Nintendo boss says it's not Switch 2's fault that Switch sales are "below expectations," and the company will keep selling the old console "as long as there is demand"

Nintendo acknowledges in a new financial highlights report that its Switch sales are currently underperforming, but president Shuntaro Furukawa insists the company will continue to sell the 2017 console as long as there's anyone out there to buy it.

"Although Nintendo Switch hardware and software sales through the third quarter were below expectations, Nintendo Switch continues to be enjoyed by many people," Nintendo says in its report. "Going forward, we will continue to release new offerings so even more consumers keep playing Nintendo Switch."

Furukawa echoed the point to Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun, saying, according to a DeepL translation, that Nintendo will keep the Switch on the market "as long as there is demand." So you'll be able to purchase the console even after the Switch 2 releases some time this year.

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That is, if you aren't already facing Switch fatigue, which Nintendo's recent financial results reveal many people are coming down with. The company specifies in additional financial material that its net sales are down 31.4% from the end of 2024, and that its net profit has likewise sunk 41.9%. Switch sales – including Switch Lite and OLED models – have dropped from 13.7 million units sold to 9.5 million year-on-year.

But The Sankei Shimbun reports that Furukawa doesn't think that the Switch 2's looming release is to blame or, at least, "we don't think the impact of reluctance to buy [the Switch because of the Switch 2] is that great." After nearly eight years on the market – earning it the honor of being Nintendo's longest-lasting console – the Switch was always bound to face a sales slump.

Ex-PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida says Switch 2 "could have been a larger reveal" and "the only surprise to me was that mice thing that they showed."