Switch 2 Sales Track Behind Switch 1 in the US, UK, and France During the Holidays - Sales
by William D'Angelo , posted on 08 January 2026 / 5,651 Views
Sales for the Nintendo Switch 2 have slowed down in the US, UK, and France, according to data reported by the editor-In-chief and co-founder of The Game Business Christopher Dring.
In the US, Switch 2 sales over the holidays (November and December combined) are down by around 35 percent compared to the same period for the Switch 1 in 2017. It should be noted, the December data has yet to be reported by Circana.
In the UK, Switch 2 sales for the last eight weeks of 2025 are 16 percent than the Switch 1 sold during the last eight weeks of 2017, according to NielsenIQ data. Combined Switch 2 and Switch 1 sales for the last eight weeks are up seven percent compared to the Switch 1 in 2017.
Year-to-date Switch 2 sales in the UK are six percent higher than the Switch 1 sold in 2017. This is with the Switch 1 having 14 extra weeks on the market.
France is the main outlier when it comes to Europe. Switch 2 year one sales in France are "over 30 percent" lower than what the Switch 1 sold in 2017. This does mean the Switch 2 sold more in the UK than France in 2025.
Chris did state, "France was an outlier in terms of full year results" and "generally, across the board, Nintendo Switch 2 did have a better year than Switch 1."
The Nintendo Switch 2 did have the biggest launch in video game history with over 3.5 million units worldwide in its first four days on sale.
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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I think it's easy to forget just how much of a phenomenon the Switch 1 quickly became. We haven't seen sales of that kind of magnitude since the PS2/DS.
It was always going to be a near impossibility for the Switch 2 to match the Switch 1's success, especially starting at a $150 price increase that may continue to increase as the generation goes on. The Switch 2 is still putting up impressive numbers and will still be a long term success.
Nintendoomed
They will become a mobile first developer any second now
Any moment now, Phil Spencer is gonna show up in Kyoto, saying, "Hey Nintendo, remember how you laughed us out of Japan 25 years ago? Wanna rethink that position?"
Any moment now.
Switch 1 Had:
-Zelda Botw
-Mario Kart 8 DX
-Splatoon
-Mario Odyssey
-F***ing Xenoblade 2
Switch 2 got great games so far, however, attempting to surpass the original Switch in its peak year for exclusives, after Nintendo finally met the high demand... would be an extraordinary accomplishment. Nintendo seems satisfied with holding the record for the highest-selling console in its initial months on the market.
Switch 1 shipped 7mil in its first holiday (with 4mil sold in December alone). I’m not seeing what is so lackluster about Switch 2 having a near identical holiday season (excluding US and France, the former having not been corroborated by Circana)… comes off more as sensationalist reporting.
Could just be me, though we’ll know for certain by early February.
People also weirdly avoid mentioning how good Switch 2 sold in October, it did around 600k more than Switch 1 in 2017 in that month. It might not ship the 7.2m the Switch 1 did in the last quarter of 2017 but the Switch 2 will most likely be very close with how solid the October sales were.
The Switch 1 experienced a major stock shortage in November 2017 in Europe, which is not the case for the Switch 2.
Shortage ended in November. There was a bottleneck pop that month.
Note: Chris himself has confirmed that his claim pertaining to U.S. sales figures is solely based on November data, not December.
With Switch 1, it took time for people to realize they wanted it because it was a new platform. With Switch 2, the hardcore, early adopters rushed out in droves, because they were already sold, so the reverse could be happening here. Sales explode, then tapper off as the general, mainstream public is not as interested due to the "trend" passing.
Still too early, imo. We need at least another year's worth of data to see where this is headed.
I wouldn't say it is a "passing trend", as I'm not even sure what trend you would be referring to. It all has to do with what has been blatantly obvious since they launched the Switch 2: they got greedy.
Price is outrageous and games are nowhere to be seen. As was pretty readily predictable, after everyone dying to get the Switch 2 at any price got the system in the first few months off of Switch-successor hype, Nintendo now needs to actually SELL the system to the rest of the market, but who wants to pick up an overpriced system with only a couple big games? Well, now we know, the "who" is significantly fewer people than who wanted to pick up the hot new hybrid Switch at an affordable price with a list of killer must-have games it's first year.
Beating a dead horse here cuz it's so obvious since that early April reveal, but Nintendo either needs to drop the price of everything or have a hell of a lineup this year to get people interested in the system again. Switch 2's total sales still look good, but that's only because of it's record breaking launch. The past few months, outside of Japan, sales have been nothing to shout about, and they launched a new pokemon game that looks like it was a rejected gamecube game, and also seemed to have a small misstep of Prime 4.
