Nintendo Switch 2 game developer claims that sales fell short of lowest forecasts, but third-party titles made up 40% of sales, twice as much as the original Switch



This article, originally posted in Japanese on 10:41 Jun 20, 2025, may contains some machine-translated parts.
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The Nintendo Switch 2 got off to a strong start, with cumulative worldwide sales exceeding 3.5 million units in the four days since its release, but third-party developers are saying that sales have fallen short of their lowest forecasts.

It was the biggest console launch of all time, but was Nintendo Switch 2 a success for third-parties?
https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/it-was-the-biggest-console-launch

Nintendo Switch 2 Third-Party Developer Claims That Sales Were 'Below Our Lowest Estimates' - GameSpot
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-third-party-developer-claims-that-sales-were-below-our-lowest-estimates/1100-6532572/

At the same time as the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on June 5, 2025, several third-party titles were also released, including Konami's ' Survival Kids ,' Square Enix's ' Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster ,' and CD Projekt's ' Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition .'

According to data from market research firm Circana , 81% of sales of packaged games for the Nintendo Switch 2 were Nintendo titles (first-party titles) such as ' Mario Kart World ,' 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition ,' and ' The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch 2 Edition .'

'Mario Kart World' producer reveals behind-the-scenes story, 'interconnected world' and '24-person race' are the beginning of production - GIGAZINE



According to another research firm, Nielsen, the best-selling third-party title for the Nintendo Switch 2 at the time of writing is Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition.

Circana also revealed that Sega is the third largest game publisher for the Nintendo Switch 2 (first place is Nintendo, second place is CD Projekt).

Circana executive director Matt Piscatella said on his Bluesky account, 'I don't feel like joining the debate, but the third-party share of Nintendo Switch 2 titles in the US is much higher than it was at the launch of the Nintendo Switch. Third-party share of packaged titles for the Nintendo Switch 2 reached just under 40% in the first week after launch. One month after the launch of the Nintendo Switch, the third-party share was less than 20%.' He revealed that sales of third-party titles are doing well on the Nintendo Switch 2.



However, overseas game media The Game Business noted that 'it is difficult to evaluate these statistics positively.' According to a third-party game publisher who provided information to The Game Business on the condition of anonymity, the number of third-party titles sold on the Nintendo Switch 2 was 'below our lowest estimate.'

Game media GameSpot points out that the Nintendo Switch 2 game card has a 'key card' that only stores the key to start the game, and that this may be having a negative effect. In fact, Kelsey Lewin, owner of Pink Gorilla Games, a game store in Seattle, USA, said , 'I didn't have high expectations for selling key cards in stores. From experience, I can say that no one is buying them.'

It is clear that the packaged version of the Nintendo Switch 2 software has a 'key card' that only stores the key to start the game, and it is necessary to connect to the Internet to download the main game data and insert the key card when playing - GIGAZINE



Daniel Ahmad, research director at Niko Partners , which tracks the gaming market, said of the view that key cards are hurting third-party sales: 'I'm sorry, but the people who say, 'I won't buy a game if it's not on a cartridge for the Nintendo Switch 2,' are in the minority, and will be in the minority even more so in five years.'




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in Game, Posted by logu_ii