In short: Though the unique Change offered extremely nicely and has change into one of many best-selling consoles of all time, Nintendo expects the Change 2 to match its predecessor, no less than throughout the launch interval. The corporate estimates gross sales of 15 million models by the tip of its fiscal 12 months 25/26.
Regardless of launching earlier within the 12 months (March 2017), the unique Change offered 15.05 million models in its first enterprise 12 months on sale, a document for a console. For comparability, the PlayStation 5 managed 7.8 million models, however it was hindered by pandemic-era shortages, whereas the PlayStation 4 reached 7 million models. Furthermore, each consoles launched within the month of November.
| Rank | Console | Launch date | Fiscal year-end | Items offered in that fiscal 12 months | Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nintendo Change | 3 Mar 2017 | 31 Mar 2018 (Nintendo FY 2017) | 15.05 million | Nintendo earnings This fall FY 2017 |
| 2 | PlayStation 5 | 12 Nov 2020 | 31 Mar 2021 (Sony FY 2020) | 7.8 million | Sony earnings This fall FY 2020 |
| 3 | PlayStation 4 | 15 Nov 2013 | 31 Mar 2014 (Sony FY 2013) | 7.0 million | Sony earnings This fall FY 2013 |
| 4 | Xbox Collection X|S | 10 Nov 2020 | 30 Jun 2021 (Microsoft FY 2021) | 4.5 million (est.) | IDC / Ampere estimates |
| 5 | Nintendo Wii | 19 Nov 2006 | 31 Mar 2007 (Nintendo FY 2006) | 5.84 million | Nintendo earnings This fall FY 2006 |
Nintendo made the forecast throughout its latest outcomes for the 12 months ending March 2025. It additionally predicted that it might promote 45 million video games throughout its subsequent monetary 12 months.
Demand for the Change 2 has already been immense. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated in April that pre-orders in Japan alone amounted to greater than 2.2 million. That exceeded Nintendo’s capability to ship the consoles, and even exceeded the quantity Nintendo anticipated to provide throughout a second lottery spherical that may happen after launch.
It is the sturdy early demand that has led many to imagine 15 million Change 2 gross sales is a conservative estimate, however Nintendo is probably going enjoying it secure in mild of the unpredictability of the US tariffs and the way they may have an effect on the financial system – Nintendo pushed its unique April 9 preorder window to April 24, citing ongoing tariff uncertainty as the explanation for the delay.
As for Nintendo’s earlier monetary 12 months, the corporate offered one other 10.8 million Change models, a 31.2% lower year-on-year. That brings its lifetime gross sales to 152.12 million, which means it’s slightly below 2 million models in need of surpassing the Nintendo DS because the second-best-selling console of all time.
Depsite being in its ninth 12 months and its successor releasing quickly, Nintendo hopes to promote one other 4.5 million unique Switches within the coming monetary 12 months. That may take its lifetime gross sales to 156 million, 4 million in need of the best-selling console ever, the PlayStation 2.
Unique Change software program gross sales additionally fell final 12 months, down 22.2% YoY to 155.41 million models, which included 2.97 million models of bundled software program. The corporate’s web gross sales, in the meantime, have been down 30.3%, whereas web earnings have been down 43.2% to 278.8 billion yen ($1.9 billion).
