May 16, 2025 10:33:00

Nintendo Switch 2 sold 16 million units in its first year on the market, and is expected to surpass 100 million units in total sales by 2029, making it the top console on the market, according to a research firm.

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the Nintendo Switch 2 , which will be released on June 5, 2025, Nintendo predicts that sales in the first year (until March 31, 2025) will be 15 million units. However, DFC Intelligence , a long-established research company in the games industry, predicted that sales in the first year could reach up to 20 million units, and 100 million units could be sold by 2029.

Nintendo likely to become 'primary partner for third-party game publishers' over next gen, analyst firm forecasts | Eurogamer.net
https://www.eurogamer.net/nintendo-likely-to-become-primary-partner-for-third-party-game-publishers-over-next-gen-analyst-firm-forecasts

Nintendo predicts that sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the first year (until March 31, 2026) will be 15 million units. However, DFC Intelligence predicted that sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the first year will be around 16 million units. Furthermore, DFC Intelligence predicts that with improvements to the supply chain, sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 could reach up to 20 million units.

DFC Intelligence noted that 'reflecting a historically conservative approach to new product forecasts, Nintendo is forecasting sales of 15 million Nintendo Switch 2 units by the end of its fiscal year in March 2026.'

When Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch in March 2017, it predicted that annual sales in the first year would be 10 million units. However, Nintendo Switch sales during the same period recorded 15 million units. In light of this, DFC Intelligence points out that 'given past performance, Nintendo's prediction of 15 million units for first-year sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 suggests that it is confident that it can increase supply and weather the tariff issue.'

Furthermore, with the release of Grand Theft Auto VI delayed to 2026, the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 will be the biggest driver of gaming spending in 2025. This trend will be particularly noticeable in Japan, where a price-competitive local model is available, DFC Intelligence predicts.

In addition, DFC Intelligence predicts that the Nintendo Switch 2 will reach 100 million units sold by 2029, making it the top console on the market at that point. Sony and Microsoft are also reportedly interested in releasing their own portable consoles, and both companies plan to release their next-generation home consoles after 2027, but given the timing of the Nintendo Switch 2's release, it is predicted that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be the best-selling console in 2029.

DFC Intelligence writes, 'We predict that Nintendo Switch 2 sales will exceed 100 million units by the end of 2029, making it the top home console by a large margin. This could mean that Nintendo will become a major partner for third-party game publishers for the first time in the coming years.'

The Nintendo Switch has sold 152 million units in the eight years since its release, the PlayStation 5 has sold 74.9 million units in four and a half years, and the Xbox Series X/S is estimated to have sold about 30 million units, although Microsoft has not released hardware sales figures.

Over the past few years, only seven game consoles have sold more than 100 million units, more than half of which are Nintendo consoles. The game consoles that have sold more than 100 million units are Game Boy (including Game Boy Color), Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 4.