Nintendo Switch Sales Fall Again With Further Decline Expected Next Year

Nintendo Switch sales have dropped for the second year running and Nintendo expects further decline next year.

Revealed in the company’s latest financial earnings, the Switch sold 17.97 million units in financial year 2022/23, which came in below 2021/22’s 23.06 million and 2020/21’s peak of 28.83 million units.

The console has now sold 125 million units in total, up slightly from the figure announced in February that saw it become the third best selling console of all time. These figures cover all iteration of Switch hardware including the original, OLED model, and Lite.

As the Switch is entering its seventh year on the market following two years of decline, Nintendo is expecting a further dip in sales to follow in financial year 2023/24 by forecasting 15 million sales.

“For the fiscal year ending March 2024, we forecast a decrease in net sales and profits due to a reduction in the unit sales of Nintendo Switch hardware and software, as well as the assumed exchange rate having an appreciated yen compared to the fiscal year ending March 2023,” Nintendo said in its financial presentation.

“Nintendo Switch has entered its seventh year since launch, and while it will become more challenging to maintain the same sales momentum as before, our goal is to have more consumers continue to play Nintendo Switch for longer, leading to maximized sales.”

While hardware is on the downward turn, however, several Switch games reached significant sales milestones by the end of the last financial year. Metroid Prime: Remastered has sold one million copies since it launched in February, and Splatoon 3 followed through on its impressive launch to sell more than ten million units while Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have now passed the 20 million unit milestone.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.