Nintendo Switch 2 becomes brand’s bestselling console ever

In Nintendo’s latest financial report, released on Tuesday, the brand says its Switch 2 handheld has sold more than 17 million units to-date, with over 7 million units moved during the last three months of 2025. These sales figures, published as part of Nintendo’s “Financial Results Explanatory Material 3rd Quarter of Fiscal Year Ending March 2026” summary, make the Switch 2 handheld the brand’s fastest-moving home console ever. The original Switch handheld is still selling despite the new system’s popularity; the Switch 2 predecessor sold 3.25 million units, down about 66 percent year-on-year.

In the six months following its June 5 launch, the Nintendo Switch 2 sold more than 15 million units worldwide. Comparatively, the original Nintendo Switch system sold about 14.86 million units in a similar time frame following its March 2017 release.

This isn’t the Nintendo Switch 2’s first shattered record. Last December, the system surpassed total sales of the brand’s most recent commercial flop, the Wii U.

Nintendo isn’t slowing down anytime soon, either. “As for Nintendo Switch, we will strive to leverage the hardware installed base and rich software library to further expand software sales, including evergreen titles, and maintain engagement.”

The company also revised its “foreign exchange assumptions for the end of the fiscal year,” shifting from “140 yen to 150 yen per U.S. dollar and from 160 yen to 170 yen per euro. There are no changes to the unit sales forecast for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch, or the consolidated financial forecast for this fiscal year, which was published on November 4, 2025.”

Game-Key Cards, DLC downloads not slowing physical game sales

Console success aside, new sales data from Nintendo’s report suggests consumers’ interest in physical game ownership isn’t going anywhere. Despite the global gaming brand’s shift from traditional game cartridges to controversial new Game-Key Cards, Nintendo’s findings show that physical units comprised nearly half of Nintendo Switch 2 game sales.

“Digital sales through the third quarter increased by 14.7% year-on-year to 282.0 billion yen and accounted for 50.4% of total software sales for our dedicated video game platform, down 0.6 percentage points,” the report reads. Nintendo also explains that, while “[d]igital sales increased year-on-year,” the growth is “mainly due to an increase in sales of downloadable versions of packaged software and add-on content.”

With digital DLC and content expansions dominating downloads, it seems players are more interested in physical game ownership than the increasingly digital industry may lead us to believe.

Overall, Nintendo says sales rose by more than 99 percent year-on-year to a whopping ¥1.9 trillion (about $12.3 billion) for the first nine months of its FY25/26. Meanwhile, operating profit rose about 21 percent to ¥300.4 billion (nearly $2 billion). “For the third quarter of this fiscal year, net sales increased by 99.3% year-on-year to 1,905.8 billion yen, operating profit rose by 21.3% to 300.3 billion yen, ordinary profit rose by 39.4% to 455.8 billion yen, and profit attributable to owners of parent rose by 51.3% to 358.8 billion yen.”