Nintendo Cuts Switch 2 Production Amid Weak U.S. Sales

Nintendo is reducing the production volume of its next-generation gaming console, the "Nintendo Switch 2."

Yonhap News Agency

On March 23 (local time), Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Nintendo plans to lower its production for this quarter from the initially planned 6 million units to 4 million units. The report also indicated that this reduced production trend is expected to continue next month.

Since its launch in June last year, the Nintendo Switch 2 sold 17.37 million units by the end of the year. However, subsequent sales fell short of management’s expectations. While demand for the lower-priced, less profitable model remains strong in Japan, the same is not true in the United States. As demand declined, the company's sales performance did not meet expectations. On February 3, President Shuntaro Furukawa stated during the earnings conference call that "overseas sales were somewhat below expectations."

Despite the strong performance of the new Nintendo Switch 2 title "Pokémon Pokopia," the company is not increasing production. Instead, Nintendo reportedly plans to decide whether to ramp up production after monitoring the sustained popularity of Pokopia and other new titles.

However, sources believe that this reduction in production will not significantly affect market forecasts. Analysts expect sales for the current fiscal year, which ends this month, to reach approximately 20 million units.

Nintendo is currently analyzing the reasons behind the slowdown in demand. However, sources say the company remains confident in the console's long-term growth potential. Internally, there is ongoing discussion as to whether securing sufficient inventory in the weeks and months following the launch may have accelerated demand that would otherwise have occurred throughout the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.