Nintendo Switch 2 Holiday Sales Fall Short of Original

Nintendo's Switch 2 console experienced a slowdown in sales during the 2025 holiday season, falling short of the original Switch's performance in several key markets, according to industry reports. The decline, observed in November and December across the United States, Europe, and Japan, contrasted with the system's strong debut earlier in the year.

Reports from The Game Business indicate that U.S. sales of the Switch 2 dropped about 35 percent compared to the original Switch's holiday period in 2017. In the United Kingdom, sales were down 16 percent over the final eight weeks of the year, though overall Nintendo hardware sales, including the original model, rose 7 percent from 2017 levels. France saw a steeper drop of more than 30 percent, marking an unusual underperformance in one of Nintendo's strongest European markets. In Japan, the decline was milder at 5.5 percent, with the Switch 2 selling 1.32 million units during the period versus 1.39 million for its predecessor.

A senior Nintendo official attributed the softer holiday results to a challenging economic environment and the lack of a major Western-oriented title during the season. The company released Metroid Prime 4:...