Key Takeaways
- Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa doesn’t believe the existence of a successor is going to affect Switch sales.
- In its eighth year, people who buy the Nintendo Switch aren’t going to be affected by an upcoming successor.
- The Nintendo Switch 2 will likely be announced in April 2025.
Nintendo released its financial results from the first half of the financial year 2025 yesterday, revealing declining software and hardware sales compared to last year. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa fielded questions at a corresponding financial meeting, revealing his thoughts on the decline of Nintendo Switch sales ahead of the impending Switch 2 announcement.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun (translated by SpiritDusk on ResetEra), Furukawa theorised the declining sales of the Nintendo Switch are not due to the presence of an upcoming successor, but rather because the hardware is in its eighth year of being on sale.
Nintendo Switch Has Had A Long Life
“I can’t say it doesn’t exist at all, but the Switch is already in its eighth year since launch. I don’t think the presence or absence of a successor will have much impact on customers who are purchasing it at this timing,” Furukawa said of potential customer hesitance regarding a successor. Essentially, Furukawa is saying that the people buying a Nintendo Switch so late in its lifespan aren’t going to care about the idea of a successor coming out next year because they’ve already waited eight years to buy the predecessor.
Yesterday’s financial results revealed Nintendo sold 4.72 million hardware units, a 31% decline from the same period last year. Despite Furukawa’s comments, Nintendo did concede that hardware sales were “below initial expectations.” The holiday season tends to be a busier time for consumers, which will give us a better indication of how much Switch sales have declined.
Nintendo still intends to announce the Switch’s successor in April 2025, with a probable eye for a release during the following holiday season. This would likely mean Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are intended to be launch titles for the console. As for the Nintendo Switch, the slate for the remainder of the financial year is relatively bare, with Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition being the only first-party titles announced for release before the Switch 2 announcement.
Furukawa announced yesterday that Nintendo Switch games will be backwards compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2, meaning you’ll be able to play your library of Switch games on the new console. As it stands, we’re unlikely to learn much more before April 2025.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is both a home console and a handheld gaming system in one package, with various versions offering better specs for dedicated enthusiasts.