A photo of Super Mario characters displayed on a Nintendo display prior to the release of the company’s Switch 2 game console at a home electronics retailer in Nagoya on June 2, 2025.
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images
sale of nintendoSales of the company’s flagship Switch 2 plummeted in the second quarter as the Japanese gaming giant raised prices due to soaring memory costs.
According to Nintendo, Switch 2 sales in the three months ending September 30 were 2.67 million units, a 41% decrease from the same period last year. This was also lower than the previous quarter’s sales of 3.82 million units.
After increasing the price of the device in Japan earlier this year, Nintendo implemented price hikes for the Switch 2 in the US, Canada, and Japan during the quarter.
Memory, a core component of Nintendo’s game consoles, continues to face short supply and huge demand, causing an unprecedented spike in chip prices.
Still, the Japanese gaming giant stuck to its previous forecast of selling 16.5 million Switch 2 units in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2027.
Here’s Nintendo’s fiscal second quarter results compared to LSEG’s average estimates:
Revenue: 448.2 billion yen ($2.8 billion) vs. expected 481.37 billion yen Net income: 73.5 billion yen vs. 82.16 billion yen
Investors keep an eye on future releases
The Kyoto-based company has released some strong games this year, including “Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream” and the unexpected viral hit “Pokémon Pokopia,” but there are no major standout titles.
Investors are hoping that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a remake of one of Nintendo’s most iconic games, could boost Switch 2 sales in the coming weeks. The game was released on Thursday.
“Nintendo’s only real blockbuster this year is the Ocarina of Time remake. That’s not enough to satisfy investors, especially now that devices are so expensive,” Kantan Games CEO Serkan Toto told CNBC.
“Video game hardware is getting harder and harder to sell these days, and only hits can help. Nintendo must step up to the plate and release more blockbuster games next year to ensure the Switch 2’s momentum continues.”
Nintendo also plans to release a new Pokemon game in 2027.
