It's no secret that the Switch 2 struggled over its first holiday period. The console's sales numbers were reportedly down 35% in the US compared to what its predecessor managed back in 2017, and 2025 marked the region's worst November since 1995 in terms of hardware sales. All this is to say, it's hardly surprising to hear that Nintendo has apparently lowered its US production for the quarter.
According to a new report by Bloomberg (paywalled), a source "familiar with the matter" told the publication that Nintendo has cut its planned Switch 2 output by 33% this quarter, dropping the planned six million units down to four million. This cut is planned to continue into April, it is claimed.
This decision is apparently "driven by slower demand from consumers" over the holiday period, Bloomberg's sources state, and not the wider economic factors affecting worldwide hardware production, like rising component prices.
Strong sales outside the US, particularly in Japan, mean that the region's quarterly reduction shouldn't have a knock-on effect on Switch 2 sales projections for the fiscal year at large, which Nintendo still puts at 19 million units. Given that it was over 17 million in the last financial report, we'd be surprised if it doesn't make it over the line, too.
“This hardware shortfall in its first year, during its big holiday season, is awful news," Asymmetric Advisors strategist Amir Anvarzadeh told Bloomberg, "Clearly the software line-up has been poor, at least until most recently, with Pokémon showing some hope.”
And there we land on the Phanpy in the room. Pokémon Pokopia has been a smash-hit exclusive for Switch 2 out of the gate, shifting 2.2 million units in its first four days alone, which will undoubtedly drive up console sales as a result. And yet, Bloomberg's sources claim it's still too soon to correct course on the quarter's output cuts. "Instead, it's waiting to see if the hit game and other new titles have enough staying power to merit an output increase," the sources say.
We'll have to wait until May to see the official numbers from Nintendo, where Switch 2 and Pokopia's sales at the end of the fiscal year can really be put under the microscope. Pokopia really feels like the console's first killer app, and while the rest of the 2026 release schedule is currently a little more low-key, a Winds and Waves arrival in 2027 will undoubtedly boost interest again.