Nintendo to Cut Switch 2 Production by 30% as US Sales Drop

Nintendo is reportedly cutting its production of the Switch 2 by 30 percent. The decision comes as the company is seeing weaker-than-expected sales in the US.

According to sources speaking with Bloomberg, Nintendo is cutting its originally planned production numbers by nearly 2 million units this quarter. Originally, Nintendo had planned to manufacture 6 million Switch 2 consoles this quarter, but has reportedly opted to cut that figure to 4 million. It’s believed that this reduced output will continue into April.

It appears that the driving factor in this decision is slower demand in the US rather than the ongoing RAM shortage. Sources told Bloomberg that while a commercial success, Pokémon Pokopia hasn’t driven console sales as Nintendo had expected. So, the company is waiting to see whether other games will impact sales figures enough to warrant increased console production.

“This hardware shortfall in its first year, during its big holiday season, is awful news,” Amir Anvarzadeh, Japan equity strategist at Asymmetric Advisors, told Bloomberg. “Clearly the software line-up has been poor, at least until most recently, with Pokémon showing some hope.”

When the Nintendo Switch 2 launched last June, it quickly broke records for the company. In four days total, the company shipped 3.5 million units. Flash forward, and the Nintendo Switch 2 has become the fastest-selling console launch ever, selling 17.37 million in the first 7 months of its lifecycle.

Nintendo’s fiscal year is set to conclude on April 1. Here, it’s likely the company will report sales of around 19 million units, which is close to the projected 20 million units expected to sell by this time. By comparison, the original Nintendo Switch took nearly two years to reach 20 million annual sales.