Nintendo reported strong early sales for its new Switch 2, which saw 3.5 million units sold worldwide in its initial four days. This is a new personal best for the company, marking the highest global sales for any of their hardware during its initial release. Clearly, there’s been some serious pent-up demand for Nintendo’s latest gadget, which hit stores last Thursday, sparking fan excitement, selling out pre-orders, and even inspiring midnight store openings.
“Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch and features a larger, more responsive screen and new magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers, with more powerful processing and graphics performance that opens the door to new ways to play. With the system’s new GameChat feature, players can voice or video chat—or share their game screen—with friends online while playing a game with a simple press of the new C Button on the Joy-Con 2 controller,” the company announced in an official statement.
The Switch 2 packs a punch with a larger, more vivid screen capable of full 1080p high-definition display, and even 4K output when you dock it to a compatible TV or monitor. Under the hood, there’s a faster processor for slicker graphics and smoother gameplay, plus redesigned Joy-Con controllers that not only attach magnetically but can also double as a desktop computer mouse. For those who love playing with friends, new features like “GameChat” let you voice or video chat and share game screens online, making it feel like you’re all in the same room. Plus, the ability to temporarily share games with friends is a smart move likely to resonate with younger audiences hooked on game streaming.
The new console comes in at $449.99 in the US, marking a noticeable jump from the original Switch’s launch price of $299.99. Even new titles like “Donkey Kong Bananza” and “Mario Kart World” carry a higher price tag than existing Switch games. Despite the steeper cost, Nintendo is optimistically forecasting 15 million Switch 2 unit sales in the current financial year. However, some analysts, like Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games, think that’s a conservative estimate, predicting sales could hit closer to 20 million units in the first year.
This development is hardly unexpected – Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa hinted back in May that the Switch 2’s “relatively high” price could make it tough to keep this initial momentum going. And it seems they’ve already hit a snag: Furukawa has actually apologized to customers who couldn’t snag a console due to the sheer lack of stock. To keep up, Nintendo’s pushing its manufacturing partners, including Foxconn Technology Group, to crank up production. They’re also working with online marketplaces in Japan like Rakuten Group, Mercari, and LY Corp. to try and curb resellers from price gouging during the hardware’s scarcity.
Let’s not forget the original Nintendo Switch, launched in 2017. That console was a hit, selling 15 million units in its first year and ultimately racking up a colossal 152 million units sold globally. That feat makes it the third best-selling console ever, only trailing behind Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s DS. The Switch’s hybrid design, letting you play both on your TV and on the go, found immense popularity, especially during the pandemic with hits like “Animal Crossing.”
