The Switch 2 is dramatically outpacing the sales of Nintendo's previous console, having recently crossed 2 million units sold in the US. But while the stats are impressive, it may say less about demand for Switch 2 than it does about Nintendo's ability to actually manufacture enough consoles this time around.
"Nintendo Switch 2 has now surpassed 2 million units sold in the US life-to-date," analyst Mat Piscatella says as he shares Circana's US market findings for July 2025 on Bluesky. "It is currently 75% ahead of the unit sales pace set by the original Nintendo Switch."
There is a key difference between Switch 2 and Switch 1 in the initial month after launch, however – you can actually get hold of the new console without much trouble. Anecdotally, much of the GamesRadar+ staff remembers that being a whole lot harder in Switch 1's first year, and it got to the point where fans were accusing Nintendo of intentionally creating shortages to prop up demand for the machine.
"What the launch sales of Switch 2 primarily tell us is that they made a lot of Switch 2 to sell at launch," Piscatella told IGN last month. "Lifetime sales and launch sales of a console often do not correlate, meaning that some consoles with small launches ended up doing incredibly well lifetime (PS2 only sold 400k in its launch month) while others with big launches ended up not doing as well lifetime."
Piscatella said that the success of Switch 2 at launch was an indicator of "the confidence of the manufacturer to make so many units available, and the ability of the supply chain to get those units into the market."
Switch 2 has obviously very much succeeded by those metrics. Rumors have persisted that Nintendo had been stockpiling Switch 2 consoles for some time ahead of launch, aiming to minimize supply constraints, especially with the uncertain effects of US tariffs on the global economy.
The question now is how long demand for Switch 2 will stand at its $450 price tag. The PS5 price increased by $50, and the Xbox Series X price increased by $100 this year, so the expectation is that gaming hardware – perhaps even Switch 2 – will only get more expensive in the near future.
"Monthly hardware spending grew 21% when compared to a year ago, to $384M," Piscatella says in today's report. "This is the highest hardware spending in a July month since the $441M achieved in July 2008."
According to Piscatella, "Nintendo Switch 2 drove July’s hardware spending growth. July dollar sales of PS5 hardware fell 47% compared to a year ago, while Xbox Series spending dropped by 69%. Nintendo Switch spending declined 52% year-on-year." How the consoles shake out against each other in the end is going to be a story for the years to tell.
Check out our guide to the best Switch 2 games for what you should play right now, or dig into the list of upcoming Switch 2 games for everything on the horizon.
