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Nintendo expects the Switch 2 to sell 15 million units in nine months
Nintendo believes the Switch 2 will sell 15 million units worldwide during the current fiscal year.The company shared the sales forecast in its fiscal report for the year ended March 31, 2025. It expects Switch 2 software sales to total 45 million units over the same period.The original Switch sold almost 18 million units worldwide in its first year on shelves. The device launched on March 3, 2017, and had sold 2.74 million units by the end of the month. It then proceeded to shift 15.05 million units during the next fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2018.It's worth noting that Nintendo's initial forecast for the Switch 2, which is slated to launch on June 5 (after a few tariff-related scares), only covers its first nine months on shelves. That means it's entirely possible the long-awaited console could outperform its predecessor over a 12 month period.As it stands, the original Switch remains firmly on track to become the best-selling Nintendo console of all time. The device shifted 10.8 million units during FY25 to reach 152.12 million lifetime sales. It requires fewer than 2 million sales during the current fiscal year to beat the all-time hardware sales record held by the Nintendo DS (154.02M units).That seems like a forgone conclusion at this point, with Nintendo forecasting another 4.5 million Switch sales during the current fiscal year.Related:Hardware and software sales decline as the original Switch prepares to bow outLooking at Nintendo's wider financial performance, consolidated net sales declined by 30.3 percent year-over-year to 1.16 trillion yen ($8.03 billion). Profit decreased by 43.2 percent year-on-year to 278.8 billion yen ($1.9 billion).Hardware sales declined by 31.2 percent year-on-year to 10.8 million units, while software sales tumbled by 22.2 percent to 155.41 million units over the same period.Given the Switch is now at the very end of its lifecycle those respective downturns are to be expected.Elsewhere, digital sales fell by 26.5 percent year on year to 326 billion yen ($2.25 billion) due to a decrease in sales of downloadable Switch titles. Mobile and IP related income declined by 27 percent to 67.6 billion yen ($466.8 million) due to a decrease in revenue related to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is now over two years old.Looking ahead, Nintendo expects the launch of the Switch 2 to help deliver full-year sales of 1.9 trillion yen ($13.1 billion) during FY26.