Nintendo Switch 2 sales pass 26 million, but slow down as memory costs bite

In its first months on sale, the Switch 2 moved fast: between April and September 2025, Nintendo shipped more than 10 million of them. In the same six months this year, it shipped 6.49 million.

Nintendo Switch 2 sales have now reached 26.35 million consoles since the June 2025 launch, Nintendo said on 5 November in its results for April to September. Console sales are slowing, yet profit is up. The reasons show where the console business is heading: games, downloads, films, and the rising price of memory chips.

Where Nintendo Switch 2 sales stand after 16 months

These are the official figures for the six months to 30 September 2026:

• Switch 2 consoles: 6.49 million shipped, down 37.4% from 10.36 million a year earlier, when launch demand was at its peak. July to September alone brought 2.67 million.
• Switch 2 games: 24.49 million sold, up 18.8%. Splatoon Raiders sold 2.42 million, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave 1.34 million and Star Fox 1.17 million. Mario Kart World has now reached 16.48 million.
• The original Switch: 1.27 million consoles, down 32.7%, for 157.20 million in total. Its new game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream sold 8.81 million, and it also plays on Switch 2.
• Money: sales fell 12.1% to ¥966.0 billion. Operating profit rose 49.1% to ¥216.5 billion, and net profit rose 11.0% to ¥220.9 billion.

• Jul-Sep 20254.54m
• Oct-Dec 20257.01m
• Jan-Mar 20262.49m
• Apr-Jun 20263.82m
• Jul-Sep 20262.67m

Consoles shipped to shops (sell-in). The launch quarter, April to June 2025, is not shown. Source: Nintendo: Financial Results Explanatory Material, 5 Nov 2026 (PDF)

Fewer consoles, more profit: how Nintendo did it

Consoles cost a lot to build. Games, especially downloaded ones, earn far more on each sale. Nintendo’s digital sales grew 60.5% to ¥249.6 billion, now 60.7% of its game sales. Income from films and other uses of its characters nearly doubled to ¥62.7 billion, helped by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Then came a one-off. Nintendo booked about US$300 million in refunds of US import taxes, set under an emergency-powers law known as IEEPA. Nintendo says it mostly paid those tariffs itself rather than raising prices to cover them. That is the “profit spike from a tariff rebate” many people are searching for, and it is a one-off that should not be counted on again.

Investors also looked at the most recent quarter alone. AFP reports that net profit for July to September fell 29% to ¥73.5 billion, below the ¥82.2 billion analysts expected in a Bloomberg survey.

A 16.5 million promise with a higher price tag

Nintendo kept its forecast for the year to March 2027: 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles, 60 million Switch 2 games, and net profit of ¥310 billion. To get there, it must ship about 10 million consoles from October to March. That is more than it shipped in the whole first half.

The forecast already counts about ¥100 billion of extra costs from rising component prices, “particularly for memory”, and from tariffs. The chips that store data in consoles, phones and laptops have become expensive because AI data centres are buying so much of them. Memory makers such as SK hynix say the shortage could last until 2030, and Apple flagged the same pressure in its own results.

That is also why the Switch 2 costs more now. Nintendo announced in May that the US price would rise from US$449.99 to US$499.99, and the change took effect on 1 September.

Thinking of buying a Switch 2 this holiday?

If you already own one, this is mostly good news. Games keep coming: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort in October, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in November, and Metroid Ravenous in January.

If you are still deciding, the price is the main question. Nintendo has not announced another Switch 2 price increase, but with memory costs high, our reading is that deep holiday discounts are unlikely. A deal on a bundle that includes a game you already want is often the better value. That is analysis, not a promise.

Why the slowdown matters less than it looks

There are real reasons for caution. Shipments are falling quarter by quarter, the price has gone up, and Nintendo’s target needs a very strong Christmas. Also, consoles shipped to shops are not the same as consoles bought by players, so the true picture of demand comes later.

On balance, though, these Nintendo earnings show a healthy shape. In practice, a console’s second year is usually about its games more than new buyers, and Switch 2 owners are buying more games, more of them as downloads. Nintendo has also chosen to absorb some costs rather than pass every one to buyers. The likelier risk is not a weak console, but a price that keeps some families waiting.

The next answer is expected in early February, when Nintendo reports its October to December quarter. That will show whether Zelda and the holidays can carry the Switch 2 to 16.5 million.