Nintendo President Warns U.S. Tariffs May Hurt Switch 2 Sales

Nintendo has unveiled its financial outcomes for the fiscal year 2025 (April 2024-March 2025), and during the online press conference on May 8, President Shuntaro Furukawa elaborated on the company's optimistic outlook for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. As the June 5 launch date nears, the demand for the Switch 2 is soaring, with Nintendo's official pre-order lotteries being massively oversubscribed, especially in Japan. To meet this demand, Nintendo is ramping up production and forecasting Switch 2 hardware sales of 15 million units and software sales of 45 million units globally for the fiscal year 2026 (April 2025 to March 2026).

Nintendo aims to leverage the Switch 2's launch to significantly boost its overall sales for FY2026 by 63.1% to 1.9 trillion yen (approximately $13.04 billion USD) and increase final profits by 7.6% to 300 billion yen (approximately $2.05 billion USD).

However, Furukawa expressed concerns about challenges in the U.S. market and the future profitability of the Switch 2. The new console, featuring enhanced features and improvements, comes with a higher price tag compared to its predecessor. Furukawa noted, "The unit sales price is high, and there are corresponding hurdles, however we are aiming for a launch on par with (the first) Switch," as reported in the Yomiuri Shimbun. While the original Switch sold 15.05 million units in its debut year, the Switch 2 is projected to sell at least 15 million units.

These "corresponding hurdles" primarily stem from concerns about the U.S., Nintendo's largest market for the original Switch. President Furukawa highlighted potential impacts from Trump's tariffs on the Switch 2 and the spending power of American consumers. During the press conference, Furukawa mentioned that the tariff policy could affect Nintendo's profits by "tens of billions of yen." He further explained, "If prices of daily necessities like food increase (because of the tariffs), then people will have less money to spend on game consoles. If we were to adjust the price of the Switch 2 (in response to the tariffs), this could decrease demand."

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Analysts have described Nintendo's 15 million unit sales forecast for the Switch 2 as "conservative," considering the uncertainty surrounding tariffs. Despite these concerns, the demand for the Switch 2 remains exceptionally high. Following a delay due to tariffs, pre-orders for the Switch 2 opened on April 24, with the console priced at $449.99 — and they were met with overwhelming demand. Additionally, Nintendo has issued a warning to U.S. customers who applied for a Switch 2 pre-order from the My Nintendo Store, stating that release date delivery is not guaranteed due to the high demand.

For more information on securing your pre-order, check out IGN's Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order guide.