As the World Waits for Nintendo to Announce Switch 2, Sales of the Switch Continue to Plummet

Nintendo has slashed its forecast for Switch sales this financial year amid growing anticipation for the announcement of the Switch 2.

Today, November 5, Nintendo cut its Switch sales projection for the financial year ending March 2025 from 13.5 million units to 12.5 million units, with the console now in its eighth year on sale.

Nintendo also cut its forecasts for sales (1.35 trillion yen down to 1.28 trillion yen) and operating profit (400 billion yen to 360 billion yen).

Nintendo has said it will announce the Switch successor at some point during the current financial year, which means fans can expect to hear more before April.

As for the second quarter of the current financial year (July to September 2024), Nintendo generated 276.7 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in revenue and a net profit of 27.7 billion yen ($182 million). That’s a 17% revenue drop and a whopping 69% profit drop versus the same quarter last financial year.

It’s worth noting that last year was a big one for Nintendo, with the release of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom breaking records. This year, however, has been notably lighter for the company.

Nintendo sold 4.72 million Switch units in the six months ending September 30, down from the 6.84 million sold during the same period last year. That’s a drop of 31%. Software unit sales were down nearly 28% year-on-year to 70.28 million.

"Unit sales of both hardware and software were extremely high for the first half of the previous fiscal year," Nintendo said, pointing to the Mario movie’s positive impact on its video game business.

“There were no such special factors in the first half of this fiscal year, and with Nintendo Switch now in its eighth year since launch, unit sales of both hardware and software decreased significantly year-on-year," Nintendo added.

Alongside the financials, Nintendo provided sales updates for its recently released games. Paper Mario Thousand-Year Door, released in May, sold 1.94 million units, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, released in June, sold 1.57 million units, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, released in September, “got off to a good start,” Nintendo said, with sales of 2.58 million units. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell incredibly well, with another 2.31 million units. It’s now up to an eye-watering 64.27 million sold.

Looking to the future, Nintendo failed to say anything about the Switch 2, but did say it plans to continue to push the Switch.

“By continuing to convey the appeal of Nintendo Switch, we try to not only put one system in every home, but several in every home, or even one for every person,” Nintendo said. “Another objective is to continually release new offerings so more consumers keep playing Nintendo Switch even longer and we can maximize hardware sales.”

Upcoming Switch games include Mario & Luigi: Brothership later this week, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD in January 2025.

Photo by Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].