The US is falling out of love with video game consoles as Switch 2 sales plummet

Nintendo had a good year in the UK, but the Switch 2 had a weaker than expected Christmas in the US and Europe, as consumer preferences shift across the world.

Despite last year seeing the launch of a new console, in the form of the Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation 5 sales benefiting from less competition from Xbox, last November was the worst on record for hardware sales in the US.

There are a lot of contributing factors to explain that, from rising prices – brought on by everything from tariffs to AI using up all the RAM needed to make new consoles – but the overall picture for the traditional games industry is a grim one.

We already know that Xbox had its worst year ever in the UK, in 2025, and now new figures suggest that, despite being the fastest-selling console ever, Switch 2 sales have now fallen behind that of the Switch 1 during its first Christmas – at least in the US.

The Switch 1 arrived in early March, whereas the Switch 2 came out in June, so this isn’t comparing like with like, but according to The Game Business US sales over November and December were down around 35% compared to 2017, when the Switch launched.

Apart from the release times, the Switch 1 had a very different launch line-up to the Switch 2, whose two best games (Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza) came out in the summer.

Over the course of its first year, the Switch 1 enjoyed a steady stream of critically acclaimed releases, culminating in Super Mario Odyssey as its big Christmas title. By comparison, the biggest Switch 2 first party release before Christmas was the controversial Metroid Prime 4.

It’s important to emphasise that console sales are down across the board in the US, for every format, as that’s where rising prices are hitting hardest, but the picture is more positive elsewhere.

In the UK, Switch 2 sales for the last two months were 16% lower than the Switch 1 during the same period but if you add in Switch 1 purchases then overall Nintendo hardware sales were up 7% compared to 2017. Importantly, Switch 2 sales are overall 6% higher than the Switch 1 in 2017, despite the original hardware having 14 extra weeks.

The UK is traditionally Nintendo’s weakest major international market, while its strongest in Europe is usually France. And yet apparently French Switch 2 sales were more than 30% lower compared to the first year of the Switch 1.

That means the UK sold more Nintendo hardware than France over Christmas, which is highly unusual and a sign that previously accepted norms may no longer be relevant, especially if the US market does not recover.

There are no figures for the rest of Europe but The Games Business’ Chris Dring suggests that they were closer to the French results than those in the UK, with Nintendo supposedly bemoaning the lack of a major Western game launch during the period and a ‘complicated economic landscape’. Which is putting things mildly.

Japan was the only market that performed as expected, even though sales over the last two months were down 5.5% on the Switch 1’s first year. Overall, though, Switch 2 sales were 11% higher than Switch 1 for the year – again, despite the Switch 2 having less time on shop shelves.

As Dring points out, the Switch 2 first year line-up was more attuned to Japanese tastes, especially in terms of titles like the Dynasty Warriors derived Hyrule Warriors and Kirby Air Riders, which sold well in Japan but was a flop in the UK.

How much of that is on purpose, and how much just an accident of the release schedules, is unclear but so far there are no major titles with a confirmed 2026 release date that seem likely to change the narrative, especially in terms of major Western releases.

Some of these issues are out of Nintendo’s control but if the US market continues to disappoint they, and other major publishers, may reassess their output and priorities, especially in favour of newer markets such as China and India.

However, the biggest problem for all console manufacturers at the moment is simply the rising cost of RAM and other components, which may lead to continued increases in console prices or alternatively continued decreases in profit.

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