Nintendo Switch 2 sales have dropped 37%, but it’s still comfortably beating the original console

Nintendo Switch 2 sales remain down compared to the console’s first year, but it’s still comfortably outpacing the original platform, according to Nintendo’s latest financial results.

In its earnings results covering the three months ended September 30, Nintendo said it had sold a further 2.68 million Switch 2 consoles, bringing the to-date sold-in number to 26.35 million.

That means Switch 2 continues to comfortably outpace both the original Switch console and PlayStation 5 by more than six million units, launch aligned, though the previous consoles were notably supply constrained.

Nintendo previously forecast Switch 2 sales to decline in the console’s second year, due to the unusual combination of price rises and plentiful stock availability at launch (which allowed many consumers to purchase a console earlier in its lifecycle), and that’s exactly what’s happened.

For the first half of its current fiscal year, Nintendo Switch 2 sales have decreased by 37.4% year-on-year to 6.49 million units, and Nintendo Switch sales decreased by 32.7% year-on-year to 1.27 million units. Nintendo said its forecasts remain unchanged.

Overall sales from Nintendo’s dedicated video game platform business declined by 15.3% year-on-year, while IP-related income rose by 87.9%, due in part to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Commenting on the results, Dr Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese games industry consultancy firm Kantan Games, told VGC: “For the rest of the fiscal year, Nintendo will need to mainly rely on the Ocarina of Time remake, which I believe will sell much better than what other analysts are predicting.

“Not everybody wants to play GTA 6, and this game is a great alternative. Nintendo did have great games in 2026 but not many mega blockbusters. I believe investors can expect a much bigger 2027 from Nintendo, however.”

In software, Nintendo Switch 2 game sales increased by 18.8% year-on-year to 24.49 million units, and Nintendo Switch software sales increased by 6.8% year-on-year to 65.73 million units.

Notably, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream sold 8.81 million units, Rhythm Heaven Groove sold 2.89 million units, and Splatoon Raiders sold 2.42 million units.

In addition, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (released two weeks before the end of this reporting period) sold 1.34 million units, Star Fox sold 1.17 million units, and Mario Kart World sold another 1.78 million units.

The original Nintendo Switch console has sold an additional 1.27 million units during the first half of the current fiscal year, bringing its lifetime total to 157.20 million. The best-selling console of all-time is the PlayStation 2 at 160 million.

Looking ahead, Nintendo’s flagship 2026 Switch 2 release, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is out today. This will be followed by Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy on November 12, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition on December 3, and Metroid Ravenous on January 28.