- Switch 2 sales reportedly slowed over 2025 Christmas period
- In the US, Switch 2 sales fell 35% compared to its predecessor’s holiday release year.
- A “challenging economic landscape” was probably the biggest contributing factor
The Nintendo Switch 2 may have been the best-selling console in its June 2025 release window, but its first Christmas on shelves appears to have fallen short of expectations.
That’s according to Chris Dring of The Game Business. In its latest weekly newsletter, Dring writes that Nintendo Switch 2 holiday sales were down 35% compared to the original Switch during the same period in 2017 (that console’s launch year).
It’s a similar story in the UK, where Switch 2 sales in the final eight weeks of 2025 fell 16% compared to the original Switch console during the final eight weeks of its release year.
That said, on average there was slightly more appetite for the Switch 2 in the UK. The new console achieved 6% more sales than its predecessor in its first year overall.
In a statement to The Game Business, a senior Nintendo employee said the sudden slowdown in Switch 2 sales is the result of a “complicated economic landscape.” It seems that the higher prices for both hardware and software haven’t exactly whetted the appetite of more casual gamers.
The employee adds that “the absence of a major Western game” – presumably in the sense of market appeal, not where the game might have been developed – meant that people weren’t as willing to rush out and buy a Switch 2 as they were when Mario Kart World It was included with the console at launch.
While the Switch 2 landed some heavy hitters Pokémon Legends: ZA and Donkey Kong Bananzathere were no real barn burners to end the year like a 3D Mario, Animal Crossing or Super Smash Bros. title and while Metroid Prime 4: Beyond It’s great, it’s never been a series that appeals to the masses.
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