Nintendo cuts Switch 2 production amid weakening console sales

Nintendo will produce fewer Switch 2 units than it previously projected in response to weakening demand for the console in the US, Bloomberg reports. Four million units of Nintendo’s flagship device are expected to be made this quarter instead of the six million it had originally planned, according to unnamed sources cited by the publication, with the reduced output set to continue in April.

Last month, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said during an earnings call that “overseas sales were somewhat weaker than expected.”

This slowdown follows a record-breaking launch in June last year, making the Switch 2 Nintendo’s fastest-selling console of all time after shifting 3.5 million units in its first four days. The production cuts aren’t expected to impact Nintendo’s ability to meet its target of selling 19 million Switch 2 units this fiscal year, which ends in March, according to Bloomberg’s sources, and the Japanese gaming giant remains confident in the console’s long-term prospects.

Like many tech companies, Nintendo is also facing increased production costs due to rising memory prices, and is reportedly considering whether to increase Switch 2 console prices, but these production cuts are being driven by slower consumer demand for the console.

Export delays sparked by the war in the Middle East may cause Nintendo to increase Switch 2 production again, according to Bloomberg’s sources, with Nintendo aiming to stockpile sufficient quantities of a battery-replaceable variant that it’s planning to sell in Europe over the next fiscal year.