Nintendo Faces Steeper Decline in 2025 Switch Sales Than Anticipated

Nintendo’s Switch has faced unexpected sales drops throughout 2024, with momentum declining faster than anticipated. However, it continues to have a chance at overtaking the title of the best-selling console ever.

Since its launch in March 2017, Nintendo’s hybrid console has thrived against the odds. The Switch enjoyed a surge in popularity during the 2020 pandemic, creating a surprising situation where the four-year-old console was sold out in many major markets. Despite its early success, a gradual sales decline began in 2021, persisting steadily since then.

Recently, Nintendo’s financial reports for the third quarter of their fiscal year, ending March 2025, highlighted a quicker-than-expected drop in sales. By the close of 2024, the Switch had achieved lifetime sales of 150.86 million units. Comparing this to 2023’s total of 139.4 million, Nintendo sold an additional 11.5 million units through the year. While impressive for a nearly eight-year-old device, these figures led the company to revise their sales forecast for FY 2025, adjusting their expectations from 12.5 million to just 11 million units—an adjustment of 12%.

Looking at the broader picture of top-selling consoles, we see:

• PlayStation 2: 158 million units
• Nintendo DS: 154.02 million units
• Nintendo Switch: 150.86 million units
• Game Boy (including Color): 118.69 million units
• PlayStation 4: 117.2 million units

In tandem with hardware adjustments, Nintendo also lowered their FY 2025 software sales forecast from 160 million to 150 million games, marking a 6.25% reduction. More guidance on sales predictions is expected when Nintendo reports their fiscal outlook for the new year in May 2025.

Here’s a breakdown of Switch sales by year:

• 2017: 14.86 million (launch year)
• 2018: 17.41 million (+17.16% YoY change)
• 2019: 20.21 million (+16.08% YoY change)
• 2020: 27.39 million (+35.53% YoY change)
• 2021: 23.67 million (-13.58% YoY change)
• 2022: 19.01 million (-19.69% YoY change)
• 2023: 16.81 million (-11.57% YoY change)
• 2024: 11.5 million (-31.59% YoY change)

During a recent earnings call, Nintendo’s President, Shuntaro Furukawa, reassured fans that the company is not planning to end Switch support anytime soon, despite the planned launch of its successor in 2025. With just over 8 million sales needed, the Switch still has the potential to become the top-selling console ever. The forthcoming Switch 2 could lead to price reductions for the original Switch model, possibly reviving its sales numbers.

Additionally, the Switch is on course to become Nintendo’s best-selling console by early 2026, currently trailing behind the DS by just 3.16 million units. The release of the Switch 2, expected post-June 2025, adds an intriguing layer to this ongoing saga.