Nintendo Switch Console Sales Are Down Two Quarters in a Row
Nintendo shared its earnings report for the end of 2024, showing that console sales were down further than expected in the months before the Switch 2 reveal.
Comparatively, Nintendo’s 2024 was a much slower year than 2023. While it barely lost out on winning Game of the Year at the Game Awards, Super Mario Bros. Wonder. As 2024 was the Switch’s eighth year of activity, it makes sense that it would start to slow down eventually. Nintendo’s latest earnings report, which covers the final three months of 2024, seem to suggest that the Switch had even less life left in it than Nintendo thought.
Nintendo lowers console sale forecast for the second quarter in a row
The first three months of 2025 are the final financial quarter for Nintendo, and with two consecutively lowered hardware sale forecasts, plus the announcement of the successor console, the Nintendo Switch 2, it seems like the original Switch is on its last legs. Nintendo has forecasted hardware sales to drop lower than expected this quarter, previously expecting 12.5 million sales, now lowered to 11 million. This is also after previously lowering expectations from 13.5 million at the end of the previous quarter.
While expectations are lowered, a huge announcement during this quarter was the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2. In an earnings call, reported by Sankei and VideoGamesChronicle, Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa reportedly said that he did not believe the Switch 2’s announcement would have significant impact on the current sales of the original console. This may be true, but it’s odd to think that with a new console finally confirmed to be on the horizon, millions of more people will continue to buy the now eight-year-old Switch.
The old console’s sales numbers might not be very important, but the Switch is approaching a significant milestone. With another 4.82 million consoles sold over the holidays, that brings Switch sales up to 150.86 million. Another 10 million sales would put the Switch over Sony’s PlayStation 2, making it the best-selling console in history. That title could be a goal worth striving for.
VideoGamesChronicle talked to Dr Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, a Tokyo-based consulting firm, who said that the Nintendo Switch 2 “cannot come soon enough.” Toto continued, “it is now much clearer how Nintendo overestimated the life that is still left in the Switch at the start of the fiscal year.” Optimism is always commendable, but looking at the slate of first-party games launched in 2024, it is hard to see what Nintendo saw.
Mario and Luigi Brothership sold 1.4 million.
Looking ahead at 2025, Nintendo has the launch of the Switch 2 to look forward to, and several notable games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to top the chart of best-selling Switch games.
Furukawa also said that the company would continue to the Switch even after the launch of the Switch 2, as long as there is demand. Given that the Nintendo Switch 2 is confirmed to be backwards compatible with original Switch software, there will almost certainly be plenty of overlap. On April 2nd, Nintendo will host a Direct presentation to share much more information about the console, so for now we will have to wait to see what the new Switch can do, and how much it will cost early adopters.
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