The Nintendo Switch 2 is outselling its predecessor by a huge margin
Nintendo’s Switch 2 is much more successful than its predecessor was
According to the analyst Mat Piscatella, the Nintendo Switch 2 has had an incredibly strong year. With a strong first-party lineup, which includes upgraded Switch 1 and newly released exclusives, the Switch 2 has been hugely successful. In the US, the Switch 2 has reportedly outsold its predecessor by 45% margin compared to this part of the original Switch’s lifecycle.
While this is good news for Nintendo, it remains to be seen if the company can maintain this momentum. Switch 2 has had a strong year, but that doesn’t guarantee it will be an ongoing success. After all, one primary reason for the Switch 2’s stronger sales is its greater availability at launch compared to the Switch 1. Nintendo didn’t build enough Switch 1 consoles to meet early demand. The company did everything it could to prevent that situation from repeating itself.
Hardware – With nine months in market, the life-to-date installed base of Nintendo Switch 2 is trending 45% ahead of the original Nintendo Switch (November 2017 was the ninth month in market for Nintendo Switch).
Will Switch 2 be a short-term or long-term success?
While outselling the original Switch by a 45% margin is a big deal, the Switch 2 has a long path ahead of it if it wants to become Nintendo’s best-selling console. Note that PlayStation 5 outsold Switch 2 in January 2026, and that trend is expected to continue. Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to be a major system seller this year. Unfortunately for Nintendo, GTA 6 isn’t launching on Switch 2. Furthermore, the next Pokémon game (Wind and Waves) isn’t coming to Switch 2 until 2027.
Will Switch 2 become a bigger success than Switch 1? Who knows. For now, things are looking good for Nintendo; that said, rumour has it that Nintendo will have strong handheld competition in a few years. Rumour has it that Sony’s building a PlayStation 6 handheld codenamed “Canis”. It will be much more powerful than Switch 2 and support all next-gen PS6 games.
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