Nintendo plans 20 million Switch 2 units

Nintendo is preparing for a bigger second year for the Switch 2 than its public guidance suggests. Bloomberg reported on May 22 that the Kyoto-based company has asked partners and suppliers to assemble about 20 million consoles in the year through March 2027, citing people familiar with the matter. That figure sits above Nintendo’s official forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 sales for the current fiscal year. Nintendo’s own financial materials, published May 8, showed the console sold 19.86 million units in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. ### Where does the 20 million figure come from? Bloomberg reported that Nintendo asked suppliers and assembly partners to prepare roughly 20 million units for the fiscal year ending March 2027. Video Games Chronicle, citing Bloomberg, said that would be about 20% above the sales outlook Nintendo gave investors earlier in May. (bloomberg.com) Nintendo has not publicly posted a 20 million unit target on its investor relations page. The company’s official materials available as of May 24 list a forecast of 16.5 million Switch 2 hardware sales for the fiscal year ending March 2027. ### How does that compare with Nintendo’s official forecast? Nintendo’s May 8 financial results drew a line between what it had already sold and what it expected next. (bloomberg.com) The company said Switch 2 hardware sales reached 19.86 million units in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, and forecast 16.5 million units for the following fiscal year. It also projected 60 million Switch 2 software sales for that same period. (nintendo.co.jp) That gap is why the Bloomberg figure matters. If Nintendo is building around 20 million units while publicly guiding to 16.5 million sales, it suggests the company wants more supply in place than its formal outlook implies, though Nintendo itself has not said so publicly. That is an inference from Bloomberg’s reporting and Nintendo’s filings. (nintendo.co.jp) ### What do the first-year sales numbers show? Nintendo said on May 8 that Switch 2 sold 19.86 million units in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. The company’s explanatory materials described sales as remaining strong throughout the console’s first fiscal year. Outside reports have treated that total as evidence of a fast start. CNBC reported on February 3 that Nintendo had maintained its 19 million unit forecast for the year ending March 2026 after early demand pushed device sales past 17 million by December. (bloomberg.com) By May, the company had exceeded that earlier target. ### Why would Nintendo build more than it is forecasting to sell? (nintendo.co.jp) Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games, told Bloomberg that Nintendo has an incentive to guide conservatively and then exceed that number later. Video Games Chronicle quoted Toto as saying, “For them, there is no real downside in lowballing numbers first and then surpassing them later.” (cnbc.com) Bloomberg’s report also landed after Nintendo announced price increases for Switch 2 hardware in several markets. Video Games Chronicle said the U.S. retail price will rise by $50 to $499.99 on September 1, 2026, while Europe and Canada will also see increases. ### What should readers watch next? (videogameschronicle.com) September 1, 2026 is the next concrete date in the story. Nintendo has said Switch 2 prices in the United States will rise to $499.99 on that date, according to reports citing the company’s announcement. The next official test of the 20 million production report will come in Nintendo’s future earnings updates, where the company will disclose whether hardware sales are tracking above or below its current 16.5 million-unit forecast. (videogameschronicle.com)