THE CRUNCH
Nintendo's Switch 2 sales fell 37.4% year on year in the first half of its fiscal year, but the console is still comfortably outpacing both the original Switch and PlayStation 5 on a launch-aligned basis, by more than six million units. The company sold 6.49 million Switch 2 units between April and September 2026, down from 10.36 million in the same period last year, bringing the console's lifetime total to 26.35 million. Nintendo had forecast the decline, expecting a slower second year after unusually strong early demand driven by plentiful stock at launch.
The dip largely predates the console's price rise. Nintendo announced a $50 increase in May 2026, citing higher memory costs and US tariffs, but only implemented it on 1 September in most affected regions, near the end of the reporting period. So the figures alone do not show what impact the higher price will have on holiday sales. President Shuntaro Furukawa said during the earnings call that Nintendo is not considering further price changes and can secure sufficient memory despite the ongoing RAM shortage.
Software is picking up the slack. Switch 2 game sales rose 18.8% year on year to 24.49 million units, led by Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream at 8.81 million, while original Switch software grew 6.8% to 65.73 million units. Nintendo's net profit still rose 11% over the six months, helped by strong software and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and the company maintained its full-year forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 units, roughly 17% below last year's total.
There are supply-side wrinkles worth watching. Macronix, one of Nintendo's cartridge suppliers, has reportedly stopped making ROM chips to focus on flash memory for AI data centres. Tom's Hardware quotes analyst Serkan Toto of Kantan Games saying "Nintendo's only real blockbuster this fiscal year is the Ocarina of Time remake", which launched on the day of the results. Pikmin 4's Switch 2 edition, Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Switch 2 edition and Metroid Ravenous follow through January.