardware bundles. Donkey Kong Bananza, released in July, sold in 3.49 million units during the period, and Mario Party Jamboree’s Switch 2 Edition managed 1.16 million units. The original Nintendo Switch saw its sales forecast for the fiscal year lowered by 0.5 million to 4 million units. Switch sold another 910k during the three months ended September 30, which represents a 60% decline compared to the same period in its last fiscal year. Nintendo Switch’s lifetime sales now total 154.01 million units – neck-and-neck with Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time, Nintendo DS (154.02 million). Nintendo expects to sell another 2 million Switch consoles in the current fiscal year, bringing its lifetime total short of the best-selling console ever, the PlayStation 2 (160 million). Looking ahead, Nintendo’s next reporting period will include the launch of Pokémon Legends Z-A, which sold 6 million copies in a week when it released last month, as well as the recent Super Mario Galaxy remasters, Kirby Air Riders, which releases this month, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which arrives in December.