Nintendo planned last year's lineup really poorly and they got super greedy cuz of the Switch's phenomenal success and decided they could get by this gen without catering to their audience anymore. That plan is failing. They need to check their pride and greed, and get back in the game with affordable prices and big must-have games. The Switch 2 may just be a next-gen Switch, but Nintendo doesn't have that spark it had in 2017 when it was like sh*t our last system completley failed now we gotta pull out all the stops, instead they are doing the opposite and trying to rest on the laurels of last gen while mainlining greed. That's a strategy that is not gonna end well, and it is already showing.
Like, if you asked anyone in 2024 if Switch 2 would be in a great position with a $450 price, $70 games and a $80 launch game, only 1-2 big next gen games in it's first year, and no Mario at launch or even during the first year, I think most people would be like wooowww if Nintendo did all that they F**KED UP! And yet, that's exactly what happened.
oops long comment haha, but yeah you are right we'll have a better picture after this year to see if they turn around the first party games drought and if they can have multiple huge releases this year that get people interested in the system again.
Mario Kart World
Donkey Kong Bananza
Kirby Air Riders
Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment
Plus the ports and the 3rd party games.
That’s not a weak lineup like a lot of people are making it.
more exclusives than PS5
Switch 2 is really missing some heavy guns, Mario Kart alone is not enough.
If GTA 6 releases before the next big Mario/Zelda it's possible we might never see the Switch 2 outsell PS5 again. The question is, do Nintendo need it to outsell the PS5 for it to be a success in their eyes?
Again No Sony PS5 1st Party game can sell as much as Mario Kart World. And in Japan alone the PS5 is being outsold by Switch 2 10:1 even with the new budget SKU. Facts.
Bro, fortnite made more money in a year than Mario Kart 8 made in it's entire lifetime. What's the point of these comparisons though? There's always something more successful.
Front loaded console? I think this year will really determine the fate of the switch 2. Its also a really bad time in general for expensive hobbies
well it is way more expensive than switch 1 but nintendo would be fine.
I've been saying for several weeks that Switch 2 sales in France aren't that great; everyone is relying too much on its record launch. Apart from that launch, sales are rather average, and I can clearly see it in my store. I repeat, the problem is the price: it’s too expensive for what it offers, and it’s my customers who tell me this, especially parents who want to buy the Switch 2 for their children, whereas back in the day they bought several Switch consoles, they probably won’t do the same this time because the Switch 2 is much more expensive than the first one. Nintendo can thank Japan big time, where the console is selling massively. Without that market, the Switch 2 would have serious difficulties. Nintendo should lower the price and speed up the release of its big games.
Tell your customers to take a look at what memory prices are right now if they think the NS2 is too expensive.
I mean that still doesnt make his argument wrong. Yes ram and all components like graphics cards that have ram are going up in price, thats still not ok. All of it is overpriced, including consoles. Like this shouldnt be a thing. My consoles i bought in 2021 have become an accudental investment, and i'm not happy about it.
What does RAM have to do with it? The customers I know think it’s too expensive compared to what the console offers and currently provides, and it doesn’t make them want to buy it. Many don’t really see the difference between the Switch 1 and 2, especially parents who have already bought several Switch consoles for themselves and their children. You have a lot of customers who prefer to stick with the Switch, and others who are turning to the PS5. Some are waiting for a price drop, while others are waiting for the big Nintendo games before making their purchase. Not to mention, in France, the Switch 1 cost €279, compared to €469 for the Switch 2. There’s high inflation in Europe. So, in France, life is harder than in 2017. Many parents with three children told me that this time, they won’t buy three Switch 2 consoles like they did for the Switch 1, but just a single Switch 2. Nintendo released the Switch 2 at too high a price.
Switch 1 had MK, Splatoon 2, a new Zelda game, and a new 3D Mario all release with a lot of supporting games, the latter two were quality must play games that were generational. With all due respect to DK, it's not of the same caliber. Switch 2 needs to release some of those heavy hitters to retain that momentum, and to its credit it has generated a lot of sales without really much exclusives which is rare for a Nintendo console.
I'm anticipating Nintendo have big plans for 2026 and 2027. They've already reportedly postponed the Switch 2 release for the software development to catch up, so I think we see a few big hitters in the pipeline start to flow soon.
Too bad.
I guess it really needed a game that'd be a huge holiday release, like Super Mario Odyssey was for the Switch 1.
No cliff but it is going to be hard to climb up with the possibility of a price increase.
Which might mean that Nintendo Switch 1 will be roaming around in perpetuity...
Even before this I always felt like post launch S2 was waaay over tracked. The software is just not there yet for it to be selling at the pace for so long.
The shit ain’t adding up to me.
