Nintendo Raises Annual Switch Sales Forecast After Stronger-Than-Expected Nine Months

Incredible numbers all round. Add the mobile stuff and it’s truly impressive.

Hang on this must be wrong, i thought Nintendo were doomed and the Switch was just a fad, even more so with those new consoles from Sony and Microsoft coming out later this year.

At the end of this year it could surpass 70 million. If it then has 2 more years of 15 million it's already at wii numers.
In fact, I think that the shipping number for switch could be around 75 million (31-12-2020) if they launch BOTW2 this year.
That leaves 15 and 10 million respectively to achieve wii sales.

A lot of people seem under the impression that de switch sales are going to fall of a cliff when PS5 and Xbox series X launch.
I don't, because that didn't happen when the switch launched in 2017.
The switch was extremely succesfull in it's first year, but ps4 sales didn't decline. Nintendo knows this and want to make switch 1 as succesfull as possible by continuing it's legacy for as long as possible.

Absolutely fantastic numbers. I mentioned it in another thread but the 3DS has sold 75 million in just under 9 years.

The fact the Switch has hit 52 Million in just under 3 years is absolutely amazing.

Here's to the next 50 million

I think they can hit those numbers with Animal Crossing coming. It is a quiet beast.

Animal Crossing alone could almost make up that gap.

stock price will still go down, good numbers never have any effect

I’m curious what next gen console impact could have on switch sales. Not direct competitors but due to technical gap we could see 3rd party releases start to reduce in number

@ozwally it won't get everything but as long as there is a large instal base, companies will find a way. Witcher 3 was considered an impossible port at one time, and it is available now.

The switch definitely isn't going to immediately fizzle out once the next generation of consoles launch, it's found its niche as the portable kinda console that is a great secondary to PC/Xbox/Playstation, but is just competent enough to satisfy people that don't want to buy those.

That said, I don't see how they don't launch a new one within 2 years. It's a great device that fills many people's needs, but it can't fall completely behind everything else out there.

Or maybe it can, merging their console and hand held products worked out amazingly. As long as they have the most user friendly, convenient hand held (with all of the 1st party gems) they're in a pretty good place.

As an aside, with the news that Sony is looking to break into the PC market and test the waters of releasing some of their exclusives on other platforms, it will be interesting to see how Nintendo responds. We're talking a hypothetical few years down the road, but if Sony starts making bank by releasing dead catalog titles, is it really a stretch to think that Nintendo might try releasing older games onto other platforms?

I really hope Nintendo Switch has Animal Crossing bundle with New color on entire body, not just the Joy Cons.

I hope them being so optimistic means a general Direct is soon. Buying into a platform is not just about existing content but upcoming content too.

It's not Wii + DS numbers, but it's pretty good for the current market.

Really interested to see what Nintendo does over the next few years.

interesting people say new ps5 will kill switch because of shiny graphics mean while the whole internet is foaming at the mouth to play the new AC

Congrats Nintendo!
Keep up the specials and you'll see those numbers keep rising.
As for this year surpassing the last, it depends on major releases.
Devil May Cry 3, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime 4, Pikmin 4, Breath of the Wild 2, Bayonetta 3, Outer World, Axiom Verge 2, Silksong, DOOM Eternal, Shin Megami Tensei V, Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl amd Mystery Dungeon are still pending, though we may not see them all this year.
Along with Tokyo Mirage that is already out.
Those are the announced ones, now imagine if Persona 5 or/and a Kingdom Hearts Collection drops.
Edit: Can't believe I forgot to mention: Bravely Default 2, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Xenoblade Chronicles, Rune Factory 4, No More Heroes 3 and Yo-kai Watch 4

@ozwally doubt it, on the contrary we are gonna see more PS3/Xbox 360 ports and maybe PS4/Xbox One ports too

I love my Switch. It gets daily use, and I do mean daily. I don't think I've missed a total of more than 5 days since launch where I did not play at least a few minutes.

These numbers show a lot of people seem to agree that it's an outstanding device!

That said, I'm not sold on this idea that the Switch is going to break 100 million that everyone is saying.

People only have so much time in the day, so much money to spend and so much attention to devote to gaming. The Switch has had most of it's biggest games dropped already, and with PS5 and Xbox Magenta Cue on their way, that's doing to divert a lot of people's attention and slow sales.

