Nintendo trims Switch 2 production

Nintendo reportedly cut Switch 2 production by more than 30% in late March, dialing this quarter’s output down to 4 million units from 6 million. (bloomberg.com) Bloomberg reported the change on March 23, citing people familiar with the matter, and said the lower output rate was set to continue into April 2026. (bloomberg.com) The reported reason was softer-than-expected year-end demand for the $450 console, particularly in the United States. (bloomberg.com) That slowdown came after a much hotter start. Nintendo said Switch 2 sold more than 3.5 million units worldwide in the four days after its June 5, 2025 launch, the fastest hardware debut in the company’s history. (nintendo.com) Nintendo then raised its full-year Switch 2 sales forecast to 19 million units in November 2025, up from 15 million, after the console passed 10.36 million units sold in its first four months. (cnbc.com) By February 3, 2026, Nintendo said Switch 2 sales had reached 17.37 million units through Dec. 31 and kept that 19 million unit forecast unchanged for the fiscal year ending March 2026. (cnbc.com) (nintendo.co.jp) Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told shareholders that domestic hardware sales had exceeded expectations while overseas sales were weaker than expected, according to IGN’s report on the company’s February remarks. (ign.com) Other market trackers had already pointed to a softer holiday stretch. The Game Business, cited by VGC and GameSpot in January, said U.S. Switch 2 sales in November and December 2025 were about 35% below the original Switch’s comparable 2017 period. (videogameschronicle.com) (gamespot.com) That did not mean the console collapsed in the U.S. Circana data later showed Switch 2 was still the best-selling hardware platform in the country in December 2025, and CNBC reported it also led U.S. console sales that month. (videogameschronicle.com) (cnbc.com) The production report is still just that: a report. Nintendo has not posted a public announcement on its investor site confirming a March production cut, and its next scheduled earnings release is May 8, 2026. (nintendo.co.jp) So the clearest picture is a split one: a record launch in June 2025, a raised forecast in November, steady official guidance in February, and a March report that Nintendo is now building fewer Switch 2 units. (nintendo.com) (cnbc.com 1) (cnbc.com 2) (bloomberg.com)