Nintendo has once again lowered its hardware sales forecast for the Nintendo Switch, as both the console and its games have fallen short of expectations. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Nintendo's dedicated game console business saw a 31.7% year-on-year decrease in sales, totaling 895.5 billion yen (approximately $5.7 billion). This decline is attributed to reduced sales of both the Nintendo Switch and its software.

Additionally, income from mobile and IP-related ventures dropped by 33.9% year-on-year to 49.7 billion yen (approximately $320 million), largely due to the challenging comparison with the previous year's success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Consequently, Nintendo's gross profit fell by 27.3% year-on-year to 565.5 billion yen (approximately $3.6 billion).

Nintendo Switch Sales Performance

For the year ending March 2025, Nintendo has adjusted its financial projections downward for the second consecutive time. The company now anticipates selling 11 million Switch units, a decrease of 1.5 million from its earlier forecast, and expects to sell 150 million software units, a reduction of 10 million.

Despite being in its eighth year, the decline in Switch sales has been more pronounced than Nintendo anticipated. However, the console has achieved remarkable success, with over 150 million units sold. While surpassing the PlayStation 2's 160 million units to become the best-selling console of all time seems unlikely at this point, the Switch is within reach of overtaking the Nintendo DS's 154 million units.

Nintendo described the sales of the Switch and its software in the third quarter ending December 31, 2024, as "stable given the fact that the platform is in its eighth year." Overall, sales of the entire Nintendo Switch family of systems decreased by 30.6% year-on-year to 9.54 million units, while software sales fell by 24.4% year-on-year to 123.98 million units.

Despite these declines, new releases such as The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (3.91 million sold), Super Mario Party Jamboree (6.17 million sold), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (5.38 million sold), and Nintendo Switch Sports (2.63 million sold) have performed well. Notably, Super Mario Party Jamboree has been a significant hit, surpassing the sales pace of previous Mario Party titles for the Switch within the first 11 weeks of its release on October 17, 2024.

As Nintendo gears up for the launch of the Switch 2 later this year, the company reports a record-high number of active players, with 129 million 'annual playing users' in 2024. This indicates a continued strong interest in the Switch, even in its eighth year.

Nintendo remains optimistic, noting that "Nintendo Switch unit sales declined year-on-year, but even in the eighth year since its launch in March 2017, Nintendo Switch continues to attract the interest of consumers, and sales in some weeks during the holiday season exceeded same-week sales of the previous year."

Future Outlook and Switch 2

Investors are eagerly awaiting the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, which Nintendo has confirmed for 2025. The company has already showcased the new hardware and plans to reveal more details during a Switch 2 Direct on April 2. Additionally, hands-on events for the Switch 2 will be held in cities worldwide.

Nintendo also has several upcoming titles for the original Switch, including Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on March 20, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond scheduled for 2025.