People wait outside the Nintendo Store for the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 in New York City, U.S., June 4, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Nintendo‘s flagship Switch 2, the successor to one of its most popular consoles, went on sale on Thursday with excitement and hype from fans leading to special store opening hours and shortages in some markets.
The Japanese gaming giant is hoping the console can help sustain a monster rally in its shares which have risen nearly five-fold since the original Switch was released in March 2017.
Nintendo is also hoping the Switch 2 can match the success of the original Switch, which has sold more than 152 million units and is the second-highest-selling device in the company’s history, behind the Nintendo DS.
And current demand looks strong, according to analysts.
“Today is the biggest console launch of all time, so as expected, there is a frenzy of Nintendo fans checking stock availabilities at their local stores or eagerly awaiting deliveries,” George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at advisory firm Omdia, told CNBC by email.
The Switch’s popularity is widely credited to its innovative portable design, which merged consoles with mobile gaming. People could play the game on their TV, then attach the controllers to the console’s display and take it with them.
Nintendo said it expects to sell 15 million units of the Switch 2 console in the fiscal year ending March 2026. However, analysts have said that is conservative.
Kantan Games’ Toto said he is forecasting sales of 20 million units in the first year. Omdia said it is expecting sales of 14.4 million Switch 2 consoles in 2025 alone, which would be ahead of the original Switch’s debut year.
