Nintendo President Says Switch 2 Higher Price is the Reason for 15 Million Sales Forecast - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 13 May 2025 / 5,305 Views
Nintendo in its latest earnings report revealed its expects to ship 15 million Nintendo Switch 2 consoles by the end of its current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026.
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa in a newly published Q&A with investors was asked about the "fairly conservative number" and if that is due to the production capacity limitations, the impact of the Trump tariffs, or the possibility of a recession.
Furukawa said the main reason for the forecast is due to the Switch 2 costing a decent amount more than the Switch 1.
"We are forecasting Nintendo Switch 2 hardware sales of 15 million units for this fiscal year," he said. "We set this figure with the aim of reaching the same level of sales we achieved with Nintendo Switch in the roughly 10-month period between its launch in March 2017 and December that year.
"Nintendo Switch 2 is priced relatively high compared to Nintendo Switch, so we recognize that there are corresponding challenges to early adoption. That being said, Nintendo Switch 2 can play compatible Nintendo Switch software, so there is continuity between the platforms. We are taking steps like bundling software with the hardware to accelerate adoption in the first fiscal year, aiming to get off to the same start we did with Nintendo Switch.
"The limits of our hardware production capacity were not a factor in setting our sales volume forecast. Additionally, the tariff situation in the U.S. or a possibility of a recession did not affect our sales volume forecast either. In order to achieve sales of 15 million units, we will need to manufacture the hardware in quantities greater than that. Our first goal is to get off to the same start we did with Nintendo Switch, and we are working to strengthen our production capacity so we can respond flexibly to demand."
Furukawa added Nintendo's "goal with Nintendo Switch 2 hardware sales is to get off to the same start as we did with Nintendo Switch. We recognize the positive feedback from the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events and the situation with applications for randomly selected drawings for pre-orders on My Nintendo Store in Japan.
"But the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware is priced relatively high compared to Nintendo Switch, so even if there is momentum around the launch, we know it will not be easy to keep that momentum going over the long term through the holiday season and beyond. We have been working to ramp up Nintendo Switch 2 hardware production since even before we held the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events and began My Nintendo Store applications. Our sales volume forecast was not determined based on any limit to production capacity."
Furukawa did reveal the 45 million software forecast "does not include Mario Kart World units that are included in the Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle.
"When we account for software units bundled with the hardware, the forecast surpasses the roughly 52 million units of software sold for Nintendo Switch in the 10 months after its launch. In setting our software sales volume forecast, we took into consideration the fact that software publishers will have a more robust lineup than at the time of the Nintendo Switch launch, and the availability of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles.
"This fiscal year, we will aim for the target we have set as the sales volume forecast, strengthen our production capacity to respond to recent increased demand, and focus on promoting sales in an effort to exceed our forecast. The momentum we have immediately after the Nintendo Switch 2 launch is important, of course, but the first challenge we face is how to sustain that momentum and carry it into the holiday season."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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The average consumer doesn't measure anything in inflation, they just compare to what they're used to and what alternatives there are. By that meassure Switch 2 is bit more than what people are used to paying for Nintendo Hardware & especially if primarily gir handheld use but its been established that Switch's early success was down to established gamers who are 30+. The price won't be off putting to them, but maybe to the casuals who gave the system its peak years around 2020-2022.
It's the same with all of them, though. I got used to $150-200 with the PS1, N64, and Gamecube. I didn't buy a PS3 until I found a 60GB fatty used for $250. I held off on the PS5 until they came on sale for $427. At this point, ths Switch 2 is pretty much in line with its competition. The only way you're going to see prices comparable to a DS or 3DS is by severely underpowering the hardware, and people have been howling for Nintendo to put more power in its hardware since before the Switch launched in 2017.
$299.99 is my "limit". Anything over that I will always consider expensive lol
I mean yeah, but from a finantial perspective it still costs companies as much as inflation more to operate.
a consistant growth at inflation rates, in reality, is basically stagnating.
I think people do take inflation into account. There's a reason why $400 was prohibitively expensive for a console in 1995, but is considered more reasonable today. That's because a dollar had over twice the purchasing power 30 years ago as it does today. It's the same reason people buy lots of other things at relatively steady numbers despite rising sticker prices, because the numbers on their paychecks have on average gone up over time as well.
Nintendo will almost certainly have de facto price cuts anyway with the release of smaller, simpler models, like a potential Lite.
US infaltion 2020 -2024
2020: 1.2%
2021: 4.7%
2022: 8.0%
2023: 4.1%
2024: 2.9%
Imagine 2025 is even worse.
its actually going down. The annual inflation rate in the US eased to 2.3% in April 2025, the lowest since February 2021
I'm still hoping for an invite from Nintendo to buy the MKW bundle.
Switch launched at $299.99 in 2017, which is $477 in 2025 dollars according to usinflationcalculator.com. Edit: Wait no. That's $392 in today's dollars.
Wow that feels like a crazy jump for less than a decade! I knew priced had gone up, but not by this much. (edit: well, i guess that’s b/c prices hadn’t jumped that much lol, at least not according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
(…also, wages haven’t kept up with inflation, so this stat you mention here is a bit deceiving.)
Switch 2 is a lot more bang for your buck graphically than Switch 1 was. Just look at this graphics comparison for SF6! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Rw37mjUoI
He made a mistake
it is a crazy jump, inflation in the us was terrible the last 4 years
According to official govt data, $300 in March 2017 is worth $396 now. Not even close to Switch 2's price, and not close to $477.
Also you gotta remember that tech is one thing that increases in price farrrrr slower than overall inflation. So even that $396 price would be way too high based on inflation. So Switch coming out today would probably be no more than $350. But seeing as how Switch 2 is more powerful now relative to the Switch was when it came out, we can say an appropriate price would be $400. Which is what most people expected, and thus most people were shocked by the jacked up $450 price tag.
No matter how you skin it, Switch 2 price is expensive and way more expensive than the Switch, by any metric you want to use. They specifically chose to abandon affordability in favor of taking in more profit with every system sold, simply because they think they can do it without scary off too many buyers.
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I used the same calculator as you and got $392. 62
You made a mistake in your original inputs
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Yeah I think something automatically inputted when I hit the enter key. I redid it and it is indeed $392. Thanks!
After rechecking you are correct. Sorry for the mistake. I must have had something happen with my web browser.
"They specifically chose to abandon affordability in favor of taking in more profit"
The are also offering a more premium experience than anyone was expecting as well...
Having 120hz + VRR is massive deal...
If I had to chose between $399 with 60hz or $450 with 120hz + VRR, I'm going with the extra $50
They made the right choice
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