I think people are being naive if they think it's not gonna have a big impact. It wont kill the Switch by any means, but I do think the Switch's time as king will be coming to the end as it becomes "just one option" to choose from.

@Heavyarms55
Agree and disagree with you.
I do think the new consoles will have an impact on sales, but I definitely see the Switch surpassing 100 million because the 3DS is on its last leg and the Switch will be left as the sole handheld in the market. So no, I disagree that it will be "just one option" between the consoles when it will be basically be your only option for portable gaming aside from mobile.

@jamesthemagi On that note, don't ignore the impact of the endless flood of emulation devices that have been coming out. They're getting more and more common and retailers like Amazon seem to have no qualms about shoveling them out.

@jamesthemagi. This. The Switch Lite has already position itself as the 3DS successor. Those 3DS owners look to finally make the switch over to the Switch, they will push the sales numbers to over 100 million easy.

Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises and has its own fan base. It should really sell a lot of Switches

Well that depends. So far 2020 is lite on software, which is why we need a Direct.

@ozwally it's not like switch gets tons of 3rd party ports at the moment.

The biggest games like GTA V and COD series are not on switch and it hasn't been an issue.

Nothing will change.

only way they can hit that target is with tons of games and plently of huge selling first party titles, maybe new hardware but that is likely a 2021 thing

This seems like the obvious indicator that they got some stuff in the works that they're itchin' to reveal... because AC is March and the last big 1st party release we know about this year so far last I checked?

@Heavyarms55
Most of those emulation devices have problems running PS1, N64, Gamecube and even Dremcast.
There is overlap (specially because Nintendo specializes in Nostalgia for retro gaming) but I think is a different market.
The Switch port will cement it as a last generation device when the others release, but is still relatively new experiences instead of mostly replaying old childhood games.
Not to mention, some gamers are reluctant to step away from "legitimate" gaming. I don't mean that word as an insult to emulation, I am merely referencing its "gray" area.

It will reach around 75 million by the time it's 4 years old. Really impressive.

@ZeldaNX all they need to do when the new consoles are out is a price cut to say 250 euros for the regular Switch and 180-190 euros for the Lite which will be easier at the time as the price of parts has certainly gone down since it came out.

@ozwally that won’t happen, since third party support will continue to come, we already have things like Overwatch 2 coming to Switch. Nintendo only has to release a 64gb card and third party games will keep on coming

Truly impressive numbers! Nintendo is really killing it with the Switch. And I don’t think a price cut will come. They’re selling better every year, and with the same price

@kobashi100 no one cares about cod anymore.that game is just infested with cry babies.

The only way Nintendo doesnt hit their new forecast is if Animal Crossing sells negative copies.

@JSDude1 My guess is that we'll get a February Direct to pad out the start of the year, with the big hitters announced at E3.

They need to give themselves a pat on the back. So many great games to play! My ballbag is huge and need to get stuck in with a few! 👍

@Darkyoshi98 they may well be cry babies. It's still one of the biggest sellers year in year out.

@ryobi85 backlog 😉

@m8e3point1415 it already got one. It’s called the Switch Mini. There will be no price decline anytime soon, no need. If anything, it may get a pack in game this year. But the only way it’d get a real decline in price is if the Pro comes out at the cost of the current Switch.

A lot of them can run PS1 pretty well now and they couldn't last year. These devices are rapidly improving and to dismiss them would be a mistake. I personally dislike them but the crowd who enjoy them is growing. People who don't care about using pirated roms are more than happy to buy them up, and that crowd is not small.

@Anti-Matter would you buy a new switch for animal crossing theme. Like isabelle drinking tea on the back?

@ryobi85
I think i will consider the Animal Crossing theme Nintendo Switch.

Have you tried the namika smitch?

@JSDude1 Light on software? Are you speaking from personal opinion or are you not aware of the situation? Their software lineup prior to Summer is quite packed, they aren't light on anything and if the Presidents recent statements hold weight, they have many more surprises for the year. If anything I expect 2020 to vastly overtake 2019 in terms of profits and records being broken.

2 million consoles could be possible with the release of animal crossing, especially with those excellent animal crossing switches being released at the same time. I think this is a decent prediction.

@Nintyfan Yeah they are light on content. We know very few 1st party games. And most of the 3rd party we know of right now is either niche Japanese, Indy or Shovelware/mobile ports.