Switch 2 Sales Fall 37.4% After $50 US Price Hike

Nintendo's Switch 2 sales fell 37.4 percent in the first half of fiscal 2026, which ended September 30, 2026. The company sold 6.49 million consoles, down from 10.36 million a year earlier, according to Nintendo's earnings report. The drop followed a $50 US price increase announced in early May that lifted the console to $500, with Nintendo citing higher memory costs and US tariffs. Nintendo also raised Switch 2 prices in Canada and Japan during the quarter, Tech Insider reported. Tech Insider added that the new US price did not take effect until September 1, according to one report, and the first quarter had already declined by about a third, so the slowdown cannot be tied only to the price change.

Nintendo said that "many consumers continued to adopt the system, spurred on by factors like the release of new titles," despite the decline. In the second quarter, sales fell to 2.67 million units, down 41 percent from the year-earlier period. Nintendo maintained its full-year forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 units, below the 19.86 million sold in the previous fiscal year.

Operating profit rose 49.1 percent to ¥216.5 billion (about $1.4 billion), while net profit increased 11 percent to ¥220.9 billion. Revenue fell 12.1 percent to ¥966 billion. BigGo Finance reported that growth in software sales, a weaker yen, and refunds of US IEEPA tariffs received in the first quarter lifted earnings. The refunds reversed costs previously booked as cost of sales. Software unit sales rose 6.8 percent to 65.73 million units, and Switch 2 software sales grew 18.8 percent to 24.49 million units, led by Star Fox, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and Rhythm Heaven: Miracle Stars, with new Splatoon and Fire Emblem titles also supporting demand. Digital sales for dedicated game platforms jumped 60.5 percent to ¥249.6 billion, and IP-related revenue rose 87.9 percent to ¥62.7 billion, helped by strong attendance for the Super Mario Galaxy film adaptation. The older Nintendo Switch added 1.27 million units during the six months.

Nintendo kept its full-year outlook unchanged: revenue of ¥2.05 trillion, down 11.4 percent; operating profit of ¥370 billion, up 2.7 percent; ordinary profit of ¥430 billion, down 20.7 percent; and net profit of ¥310 billion, down 26.9 percent. The net profit forecast remains below the ¥425 billion average consensus of 24 analysts. Nintendo plans dividends of ¥76 for the interim and ¥86 for the year-end, for an annual total of ¥162, down from ¥219 in the prior year. President Shuntaro Furukawa told an online news conference that the console is "penetrating the market at a very good pace even compared with the past". For the holiday season, Nintendo plans releases in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Metroid, and the Ocarina of Time remake went on sale this week.