Switch 2 Buttons
Image: Nintendo

Earlier today, Nintendo released its latest quarterly financial update for FY2025 and the findings were... much as you might expect. Sure, Switch crossed the big 150 million units milestone, but Nintendo also lowered its sales forecast for the second quarter in a row as interest continues to drop.

Now, you might assume that the drop in Switch sales is a natural product of Switch 2 anticipation — we officially know that the console is coming this year, after all — but, as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told investors shortly after the report was published, you can't put all the blame on hardware hype (thanks, Eurogamer).

As reported by Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun (and translated via Google), Furukawa doesn't think that Switch 2 rumblings are harming the current Switch's sales, instead pointing to the declining figures as a product of an ageing console:

We don't think the impact of refraining from purchasing [because of Switch 2] is that great. We think it's a solid eighth year, but we haven't reached our target.

What's more, the outlet reports that Furukawa reassured investors that 'Switch 1' sales would continue "as long as there is demand", so don't expect to see the classic model disappearing from the shelves any time soon.

It's true, the Switch is soon to enter its ninth year on the market, and with 2024's somewhat subdued release schedule (particularly compared to the year prior), interest and sales numbers were always bound to slip. But the dropoff is bigger than any year previously, and it has been steeper than even Nintendo expected.

We can't help but think that Switch 2 anticipation has a little to do with it. Nintendo's latest batch of figures only accounts up to the end of December 2024 (before the official Switch 2 reveal), but the hype train has been chugging along for years at this point. Eventually, people are bound to hold off buying while they patiently wait for something new, right?

Fortunately, the anticipation can only stick around for a few more months. All eyes on that 2nd April Direct, then.

Do you think Switch 2 anticipation is to blame for Switch 1's falling sales? Let us know in the comments.

[source sankei.com, via eurogamer.net]