Nintendo boss says Switch 2 anticipation not to blame for falling Switch 1 sales

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said that fan expectation around Switch 2 isn’t the primary cause of Switch 1’s plummeting sales.

Earlier today, Nintendo admitted it had failed to hit its own targets for Switch 1 over the course of 2024. The company has revised its finacial forecast as console sales dipped by 30 percent, and sales of Switch 1 software also slumped.

Speaking to investors following the announcement, Furukawa dismissed the suggestion that anticipation for Switch 2 was to blame.

“We don’t think the impact of refraining from purchasing [because of Switch 2] is that great,” Furukawa said, as repoted by Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun. “We think it’s a solid eighth year, but we haven’t reached our target.”

It’s fair to suggest that, after eight years, any console maker should expect sales to be in decline – as indeed they have for Switch 1 since the console’s sales peak, back in 2022.

2024 was also a much quieter year for Switch 1 software releases overall, with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Mario Party Jamboree selling well but not as strongly as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder back in 2023.