Nintendo Switch 2 Sales Drop 37% in Q2, Still Outpacing Original Switch

Nintendo sold 6.49 million Switch 2 consoles in the July–September quarter, a 37.4% drop from the 10.36 million units sold in the same period last year, the company reported in its second-quarter earnings release today. Despite the decline, the Switch 2 continues to outpace the original Switch: 26.35 million units in its first 15 months versus 19.67 million for the Switch 1 over the same span.

Software sales rose 18.88% year-over-year, driven by Splatoon Raiders (2.42 million copies in July) and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave (1.34 million in September). Mario Kart World added another 1.78 million copies, reaching 16.48 million lifetimes.

Nintendo kept its full-year forecast at 16.5 million Switch 2 units, meaning it needs to sell roughly 10 million more by March 2027. President Shuntaro Furukawa said the company has not seen changes in the memory shortage situation and is not considering further price hikes after raising the console to £429.99 in September, as first reported by GamesRadar.

FY2027 is Nintendo’s fiscal year ending March 2027. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches November 5 on Switch 2 (release time guide), and Nintendo’s 2027 lineup includes Pokémon Winds and Waves, new Metroid, Kirby, and Xenoblade titles, with a 3D Mario game also rumored. Pikmin 4’s Switch 2 Edition also arrives next week (upgrade details).

The 37% drop sounds alarming but reflects an inevitable normalization after the Switch 2’s record-breaking 2025 launch, when it became the fastest-selling console ever. What matters more is the 15-month total: 26.35 million versus the original Switch’s 19.67 million proves the platform still has stronger momentum. Software growth of nearly 19% while hardware dips suggests existing owners are buying more games — a healthy attach rate (average games sold per console) that supports Nintendo’s unchanged 16.5 million forecast. The holiday slate (Ocarina of Time today, Pikmin 4 next week, Pokémon Winds and Waves in 2027) gives them credible momentum toward that target.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report