Nintendo Switch 2 Finishes First 12 Months on Sale as Second Fastest-Selling Hardware in U.S. History, PS5 Sales Collapse Following Price Rise

The Nintendo Switch 2 has ended its archetypal 12 months connected merchantability arsenic the 2nd fastest-selling hardware successful U.S. history.

New information from Circana reveals the Switch 2 has a 5.9 cardinal U.S. instal basal aft a year. Only the Game Boy Advance’s 6.5 cardinal units implicit its archetypal twelvemonth successful the marketplace exceeds it, Mat Piscatella, Senior Director, Video Games astatine Circana said.

Nintendo has said Switch 2 is its fastest-selling hardware ever globally, contempt immoderate income struggles astatine the backmost extremity of 2025 successful occidental markets. In May, Nintendo said it expected to merchantability less Switch 2 consoles implicit the console’s 2nd year, due to the fact that Switch 2 income "were much concentrated successful the motorboat twelvemonth successful examination to erstwhile hardware systems." And let’s retrieve that Nintendo volition summation the Switch 2's terms by $50, raising the console to $499.99 connected September 1.

Perhaps successful portion owed to that terms emergence announcement, Switch 2 income were boosted successful May. According to Piscatella, May 2026 hardware spending accrued by 38% erstwhile compared to a twelvemonth ago, to $249 million, with the Nintendo Switch 2 offsetting a 43% year-on-year driblet successful PS5 spending (and a 58% dip successful portion sales) driven by caller terms increases. Xbox Series hardware spending really grew 7% versus a twelvemonth ago, portion portion income fell by 12%. Nintendo Switch 2 was again the best-selling hardware level successful some units and dollars for May and 2026 year-to-date, with PS5 2nd crossed some measures and clip periods.

In fact, PlayStation hardware portion income fell to their lowest May full since May 2000, portion Xbox hardware portion income were the lowest ever recorded for a May month. These shocking results undoubtedly had to bash with caller terms rises, which successful PlayStation’s lawsuit were brought into effect successful April. Microsoft announced important terms rises for Xbox Series X and S this week, blaming the ongoing “components crisis.” They footwear disconnected connected August 1.

Clearly, getting into console gaming has go much costly implicit the people of this generation. Traditionally, console gaming becomes cheaper implicit the people of a procreation arsenic consoles travel down successful price. Not truthful successful 2026, which has been thing of a bloodbath for the video crippled industry. The mean terms paid for a caller portion of video crippled hardware reached $502 successful May, up 14% compared to a twelvemonth agone ($440), Circana revealed. May 2026 PS5 mean pricing accrued by 33% versus a twelvemonth agone to $672, with Xbox Series up 22%, to $524.

All 3 console manufacturers are nether aggravated unit connected their hardware pricing, with reports indicating Sony's PS6 and Microsoft's Project Helix could motorboat astir $1,000. Last month, Sony said it had yet to determine erstwhile to motorboat the PS6, nor however overmuch it would cost, arsenic representation shortages proceed to deed hard. Earlier this month, caller Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said the spiralling outgo of caller and existing consoles would necessitate "radically antithetic concern models" implicit the coming generation. She added that the manufacture had "reached a constituent wherever it volition beryllium hard to imagine" wide audiences inactive being capable to spend "thousands of dollars" for a caller console generation.

As for Switch 2, Nintendo expects to merchantability 16.5 cardinal units implicit the coming fiscal year, down from the 19.86 cardinal it has sold since launch. This would inactive spot cumulative Switch 2 income aft 22 months up of those of Switch 1 astatine the aforesaid constituent successful its beingness cycle. Whether the Switch 2 tin past spell connected to support Switch 1's long-lasting success, however, remains to beryllium seen.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].