Nintendo projects the Switch 2 will sell 15 million units in its first year

Nintendo has just released its financial report for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2025, detailing how much it has raked in from console and game sales. It also includes its projection for the year ahead, which is notable because it is the first projection that includes sales for the Switch 2, which will be released worldwide on June 5, 2025. Nintendo must be feeling pretty good about their next machine, because the projection for the Switch 2’s launch year is 15 million copies.

This might seem like an eye-watering amount, but it’s roughly the same number of units the original Switch sold in its first full fiscal year — 15 million. You’d think that Nintendo would project a higher number of sales for the sequel to their most popular console to date, but it may be taking into account certain economic challenges facing the world today that didn’t exist in 2017, such as tariffs. For another comparison, the Nintendo Wii sold 14 million in 2006, while the poor old WiiU sold under 4 million in 2012.

The report shows that Nintendo’s net sales are down from last year by a large margin, approx. 1,100 billion yen (under 8 billion USD) as opposed to last year’s 1,600 billion (11 billion USD). That’s about a 30% reduction, but Nintendo doesn’t seem concerned. In the lead up to a new console, it makes sense for more players to hold off on game and console purchases in preparation for the Switch 2. In terms of games, the hottest-selling new release was Super Mario Jambooree with over 7 million units, followed by the immortal Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, selling over 6 million copies despite being released in 2017.

Nintendo expects to earn 1,900 billion yen (approx. 13 billion USD) in total sales by the end of March 2026. Only time will tell if the Switch 2 will earn this lofty projection. As we lead into the final 4 weeks before its launch, keep your eyes on Checkpoint Gaming for more Nintendo news and reviews.