Nintendo explains how it achieved Switch 2 sales that “far exceeded” its expectations

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has discussed the strong first-year sales for Nintendo Switch 2.

Last week, the company announced that the system sold nearly 20 million units through the end of its fiscal year. According to Furukawa, that number fully surpassed its expectations.

Speaking during a financial results briefing Q&A, Furukawa spoke about the factors that went into Nintendo Switch 2’s strong performance. He brought up different elements for the success, including pre-launch interest, a strong production pipeline, and having fans moving over from Nintendo Switch 1.

Furukawa’s full words (via machine translation):

“Upon the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 last June, we made every effort to expand our production capacity to ensure that as many people as possible could get their hands on the device. Furthermore – bolstered by the significant interest generated among customers through pre-launch hands-on events held worldwide – sales during the first fiscal year far exceeded our expectations. Consequently, the cumulative sales volume through the end of the previous fiscal year (ending March 2026) reached 19.86 million units. This figure surpassed both our initial sales forecast of 15 million units (issued at the start of the fiscal year) and our revised forecast of 19 million units (announced during the second-quarter earnings release).

This first-year sales total of 19.86 million units represents an exceptionally high volume, even when compared to hardware platforms we have launched in the past. We attribute this impressive figure to the convergence of various factors: the fact that we launched the Nintendo Switch 2 while a large number of customers were still actively enjoying the original Nintendo Switch; and the ease with which users could transition from the original Switch to the Switch 2, given that the new console is compatible with existing Nintendo Switch software titles.”

For much more on Nintendo Switch 2, head on over here.