Nintendo cuts Switch sales forecast despite strong holiday season

Nintendo had the best quarter ever for Switch sales, with 9.41 million consoles moved between October and December, a 30 percent improvement on a year ago. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon: Let’s Go were also both massive hits, at 12.08 million and 10 million units sold respectively. Super Mario Party performed well, too, selling 5.3 million copies.

Despite the huge numbers, though, Nintendo almost certainly won’t be able to hit its self-imposed target of 20 million Switch consoles sold this financial year. The current amount sold since April is 14.49 million units, but last year Nintendo sold just under two million. Accordingly, the company has revised its forecast down to 17 million units for the fiscal year.

Switch sales momentum remains strong, however, with 32.27 million consoles sold since launch — and few expected Nintendo to hit the ambitious 20 million figure in the first place. The company has major titles in the Animal Crossing and Pokémon series set to hit the system this year, although Metroid Prime 4 is further off than many thought following the recent announcement of a reboot in development.