Switch 2 sales hit 19.86 million, selling faster than Switch 1, but impacting Nintendo profits

The Nintendo Switch 2 has sold nearly 20 million units, beating the company's internal estimates...but the milestone comes at a steeper cost than the company was used to paying throughout the previous Switch 1 lifecycle.

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The Switch 2 generation is proving to be much more expensive to maintain than its predecessor's. The ongoing RAM shortage continues shrinking supply and driving up prices, and Nintendo has held off for as long as possible, but the price hike was inevitable--the Switch 2 will cost $50 more starting September 1. It doesn't help that Nintendo's new console, the Switch 2, is less profitable on a unit sale level than the smaller, more affordable Switch 1.

Normally, the Switch 2's sales update--19.86 million sold in 9 months--would be a cause for celebration, but Nintendo is also facing a negative profit margin situation with its Japan-only Switch 2 models. This will be addressed starting in Q2'27 with the price hike, but Nintendo had already gone through multiple quarters of profit impacts through FY26.

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This means while Nintendo's net sales were up significantly by +78% to $15.233 billion, operating margins were only 17%, the lowest since FY18.

Also it's worth noting that console sales technically met Nintendo's internal forecasts--the company expected to ship 20 million consoles throughout the year.

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For FY27, which is from April 2026 until March 2027, Nintendo expects to ship 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles, a notch below what the Switch 1 was able to deliver in a similar period (16.96 million).

By that time, Nintendo is implying Switch 2 shipments will reach 36.36 million by the fiscal year's end, compared to the 32.28 million that the Switch 1 shipped in an aligned period.

Nintendo earnings at-a-glance

• FY2026 (April 25 - March 26)
• Net Sales - $15.233 billion
• Operating Profit - $2.336 billion
• Switch sales - 3.8 million
• Switch 2 sales - 19.86 million