Switch sales can’t match 2023’s Zelda and Mario success, as console nears end of life

Nintendo’s sales for Switch hardware and software have seen big declines as the console nears the end of its life.

In its latest earnings report, Nintendo stated a 46.3 percent year-on-year decline of console sales, while software has declined 41.3 percent year-on-year.

However, this is largely due to the huge success Nintendo had in 2023. The release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie “energized” game sales, while the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom boosted both software and hardware sales.

“There were no such special factors in the first quarter of this fiscal year, and with Nintendo Switch now in its eighth year since launch, unit sales of both hardware and software decreased significantly year-on year,” reads the report.

There has still been some success this quarter, however, with both Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD reaching over a million sales: 1.76m units and 1.19m units respectively. Princess Peach: Showtime!, meanwhile, has sold over 1.3m units since its release in March.

Switch lifetime sales now stand at 143.42m units, rising from 141.32m units in its previous report. Nintendo’s forecast remains unchanged, with an expected 13.5m units sold this financial year to make the Switch its highest selling console ever over the Nintendo DS’s 154.02m units.

Nintendo also reiterated its release schedule for the remainder of the year, to aid console sales and reach that forecast.

• Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club – 29th August
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 26th September
• Super Mario Party Jamboree – 17th October
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership – 7th November
• Donkey Kong Country Returns HD – 16th January 2025

There is no mention in this report of the Switch’s successor, although Nintendo is expected to announce Switch 2 at some point before the financial year ends on April 1, 2025.