Nintendo just released its financial results for the 2025 fiscal year (April 2024-March 2025), and in the accompanying online press conference on May 8, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shed more light on the company’s high expectations for the Switch 2, as well as the obstacles that could impede its success — including U.S. tariffs.
As the June 5 launch date approaches, demand for the Switch 2 continues to boom, with Nintendo’s official pre-order lotteries being massively oversubscribed, especially in Japan. Nintendo is “working to strengthen their production to meet demand,” and are forecasting Switch 2 hardware sales of 15 million units and software sales of 45 million units worldwide in the 2026 fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026).
Not only that, the Japanese game giant is also hoping that the Switch 2 launch effect will boost its overall sales for FY2026 by 63.1% to 1.9 trillion yen (approx. $13.04 billion USD) and final profits by 7.6% to 300 billion yen (approx. $2.05 billion USD).
However, Furukawa’s speech revealed concerns about the U.S. market and future profitability of the Switch 2. As a next gen console with extra features and improvements over the original, the Switch 2 console is more expensive than its predecessor.
“The unit sales price is high, and there are corresponding hurdles, however we are aiming for a launch on par with (the first) Switch.” said Furukawa, as quoted in the Yomiuri Shimbun. (The Switch 1 sold 15.05 million units in its first year, while Switch 2 is forecast to shift at least 15 million units).
These “corresponding hurdles” include worries about the U.S., which has been Nintendo’s biggest market for the Switch 1. President Furukawa raised concerns about the possible impacts of Trump’s tariffs on the Switch 2 and the American people’s spending power.
In the online press conference, Furukawa stated that the tariff policy will impact Nintendo’s profits by “tens of billions of yen.” He added: “If prices of daily necessities like food increase (because of the tariffs), then people will have less money to spend on game consoles. If we were to adjust the price of the Switch 2 (in response to the tariffs), this could decrease demand.”
Analysts described Nintendo’s 15 million Switch 2 sales forecast as “concervative,” noting the uncertainty around tariffs. Despite all this, demand for Switch 2 does seem huge. After a delay due to tariffs, Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders went live on April 24 with the price of the console still fixed at $449.99 — and they went about as well as you’d expect. Meanwhile, Nintendo has issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, saying release date delivery is not guaranteed due to very high demand.
Check out IGN’s Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide for more.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
